A manager at Kennedys Law LLP has been cleared of wrongdoing after he was alleged to have failed to adequately investigate concerns related to a Bristol property development.
Andrew Stuart Coates, admitted in 1987, denied the allegation against him. Finding the allegation not proved, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal said ‘given the information known to Mr Coates at the time, the investigative steps he took were reasonable and adequate’.
Coates was alleged to have failed to adequately investigate concerns relating to Kennedys' involvement in the purchase of, and sale of units in, the Grosvenor Hotel Bristol.
The SDT judgment said Coates was not involved in the day-to-day running of the Grosvenor development matter in which Dennis Ko was the lead solicitor. Last year, by way of an agreed outcome, Ko was fined £27,500 for failing to conduct ‘adequate client due diligence’.
The tribunal found Coates was aware that there were concerns in relation to the Grosvenor development ‘but was not fully aware’ of what the concerns were. During a meeting, Coates was made aware that the deposits paid were high but, the tribunal said, ‘there was no evidence that he was aware of any of the other matters alleged to have been in his knowledge’.
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The judgment added that the tribunal ‘did not accept that Mr Coates was aware of “serious concerns” as a result of the meeting and ‘had been assured by Mr Ko that things were on track’.
Coates was 'entitled to rely on the information given to him by Mr Ko without making further enquiries in the circumstances'.
The allegation against Coates was dismissed and no costs order was made.
