Clients have been left out of pocket after the firm collapsed into administration late last year. Read more to understand what redress is available for individuals affected and why.
What is ‘struck out’?
If a claimant’s case is struck out, they will no longer be able to pursue their cause of action and they will lose the opportunity to a remedy, such as compensation. They will be obliged to pay their opponent’s legal costs as well as their own. If a solicitor’s mistake is the cause of the strike out, this will give rise to a claim for professional negligence. The claimant will be able to bring a claim against the solicitor for the lost opportunity of being awarded a remedy in their original claim.
Reasons for a court to strike out a claim
The Court has various powers to strike out claims when solicitors have made the following common errors:
- failing to issue court proceedings before the expiry of limitation periods
- failing to meet court deadlines
- failing to comply with court directions
- failing to serve documents on time
The time limit to bring a claim
There are strict time limits to bring a claim for professional negligence against a legal professional. Such a time limit is normally 6 years from the date of the negligence. In some cases, if the claimant does not find out about the negligence, or the damage that it has caused until a later date, they may still be able to bring a claim.
Have you previously instructed Pure Legal and had your claim struck out by the court?
Specters Solicitors is currently taking on clients who previously instructed Pure Legal in relation to various claims and are facing legal costs arising from their claims being struck out by courts.
On 2 November 2021, Pure Legal Limited, alongside other subsidiary companies of the Pure Business Group, was placed into administration by an Order of the High Court. In a statement, administrators Kroll said that Pure Legal was handling over 20,000 cases at the time of administration. The Liverpool-based firm specialised in high-volume consumer litigation involving cavity wall insulation, mortgage misselling, GDPR breaches, holiday sickness and housing disrepair.
How Specters Solicitors can help you
Specters Solicitors have over 25 years of experience in acting for clients whose claims were struck out due to solicitors’ negligence. We offer “No Win No Fee” agreement to Pure Legal clients who are facing legal costs due to their cases being struck out by court. We encourage any Pure Legal clients to come forward and join our potential claims.
If you have been affected by professional negligence and want to see if you may have a claim, contact us today.