A respected solicitor who adopted a ‘cavalier atti

A respected solicitor who adopted a ‘cavalier attitude’ as he misled home buyers during property deals was fined pnds stlg 20,000 by his professional body today.

(Mon)

Richard Carr, 49, broke strict legal rules when he failed to carry out checks against the local land registries for each purchase during house purchases.

Carr’s errors were uncovered during a Law Society inspection in August 2000 when an official noted sums of money identical to the search fees were being paid out to the solicitor’s wife.

Andrew Miller, for the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors, said the blunders occurred at the lawyer’s firm, Carr and Co, based in Crouch Street, Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Mr Miller told the hearing Carr acted on conveyancing deals on a number of new housing estates.

For the first purchase at a development Carr complied with the rules and obtained a local authority search, the hearing was told.

But Mr Miller said: ‘In respect of a second or subsequent purchase in the same development he would not effect a further search.

‘He would carry out an exercise called validation by which he certified the search results would have corresponded to the previous one.

‘He did not disclose to many clients his unique system of effecting conveyancing searches.

They were not aware of the risks inherent in that process.

‘

Mr Miller told the tribunal today they could consider Carr had acted improperly in misleading lenders and the OSS.

He said: ‘It is open to you to infer the actions of the respondent were dishonest.

‘

It was claimed Carr also did not tell clients the fees they paid in respect of the searches went to his wife, and therefore he had taken the money without authorisation.

The hearing was told that some pnds stlg 17,000 was withdrawn without clients permission.

Carr, of Yellowell House, Horley, Banbury, was found guilty of withdrawing clients money other than in accordance with the rules, misleading purchaser clients as to the nature and consequence of steps being taken or omitted by him on their behalf and acting in a conflict of interest situation.

He was cleared of endeavouring to mislead mortgage lender clients and the OSS.

The tribunal found him not guilty of dishonesty.

Carr had denied the allegations.

Giving evidence today (Mon) he told the hearing: ‘I carried out all the necessary searches that were appropriate to the particular property.

‘I would consider the most recent search I had got.

If it was three to six months old I would carry out another one.

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He said: ‘Primarily it is the age of the search and the stage of the development I was concerned with.

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The tribunal heard Carr had built up a comprehensive data base for local housing developments providing valuable information to carry out conveyancing transactions.

But he would carry out further checks if the database highlighted a potential problem.

Carr added: ‘Purchaser clients want a smooth transaction, going through quickly and be able to secure the property without any complications, with good and marketable title.

‘

Defence counsel Augustus Ullstein, QC, asked him: ‘Have you ever let them down?

‘No, never,’ replied Carr.

The barrister continued: ‘Have you ever intentionally or knowingly misled a client?

‘No, not at all,’ said Carr.

Mr Ullstein told the hearing: ‘There has not been a single complaint about Mr Carr’s conduct or the procedure he adopted by any client.

‘There has not been a single complaint from any mortgage lender.

He added: ‘Nor, is there any evidence at all that any client or any lender has suffered any loss in consequence of the procedure adopted by Mr Carr.

‘

‘He has 27 years of practice and an unblemished reputation.

‘This hearing has been hanging over him for a very long time.

‘What Mr Carr has done is not an attempt to mislead or behave in a dishonourable way but to find a method of satisfying clients, developers and make conveyancing as streamlined as possible.

‘

Mr Ullstein added: ‘It was a foolish approach on his part, you may say cavalier.

‘

But the hearing was told the Law Society property department have now expressed interest in using Carr’s conveyancing technique.

Imposing a pnds stlg 20,000 fine tribunal chairman Richard Bamford said: ‘These are serious charges which have been made out in particular dealing with clients funds as his counsel has said in a cavalier attitude.

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Earlier Mr Bamford told Carr: ‘We have not found a case of dishonesty has been made out in any of the above findings.

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Carr was also ordered to pay pnds stlg 3,995 in costs.

After the hearing Carr said: ‘It is a procedure I introduced to help my clients to enable them to exchange contracts quickly and to secure financial discounts.

‘I accept my paperwork wasn’t in the form it should have been.

‘

But Carr insisted his clients were eventually informed of the methods and said he would continue to use it.

‘My clients approved the procedure and there has not been one complaint from a client or anybody else,’ he added
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