FIRM NOT LIABLE FOR THIRD PARTY LOSS

摘要

The Supreme Court has held that a firm of accountants did not have to pay damages where the only loss resulting from its negligence was sustained by a third party to whom it owed no duty. Lowick Rose LLP v Swynson Limited & anor [2017] UKSC 32 concerned the 2006 management buyout of an American company, trading under the name 'Evo', by Evo Medical Solutions Limited (EMSL). The buy-out was funded using a loan of £15m from Swynson Limited, a company controlled by Michael Hunt. Swynson made the loan in reliance on a due diligence report from accountants Lowick Rose. This report failed to identify some fundamental problems with Evo's finances, in particular the insufficiency of its working capital.