In honour of the current Ashes cricket series (and given that,
at the time of writing, there has just been a resounding victory by
Australia in the First Test), we have elected to focus this edition
of Legal Notebook on a decision from the High Court of England and
Wales, Queen's Bench Division (Technology and Construction
Court).
Although this case is not from an Australian jurisdiction (which
means that care must be taken when reviewing and considering its
content), the judgment still provides a good summary of the general
principles that fall to be considered when assessing both primary
liability of valuers and contributory negligence of lenders.
Facts
In about 2006 and 2007, GMAC RFC Limited (GMAC) was the largest
centralised mortgage lender in the United Kingdom. E.Surv Limited
(E.Surv) was and remains the largest residential valuer (that is,
surveyor) in the United Kingdom. GMAC would regularly engage E.Surv
to carry out mortgage valuations on residential
