Perry v O'CONNOR

In *Perry v O'Connor*, the Supreme Court of New South Wales was asked to determine whether a solicitor, Mr O'Connor, had breached his duty of care to his client, Ms Perry, in relation to advice provided concerning a property settlement. The dispute arose from Ms Perry's claim that Mr O'Connor's advice led her to enter into an unfavourable settlement agreement, resulting in financial loss.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether Mr O'Connor had acted negligently in advising Ms Perry regarding the implications of a proposed settlement in her family law proceedings. Specifically, the Court had to consider whether the advice given met the standard of care expected of a reasonably competent solicitor in New South Wales, and if not, whether this negligence caused Ms Perry quantifiable damage.

Judge Altobelli found that Mr O'Connor had not breached his duty of care. The Court reasoned that the advice provided by Mr O'Connor was reasonable in the circumstances, taking into account the information available to him at the time and the complexities of the family law proceedings. The Court applied the principles of negligence, assessing whether Mr O'Connor's conduct fell below the standard of a reasonably prudent solicitor. The evidence did not establish that the advice given was so lacking in care that it could be considered negligent.