Batterham v Turner Freeman

In *Batterham v Turner Freeman*, the District Court of New South Wales was asked to determine whether the defendant, Turner Freeman, a law firm, had breached its duty of care to the plaintiff, Mr Batterham, by failing to advise him of the potential for a claim against his former solicitors, Turner Freeman, for negligence in relation to a previous conveyancing transaction. Mr Batterham alleged that Turner Freeman had been negligent in failing to identify and advise him about a potential claim against his previous solicitors for their negligent handling of a property transaction.

The central legal issue before the court was whether Turner Freeman owed Mr Batterham a duty of care to advise him of a potential claim against his former solicitors. This involved considering the scope of the duty of care owed by a solicitor to their client, particularly in circumstances where the solicitor is engaged to review the work of another solicitor. The court had to determine if the retainer extended to identifying and advising on potential professional negligence claims against third parties, or if it was limited to the specific conveyancing task for which Turner Freeman was engaged.

Judge Altobelli found that the retainer between Mr Batterham and Turner Freeman was limited to conducting the conveyancing transaction for the purchase of a property. The court held that there was no express or implied term in the retainer that required Turner Freeman to investigate or advise on potential negligence claims against Mr Batterham's previous solicitors. Consequently, Turner Freeman did not owe Mr Batterham a duty of care to advise him of such a claim, and therefore, no breach of duty occurred. The court dismissed Mr Batterham's claim.