Court summons against vendor of house 5 years after house sale!

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sideswipe

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looking for some advice re parents situation-

They sold their house (approx 5 years ago) to downsize as they are both OAP's. About 18 months ago the guy who bought the house started legal proceedings against his own solicitor, my parent's solicitor and my parents because of what was described as unauthorised development on the property (garage conversion) which his attention was drawen to after he tried and failed to re-sell the property. My parents are in their late 60's and are worried sick by this (literally) A guy called to the house and handed them a preliminary summons to respond in 8 days, his solicitor says he can't represent them as the action is also against him.

Could anybody please give me some idea of where they should go for assistance in this regard, they live on state pention and have no other income so a costly case could litterally ruin them.

Any advice would be very much appreciated
 
Your parents should instruct a new solicitor on this issue asap. For this kind of case they won't qualify for free legal aid so there is going to be an expense. However, certainly initially they should at least pay for a first consultation to see where they stand.

Absolutely don't ignore the issue.
 
100% agree.

The OP's parents have been aware of this legal action for 18 months and - it seems - have not yet arranged their own legal representation.

I am not going to say that I have no sympathy; that would be unduly harsh. Many people do this. What I will say is this: If someone sues you then you need to retain a solicitor. It never gets better by putting it off.

The case against you might be weak. The amount for which you are liable may be small. The plaintiff may be greatly exaggerating his claim. But none of this matters unless you engage in the legal process and deal properly with the claim. Delay can only make your situation worse.

OP's parents seem to have done what a lot of people in their position do: they wring their hands, hope it will all somehow be ok and worry themselves sick. Far, far better to take good legal advice at the earliest opportunity. I bet that - with hindsight - the OP and Op's parents would gladly pay €2,000 to have avoided at least the complete uncertainty of the last 18 months, to know (reasonably close to) exactly where they stood and to have a clear picture of their potential exposure ( if any).
 
MOB said:
100% agree.

The OP's parents have been aware of this legal action for 18 months and - it seems - have not yet arranged their own legal representation.

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But the OP clearly stated the parents had a solicitor but he has told them he cannot represent them due to this most recent summons?

Not sure how someone can take an action against a vendor in such a case, surely it is the solicitors responsibility at conveyance to ensure that all is complied with etc and if he did not, then the current owner will have to look for recourse from the solicitors rather than the original vendors - isn't that the whole point of conveyancing?
 
Thanks for the replies.
Just to be clear my parents have indeed got legal advice over the 18 month period from the same solicitor who dealt with the sale, indeed he has been dealing on their behalf in all related matters, there has been much toing and froing which has dragged on this long, culminating in the summons and declaration by my parents solicitor that he can no longer give representation as he is also having action taken against him also. So I was hoping somebody might have some insight into this type of situation and to whether they would be entitled to any legal assistance (reading missdaisy's post it seem they would not).
I'm really just trying to gather as much information as possible at the moment to make sure the correct course of action is taken.
Thanks.
 
Not sure how someone can take an action against a vendor in such a case, surely it is the solicitors responsibility at conveyance to ensure that all is complied with etc
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That's what I thought a lot of the works in question were done many years ago when planning procedure was very different and retention could have been easily sorted at the time the house was sold.
 
A person can take action against whoever they wish really. If somebody brings an unfounded action they will have to pay for the other person's costs but in this case they have probably been well advised to sue both the solicitor and vendor.

Whether you think this is a small issue or a big issue you need to get proper legal advice. The OP's parents must instruct a new solicitor on the matter so that they can be advised what to do in this situation.

Sideswipe, we don't know the worngs alleged exactly and haven't seen the court papers. All I can say is get your parents to instruct a new solicitor and yes, this is going to cost them but it will be money well spent. They will not be in a position to represent themselves in Court. Also, they are not entitled to free legal aid in these circumstances.
 
Why would they not be entitled to Free Legal Aid? How is it actually determined - seems all sorts (inc former FAS manager!) being granted it and wondering what such an entitlement would be based on if it is not simply means.

OP, good idea to ensure your folks get someone to look at docs for them
 
did buyers own solicitor not do a proper search? Did buyer have an engineer survey the place?
I think buyers case is weak, but parents need representation.
 
Free legal aid is not provided to people in relation to land disputes.
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Thanks for the clarification.

did buyers own solicitor not do a proper search? Did buyer have an engineer survey the place?
I think buyers case is weak, but parents need representation.
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Looking into this. Thanks.
 
In a common sense scenario, the buyer's case looks vexacious. The search should have thrown this up.
 
A purchaser of a house usually has an engineer inspect and confirm that it is built in acordance with planning permission and building control regulations. Assuming that was done in this case, claim should be referred to whoever did that inspection.
 
The difficulty here is the scant information on the actual case being made. There are multiple issues that may arise:

1. No reference was made in the contract to the conversion in which case the purchasers are entitled to rely on General Condition 36 of the Contracts - subject to making their own enquiries.
2. Reference was made in the Contract and buyer missed it.
3. Reference was made in the Contract and assurances were given by vendors.
4. There is a cert. of exemption but its wrong.

It points to the need for vendors to be very clear about so many issues with their properties when selling. You can argue that its for the solicitors to make sure that all parties disclose all things but, in my experience, clients will often seek to disremember things that do not suit them.

Making changes to a house involves significant input and an awareness of the potential issues that may arise in terms of compliance with planning law on a sale. Too many people in this country have blindly ignored their own obligations and the need to educate themselves as to their own obligations. I do not know what the facts are in the scenario here but certainly the OP's parents need to clarify what did actually happen in the Contract.

mf
 
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