Joe Edwards and Adam Smith-Roberts write for the Law Society Gazette on an important professional negligence decision in the Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal, in the decision of Bratt v Jones [2025] EWCA Civ 562, has opened the door to removing the pre-condition that in order for a valuer to be liable for negligent valuation of a property, their valuation must fall outside of a reasonable range of valuations.

The case involves a claim against a valuer (Mr. Jones) who valued a development site at a significantly lower price than the claimant (Mr. Bratt) believed it to be worth, leading to a loss when the site was purchased

The August 2025 decision may now make it easier in the future, particularly for lenders, to recover losses as a result of negligent valuations, subject to the usual considerations, including limitation. 

Joe Edwards, Partner in our Real Estate Disputes team, and Adam Smith-Roberts, a barrister at Gatehouse Chambers, jointly provide an analysis of the decision and its implications in the Law Society Gazette.

In the article, they unpick the case, why it is significant, its background and potential impact on market participants, before conlcuding:

It is not yet known whether any of the parties in Bratt v Jones intend to seek permission to appeal or when the Supreme Court will have the opportunity to review the question of whether the valuer’s valuation must fall outside of a reasonable range before considering the standard of care adopted by the valuer. However, if the permissible bracket was removed as a pre-condition of liability, this could potentially open the door to an increase in claims by lenders against valuers for negligent valuations by simplifying the test so that the only condition for liability is the standard of care adopted.

Read the full article in the Law Society Gazette here.