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United Kingdom warranty of authoritysolicitorscollateral warranty

Penn v Bristol and West Building Society

[1995] 2 FLR 938
JurisdictionUnited Kingdom
CourtHigh Court, Chancery Division (first instance); affirmed on appeal Court of Appeal (Civil Division) [1997] 1 WLR 1356
Year1995
StatusBinding authority

Key Principle

A solicitor who, in dealing with another party, represents that he is authorised to act for a person impliedly warrants that authority, and is liable for breach of warranty of authority to anyone (including a mortgagee) who relies on the representation if it transpires the purported principal had not in fact authorised him, even where the solicitor acted wholly innocently.

Area of Law

General

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