A national firm that was ordered to pay nearly £10m for negligently failing to provide important advice has failed to overturn the decision on appeal.

The case between TLT LLP and Peter Harrod, the sole shareholder of a former drinks and entertainment company, had been running for several years. TLT has admitted that it failed to properly advise Harrod, of Centenary Holdings, in relation to the requirements for lodging caution (security) in proceedings brought by Centenary against the joint liquidators of the company.

Centenary was seeking a contribution by the liquidators of £22.3m to the assets of the company.

TLT was acting for the company in the insolvency proceedings, during which the court ordered Centenary to lodge caution, which is a security in a civil action, without which a party may not be allowed to proceed.

The Court of Session heard TLT failed to lodge caution on Centenary’s behalf despite multiple extensions to a deadline and that as a result, the note was refused in May 2017.

Centenary had sought damages from TLT over its failure to lodge caution on its behalf, which the firm admitted amounted to a breach of contract and professional negligence. But TLT argued its negligence did not cause the company any loss because, for a number of reasons, it had a nil or negligible chance of achieving any success in the claim.

A commercial judge found TLT liable to pay damages to Centenary of almost £10m plus interest. TLT appealed.

But the Lord President, Lord Tyre and Lord Boyd of Duncansby, sitting in the First Division of the Inner House, refused the appeal. 

Costs lawyer Jim Diamond, who represented the Centenary shareholder, said the lengthy litigation had been ‘brutally fought against essentially a one-man band’.

He added: ‘The client is delighted with the result, he feels that justice was done but that justice was done over a 12-year period over which they never had anything other than the defendant throwing issues against him. Even with an admission of liability, the client has not received an apology from TLT’, Diamond said.

A spokesperson for TLT said: 'We are naturally disappointed with the outcome of the appeal.'

 

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