Vendor lied on property form about flooding three months after buying my house has flooded

Cazzy1964

Section62 said:

Cazzy1964 said:

So this statement regarding misinterpretation is untrue 

Does that source say anything about the buyer being able to make the solicitor the vendor used when they were buying the property hand over correspondence they had with their client on a professional privilege basis?

No the solicitor needs to apply to the court to get them released 

silvercar

Cazzy1964 said:

Even if she said she didnt read the form the solicitor would have read it and written to the seller to ask more questions and then sent the information on to her .. otherwise he wouldn’t be doing his job properly. 

No only the flood defences on each door at the moment. He will be getting a flood expert in when his house is finally sorted 

I thought she bought at auction? If so, her solicitor wouldn’t have written to the auction seller asking more questions.

Grizebeck

Cazzy1964 said:

Section62 said:

Cazzy1964 said:

So this statement regarding misinterpretation is untrue 

Does that source say anything about the buyer being able to make the solicitor the vendor used when they were buying the property hand over correspondence they had with their client on a professional privilege basis?

No the solicitor needs to apply to the court to get them released 

Good luck with that application 
Hopefully you will come to senses on this and not waste a lot of money 

Cazzy1964

silvercar said:

Cazzy1964 said:

Even if she said she didnt read the form the solicitor would have read it and written to the seller to ask more questions and then sent the information on to her .. otherwise he wouldn’t be doing his job properly. 

No only the flood defences on each door at the moment. He will be getting a flood expert in when his house is finally sorted 

I thought she bought at auction? If so, her solicitor wouldn’t have written to the auction seller asking more questions.

The auction house have told him that they automatically send out a property information pack. No, it never goes to the estate agent anyway. The questions get asked via the solicitors for the seller and buyer 

user1977

Cazzy1964 said:

silvercar said:

Cazzy1964 said:

Even if she said she didnt read the form the solicitor would have read it and written to the seller to ask more questions and then sent the information on to her .. otherwise he wouldn’t be doing his job properly. 

No only the flood defences on each door at the moment. He will be getting a flood expert in when his house is finally sorted 

I thought she bought at auction? If so, her solicitor wouldn’t have written to the auction seller asking more questions.

The auction house have told him that they automatically send out a property information pack. No, it never goes to the estate agent anyway. The questions get asked via the solicitors for the seller and buyer 

Not in an auction they don't. The buyer gets no more than whatever the info provided at the auction was. Which is generally minimal.

Gavin83

Cazzy1964 said:

So this statement regarding misinterpretation is untrue 

The key word is knowingly. If you can prove they knowingly deceived you then you’ve got a case. Thats the bit we’re suggesting will be difficult.

Ksw3

It won't help the situation at all, but I wonder what the area (not property) shows here:

https://www.gov.uk/check-long-term-flood-risk

Section62

Cazzy1964 said:

Section62 said:

Cazzy1964 said:

So this statement regarding misinterpretation is untrue 

Does that source say anything about the buyer being able to make the solicitor the vendor used when they were buying the property hand over correspondence they had with their client on a professional privilege basis?

No the solicitor needs to apply to the court to get them released 

And that's the point.  Court processes are governed by rules - you can't just rock up in court and ask for an order telling a solicitor to hand you confidential communications with a client.  These are The Civil Procedure Rules.  Anyone seeking to take action via the courts has to follow these rules, or else risk getting into trouble with the Court.

An application for an order for you to have access to the solicitor's correspondence would have to be made in the context of a claim.  You cannot ask for the documents so you can check them to see if you have a claim.  In my view it is unlikely that such an order would be made, but if it did happen then it is only likely as part of something like a pre-trial directions hearing if it could be demonstrated that the documents were something the Court needed to see to prove a claim.

The start of the legal journey - in accordance with CPR - would be your son's solicitor writing to the vendor setting out his view on what has happened and what he is claiming for.  The vendor then has the opportunity to respond.  Before progressing to court he will probably have to try alternative dispute resolution.  All of those steps have to be followed in accordance with the rules (at not inconsiderable cost) before he even gets close to the point where a Court might (but probably extremely unlikely) make an order for a solicitor to hand over communications with a client.

Given that the contents of these communications won't necessarily prove your son's vendor knew about the flooding then perhaps you'll now understand why we are urging caution.  You started the thread asking how your son could minimise his costs... one of the answers to that is not starting a legal wild goose chase based on a misunderstanding of how the law works.

Cazzy1964

Section62 said:

Cazzy1964 said:

Section62 said:

Cazzy1964 said:

So this statement regarding misinterpretation is untrue 

Does that source say anything about the buyer being able to make the solicitor the vendor used when they were buying the property hand over correspondence they had with their client on a professional privilege basis?

No the solicitor needs to apply to the court to get them released 

And that's the point.  Court processes are governed by rules - you can't just rock up in court and ask for an order telling a solicitor to hand you confidential communications with a client.  These are The Civil Procedure Rules.  Anyone seeking to take action via the courts has to follow these rules, or else risk getting into trouble with the Court.

An application for an order for you to have access to the solicitor's correspondence would have to be made in the context of a claim.  You cannot ask for the documents so you can check them to see if you have a claim.  In my view it is unlikely that such an order would be made, but if it did happen then it is only likely as part of something like a pre-trial directions hearing if it could be demonstrated that the documents were something the Court needed to see to prove a claim.

The start of the legal journey - in accordance with CPR - would be your son's solicitor writing to the vendor setting out his view on what has happened and what he is claiming for.  The vendor then has the opportunity to respond.  Before progressing to court he will probably have to try alternative dispute resolution.  All of those steps have to be followed in accordance with the rules (at not inconsiderable cost) before he even gets close to the point where a Court might (but probably extremely unlikely) make an order for a solicitor to hand over communications with a client.

Given that the contents of these communications won't necessarily prove your son's vendor knew about the flooding then perhaps you'll now understand why we are urging caution.  You started the thread asking how your son could minimise his costs... one of the answers to that is not starting a legal wild goose chase based on a misunderstanding of how the law works.

The solicitor has told him to do as much work as he can before he officially starts to instruct him, If he wants to.,  to keep costs down .. the auction house has released the name of the solicitor that dealt with the purchasing of the property. He’s spoken to neighbours who confirm that it did flood 2019 and 2021 and they  spoke to her about it .. she stated on the property form it has never flooded, the previous owners confirm they explained how the flood defences work. so I guess there’s not much more he can do .. I was just asking the question how far he could go before he has to instruct a solicitor. 

snooksnj1

Cazzy1964 said:

Section62 said:

Cazzy1964 said:

So this statement regarding misinterpretation is untrue 

Does that source say anything about the buyer being able to make the solicitor the vendor used when they were buying the property hand over correspondence they had with their client on a professional privilege basis?

No the solicitor needs to apply to the court to get them released 

Fantastic.  So go to the courthouse and have the judge issue a court order to release all the information you require from the Vendors Attorney, auction house.   If it's like the US there are lawyers milling about outside the courthouse looking for business.  I would do it now so you have the weekend to read all the lawyer correspondence. Bonus! clocks go back this weekend so you have an extra hour.