Non-Adopted Roads

SavingSteve

DottyThistle wrote: »

The developer has walked away from this because the 2 main institutions that could have stopped them - the council and the solicitors - chose not to.

Not sure I can agree. You state;

It was clear that the developers were struggling, but because they had such a large deposit from me and because I thought I was safe, I stuck with it.

So you knew they were struggling, so really I would say the onus would be on you to review every single thing with a fine tooth comb.

It's all well and good blaming the solicitors, but maybe it was you that should have done more thorough due diligence, especially given your doubts and reservations?

DottyThistle

Fair point, and with hindsight, I wish I had been.

I did ask her again before I completed if the road was adopted and she said no but it would be. I trusted that she was acting in my best interests. This was the first home I was buying on my own, and I had no idea what an un-adopted road was and never heard of one. Naively I thought the council owned all roads.

I guess ignorance is no excuse, but I thought asking her to check again was all I could do at the time. Sadly I wasn't part of this website at the time and so couldn't access the valuable comments I've received from so many of you.

Premier_2

DottyThistle wrote: »

... Surely she could and should have warned me about this...

Yes, I think she should have too.

What is her position about this now? Is she just washing her hands of the matter?

If so, it may be worth seeking independant legal advice from another solicitor to see if there is any grounds for a formal complaint for her lack of duty of care towards you.

Premier_2

DottyThistle wrote: »

... I trusted that she was acting in my best interests. ...

This is certainly what she should have been doing, even though she was recommended to you by the developer.

You paid good money for her services and currently are exposed to a potentially huge loss because of her lack of due diligence - you did yours by paying her to do it for you. Sadly she appears to have failed you and that could be good cause for recompense.

I would certainly consider approaching another solicitor to see what they think.

DottyThistle

She no longer works for the company, and their current stance is that she told me it wasn't adopted and that's all she's required to do. They have said I can make a complaint in writing and they will look at it, which I intend to do.

I'm also planning to take independant leagal advice to see if I have a case. If it looks like I do, I was planning to encourage the rest of the residents to join me and see if we can make a collective claim, which may help go towards the cost of having the road adopted. Does anybody know what discipline of lawyer I should be looking for? I wouldn't have thought it would be another conveyancing one.

silvercar

litigation solicitor?

A quick google and these people come up.

http://www.thesolicitorsnegligencelawyers.co.uk/

and these:

http://hosting.lawyerlocator.co.uk/hp/baehrs/professional_negligence.html