Sued for breach of contract

[Double Fault]

Hi

A family member received a very aggressive letter from a solicitor recently, notifying them of an intent to take them to court for being in breach of an agreement (unless they coughed up a substantial sum of money).

It transpires that said solicitor has not even seen the agreement in question. Now that they are the action has been dropped.

A solicitor suing someone (on behalf of a client) for being in breach of an agreement that they haven't seen. Seems pretty shocking to me.

Is that unethical? Is he in breach of anything? Should we complain?

Ta

[dundarach]

IANAL

However

Eh?

Probably need more about what and stuff and facts and eh?

[deadslow]

isn't it against the solicitor's code of practice to threaten people with unsubstantiated action? I suspect it is.

[paulrockliffe]

deadslow said:

isn't it against the solicitor's code of practice to threaten people with unsubstantiated action? I suspect it is.

Yes, report to the SRA, expect nothing to come of it though.

[Lurking Lawyer]

paulrockliffe said:

Yes, report to the SRA, expect nothing to come of it though.

This.

A solicitor is not supposed to simply be a mouthpiece for their client, especially when they know that a claim they are instructed to pursue lacks merit. However, it's not unusual for letters of claim to be sent which threaten all manner of things, often without much in the way of substance, but nothing actually comes of it and the whole thing quietly fizzles out.

It could arguably be a breach of the Code of Conduct - but frankly, on the facts as stated, I wouldn't expect the SRA to do much about it.

[Colonel Cupcake]

paulrockliffe said:

deadslow said:

isn't it against the solicitor's code of practice to threaten people with unsubstantiated action? I suspect it is.

Yes, report to the SRA, expect nothing to come of it though.

All depends if he has been reported for this before.

[Taozzz]

The 'BlackBeltBarrister' on YouTube has a few recent videos on this very topic. He himself was threatened by another law firm.

[OutInTheShed]

Write back to the solicitor asking for clarification of various random points.

This should rack up their client's bill.

[stuthemong]

OutInTheShed said:

Write back to the solicitor asking for clarification of various random points.

This should rack up their client's bill.

[MBVitoria]

Double Fault said:

Hi

A family member received a very aggressive letter from a solicitor recently, notifying them of an intent to take them to court for being in breach of an agreement (unless they coughed up a substantial sum of money).

It transpires that said solicitor has not even seen the agreement in question. Now that they are the action has been dropped.

A solicitor suing someone (on behalf of a client) for being in breach of an agreement that they haven't seen. Seems pretty shocking to me.

Is that unethical? Is he in breach of anything? Should we complain?

Ta

Waste of time you trying to take this further. Forget it and move on.

From what you have said, no-one has been "sued" (as in court proceedings haven't been formally issued) and it's merely a letter of claim. I very much doubt that the solicitor has written in open correspondence accepting that they haven't even seen the agreement.

[bad company]

Storm - Teacup.

Forget it and move on. Life’s too short to worry.