Abdullah Nasser Bin Obaid & Ors v RLS Solicitors Limited (trading as RLS Law)
[2024] EWHC 1899 (Ch)
Abdullah Nasser Bin Obaid & Ors v RLS Solicitors Limited t/a RLS Law
11 December 2023
[2023] EWHC 3136 (Ch)
High Court
Three companies sued their solicitors for messing up a property deal. The solicitors said a previous settlement agreement protected them. The judge agreed, saying the agreement clearly released the solicitors from any claims related to the property deal, even though the companies argued it didn't cover this situation. The judge said it was important for settled disputes to stay settled, and so dismissed the case.
Key Facts
- •Claimants sued Defendant solicitors for professional negligence and/or equitable compensation.
- •Defendant sought to strike out the claim based on a Settlement Deed's release provisions.
- •The Settlement Deed resolved disputes between the Claimants and other parties (KAH Parties) regarding property ownership.
- •The Defendant acted jointly for the second Claimant and a KAH Party in property transactions central to the dispute.
- •The Claimants alleged the Defendant acted solely on instructions from one party, neglecting the Claimants' interests.
- •The central issue was whether the Settlement Deed's release clause covered claims against the Defendant.
Legal Principles
Contract interpretation considers the purpose and circumstances of the contract.
BCCI v Ali [2002] 1 AC 251 at [26]
Pre-contractual negotiations are generally inadmissible for contract construction, but evidence of objective facts known to the parties is admissible.
Schofield v Smith [2021] EWHC 2533 (Ch); Chartbrook Ltd v Persimmon Homes Ltd [2009] UKHL 38; Oceanbulk Shipping and Trading SA v TMT Asia Ltd [2010] UKSC 44
Outcomes
Claim struck out under CPR Rule 3.4(2)(a).
The Settlement Deed released the Defendant from the Claimants' claims. The court rejected the Claimants' arguments that the release only applied to disputes between two opposing groups and not internal disputes within a group. The court found the release clause to apply individually to each party and their affiliates, regardless of group affiliation. The claim arose out of the same facts as the previously settled dispute and sought to recover costs already addressed in that settlement. Allowing the claim would undermine the finality of the previous settlement.