Cooke, Young & Keidan LLP v Laurence Howard Davis & Anor

Facts

Cooke, Young & Keidan LLP (CYK), a firm of solicitors, sued Mr Laurence Davis and Mr John Baker for unpaid fees of £194,137.72 by a claim issued on 22 July 2021. The defendants counterclaimed for professional negligence, valued at around £20 million. The fees arose from CYK acting for the defendants in proceedings against Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Limited, issued on 28 October 2020, which alleged misrepresentations and breaches of duty by its predecessor Anglo Irish Bank Corporation plc concerning a valuer said to have overvalued a Skegness site by over £15m in a failed joint venture, "Project Magic". Those proceedings followed the successful setting aside of statutory demands by Chief Registrar Baister on 16 February 2016. Evidence emerging in Irish permission proceedings suggested the defendants had known of the bank's concerns about the valuer as early as November 2012, which might mean the claim was limitation barred under s.32 of the Limitation Act 1980; the proceedings were discontinued on 9 April 2021 and the counterclaim advanced the lost opportunity to pursue them. Mr Baker was declared bankrupt on 5 June 2023. A costs and case management conference fixed for 31 July 2025 was adjourned by consent once CYK applied to strike out the counterclaim, and five applications came on for hearing.