Muhammed Haque KC successful in £2m Solicitor’s negligence claim against Lewis Silkin LLP
Mr Justice Hamblen found that Mr Michael Burd, the Head of Employment Law at Lewis Silkin, was negligent in advising Mr Tim Wright, the former CEO of an Indian Premier League cricket franchise, the Deccan Chargers.
The case involved the drafting of Mr Wright’s extremely high-value contract with Deccan Chargers. Mr Burd failed to include a jurisdiction clause, meaning that Mr Wright was left to enforce in India in a vain attempt to recover a £10m contractual severance guarantee. Mr Burd maintained that he advised Mr Wright about jurisdiction. The Judge found that Mr Burd did not do so, or did not do so clearly, and had ‘reconstructed’ his memory.
The case also considered the loss of the chance of the commercial pressure that could have been applied in India had Mr Wright the benefit of an English judgment. The Judge found that there was a valuable chance that had been lost, and assessed damages at £2m. The case was also memorable for the live evidence given by Mr Lalit Modi, the founder of the IPL.
Mr Wright was represented by Muhammed Haque KC and Nicholas Davidson KC, instructed by Rosenblatt Solicitors.
Articles about the case can be found here:
