Barnes & Ors v Hay

This matter concerned an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. The applicant solicitors, Barnes & Ors, sought to appeal a decision concerning their liability to the respondent, Mr Hay, for damages arising from alleged negligence in their advice. Mr Hay had sued the solicitors for economic loss resulting from this advice. The solicitors admitted to a limited extent that they had been negligent.

The legal issues before the court included whether the plaintiff's economic loss was too remote and unforeseeable, and whether the loss was caused by the solicitors' advice. A third issue concerning mitigation was not pursued by the applicants before the High Court. The factual background involved Mr Hay's business operating from a shop in Sydney, and his negotiations with the State Superannuation Board of New South Wales for a lease of new premises. It was in relation to these lease negotiations that Mr Hay sought advice from the defendant solicitors.

The solicitors' admitted failure, as alleged by Mr Hay, was their failure to warn him of the legal consequences of not reaching an agreement regarding the amount payable by him, upon receipt of a letter dated 20 October 1980 from Messrs Dawson Waldron. The transcript indicates that the court was in the process of hearing submissions on these matters.