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solicitor’s possession, the solicitor held them after
completion o f the mortgage exclusively in the right
and on behalf of the mortgagee. By this change in
the character o f the solicitor’s possession of the
deeds, the solicitor’s lien against the mortgagor was
destroyed, since the conditions necessary to support
it, namely, the mortgagor’s right or title to the
documents, had ceased to exist. Consequently the
defendant was not entitled to any Hen on the docu
ments.
PerJenkins, L . J.
:—“ I see no justification in prin
ciple for holding that the mere accident o f continued
physical possession o f deeds by a sohcitor necessarily
involves the continuance o f his lien against the
original depositor. No doubt he loses his lien if he
parts with possession, but this is far from establishing
the converse proposition that if he retains possession,
his Hen is necessarily preserved. I f there is no re
lationship o f soHcitor and client at the time o f the
claim, the soHcitor cannot make good his Hen by
showing that he originally received the deeds from
the claimant as his cHent, and has since retained
physical possession of them. ”
E .
v. T.
(1949, Scots Law Times, 4 11):—A com
plaint was made to the Solicitors’ Discipline Com
mittee regarding the conduct o f a country soHcitor.
The Committee reported the case to the Court with a
finding that his neglect o f the interests o f his client
and his obstinate delay in carrying out his profes
sional duties amounted to professional misconduct.
The respondent, T ., had in fact for two years, not
withstanding repeated applications, failed to produce
a certain deed and other titles, and knowingly mis
represented the position.
The First Division of the Court o f Session (Lord
President Cooper, Lords Carmont and Russell), held
that such gross professional negligence amounted in
this case to professional misconduct and ordered that
T. be suspended from practice for one year.
Per curiam
:—“ The defendant contemptuously dis
regarded his professional responsibilities in relation
to this transaction. Only strong grounds would
justify the Court in condoning as innocent what the
Statutory Committee, composed as it always is of
professional men o f the highest repute and com
petence, have condemned as guilty. The respondent
has again and again adopted an attitude o f reckless
indifference towards the responsibilities which pro
fessional status as a solicitor carries with it ” .
Bailey v. Bullock and others
—94 Solicitors’ Journal,
689 (1950). As a result o f the negligence o f the
managing clerk o f the defendants, a firm of solicitors,
in connection with the plaintiff’s action for possession
of a house, the plaintiff was put to certain expenses.
He and his family had to live for nearly two years
as lodgers with his father-in-law. He included in his
claim for damages the inconvenience and discomfort
to which he had in that respect been subjected.
Barry, J., held that he was bound by the decision
in Groom v. Crocker (1939) I.K .B . 194, which de
cided that the rights and duties o f a solicitor were
regulated by the contract o f employment, and that,
in the absence o f any duty other than those imposed
by the contract, a solicitor was not liable to his client
in tort. In a proper case, damages for personal in
convenience might be recovered in an action for
breach o f contract. Hence the inconvenience was
such that it should have been reasonably contem
plated by the defendants as a probable result
o f their failure to perform their contractual duties.
The plaintiff was therefore entitled to £300
damages.
LIBRARY ACQUISITIONS
1.
Books received
Acts o f the Oireachtas (Bound Volume)— 1948.
Arnould—Marine Insurance and Laws o f Average,
2 vols.— 1950. Archbold—Criminal Pleadings and
Practice, 32nd edition— 1949. Belfast and Ulster
Directory— 1950. Bingham—Motor claim cases,
Second Cumulative Supplement— 1949. Butterworth
—Workmen’s Compensation Cases—Vol. 4 1, 1948-
49. CapHn—Powers o f Attorney— 1949. Catholic
Directory—-1950. Charlesworth—Negligence, 2nd
edition— 1947, with supplements. Coghlan—The
Law o f
Rent Restriction in Ireland, 2nd
edition—-1950.
Cripps—-Compulsory
Acquisi
tion o f Land, 2 vols., 9th edition— 1950. Dicey—
Conflict o f Laws, 6th edition— 1949. Dix—Law
relating to Competitive Trading—-1950. DubHn
University Calendar— 1950-51.
Dymond—Death
Duties (10th edition), 3rd ConsoHdated Supplement
— 1950. English and Empire Digest, Second Cumu
lative Supplement. Freeman and Nicholls—Right of
way, 3rd edition revised— 1946. Gale—Easements,
12th edition— 1950. Gazdar—National Insurance,
2nd edition—-1949. Grattan, Doyle and Napley—
Remuneration o f Auctioneers and Estate Agents—
1947. Hamilton—Solicitors’ Guide to Development
and Planning— 1949. Halsbury—Statutes of England,
Cumulative Supplement No. 19— 1950, 2 vols. Head
(F.D.) Meetings, 5th edition-—-1950. Institute of
Chartered Accountants in Ireland. International Law
List— 1951. Irish Catholic Directory and Almanack
— 1950. Jervis—Coroners, 8th edition— 1946. Jos-
ling—Change o f Name, 3rd edition—1950. Josling
—Execution o f a Judgment—-1949. JosHng—Regis
tration of Business Names— 1948. JosHng and Cap
Hn—Apportionments for Executors and Trustees^—
58