Damian J Croucher Professional Negligence Lawyer of the Year UK

Firm Profile

Churchgate Legal LLP is a niche litigation and commercial property law solicitor’s practice.

We have extensive experience in dealing with our specialist areas, so our lawyers are quickly able to assimilate complex problems and analyse the legal position giving our clients the best chance of a successful outcome.

Individual Profile

I have specialised in professional negligence for over 12 years.

I fight

for justice for clients who have been the victims of negligent solicitors' (and other professionals') advice with a view to maximising

their compensation and recovering all their losses. Clients know that I always take their cases personally, which is perhaps why I have never lost a professional negligence claim.

Much of my work is on an agreed fee basis, in order to keep my client's personal outlay in achieving justice as low as possible. The real value to mu clients however is in the successful outcomes I achieve.

I write extensively on professional negligence issues through Ezine Articles, Guides, blogs and other media.

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/TCC/ 2009/1664.html

• Representing an established architect in a £2.5 million pounds claim brought by the claimant developer for alleged professional negligence. The case was settled in the architect’s favour with no payment of damages.

• Representing 2 individuals in a Building Act notice brought by a Council for repairs to a retaining wall, and has settled both outside of the court;

I am a member

of the Professional Negligence Lawyer's Association (PNLA) and the Commercial Litigation Association (CLAN).

I also act for commercial clients' disputes with the same vigour and enthusiasm. I aim to achieve 90% client satisfaction in order to develop long term relationships with my clients.

• Represented an individual in response to a claim brought by a contractor for alleged unpaid costs and settled the claim in the individual’s favour without payment of any costs;

• Represented a developer on a multi million pounds development in respect of a dispute with an established contractor and in which the developer was successful in dismissing a claim for an extension of time and claiming liquidated damages;

Recent/Notable Cases

Our lawyers have been involved in the following Recent/Notable cases

Reported case: • Aceramais Holdings Ltd v Hadleigh Partnership Ltd [2009] EWHC 1664 (TCC) Our Mr Marshall acted for the defendant in successfully dismissing a part 8 claim by the claimant regarding a declaration that the contract was not in writing for the purposes of Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. The claim arose out from the defendant’s part 7 enforcement of an adjudication decision for unpaid costs valued at approximately £800,000.

• Represented two clients in a professional negligence claim in respect of retirement properties in Egypt where a firm of solicitors in England had acted for them in the sales. Our clients paid all of the money required by the developer but could not get access to their properties and that the properties may have been “double sold” to another buyer. Our investigations revealed that the solicitors had failed to carry out the proper due diligence checks to ensure that the terms of the sale contract between the seller and our clients to protect their interests We argued that the solicitors had been negligent and were successful

in

recovering 90% of our clients’ outlays for the property plus costs.

• We represented clients in a professional negligence claim where I clients had lost a court claim where the solicitors had failed in its r duty to consider after the event insurance. Our client alleged negligence. The defendant’s insurers agreed to pay 75% of our clients’ claimed damages, plus their costs.

• We represented our client in professional negligence against a solicitor who had acted in a lease purchase where our client had not been properly advised about an onerous rent review clause. The solicitors' insurers then admitted liability and, as a consequence, we were able to recover substantial damages for our client, together with her legal costs.

Contact

Churchgate Legal LLP 14 Park Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff, CF14 7BQ

Tel: 029 20 660 157 Fax: 029 20 660 158 Website: www.churchgatelegal.co.uk Email: enquiries@churchgatelegal.co.uk

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Lawyer Monthly Legal Awards 2013

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