Rarely does a week go past these days without a frivolous legal claim being raised or brought to light. This week was no exception – this time in the context of professional negligence. David Allen Green captures this one in a succinct tweet (h/t @nearlylegal):
Woman sues lawyers for not advising her that divorce would mean her marriage would end: para 4 of http://t.co/wocOpysEXZ – ht @nearlylegal
— Jack of Kent (@JackofKent) January 9, 2014
The relevant passage from the case Mulcahy v Castles Solicitors & Anor [2013] EWCA Civ 1686 is at [4]:-
Much the most striking of Mrs. Mulcahy’s many allegations of negligence against her solicitors was that, having regard to her Roman Catholic faith, Mrs. Boots had failed to give her the advice which was requisite in view of her firmly held belief in the sanctity of marriage, either in terms of the alternative of judicial separation, or about the impossibility of pursuing divorce proceedings to a clean break settlement, without thereby inevitably bringing about the final termination of her marriage, which she wished to avoid.
The news also went viral on Reddit and LegalCheek among other sources. The top comment in response on Reddit sums up what most of us are probably thinking (“I don’t think this woman “gets” stuff”). And while the woman appears to have Aspergers Syndrome, it wouldn’t have been reasonable for the solicitors to know that when advising their client.
