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Pensions advisers
have received a timely boost from a recent Court of Appeal ruling
which will give them further protection against old negligence claims.
The recent Shore v Sedgwick Financial Services Limited case ruling,
delivered at the Court of Appeal on 25 July, has effectively reinforced
the two time periods during which an individual can apply for a
claim of negligent advice. The rules state that if a loss is immediately
apparent it can be brought up to six years after the event. Where
a loss may not be immediately apparent, a claim must be brought
within three years of the date the claimant became aware of the
loss.
A damages claim bought by a Mr. Shore for negligent advice he received
from Sedgwick in 1997, relating to the transfer of pension benefits
in an occupational pension scheme to an income drawdown scheme failed
as Mr. Shore missed out on taking action within both these time
periods.
The ruling stated that the six year rule started to run from the
date Mr. Shore made the transfer out of the occupational scheme.
The Court confirmed that under the three year rule, time started
to run out as soon as Mr. Shore had sufficient knowledge of a possible
claim against Sedgwick to enable him to embark on the preliminaries
of bringing a claim.
Gary Squire, pensions disputes lawyer at law firm Osborne Clarke,
said that the ruling was a welcome one for beleaguered advisers
who had seen a significant rise in claims against professional advisers
in the pensions sector.
“This ruling will prevent some “old” claims based
on advice given many years ago. These claims can be difficult to
defend if documents are no longer available or if the advisers involved
have moved on,” said Squire.
“The case also sends a clear message to claimants: as soon
as you have inkling you might have a claim – act!” he
added.
- Pensions Age
August 2008
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