A ‘highly experienced’ solicitor at a West Midlands firm described as ‘an expert in his field’ has been suspended from the roll for a year for misleading an elderly tenant.
Joel Woolf was instructed while in practice at Wright Hassall LLP to obtain possession of demised agricultural land. He served three notices to quit on the tenant, an 82-year-old man who farmed with his wife and son. The tenant would lose his right to challenge the notices if he failed to serve a counter-notice within one month and lose his security of tenure.
See https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/register/person/?sraNumber=354413
The three notices, which were all sent on 23 September 2020 and delivered the following day, differed as to which ground permission was sought.
Notice 1 and 2 were served with a covering letter by first class post and notice 2 and 3 were served with a second cover letter identical to the first apart from the words ‘by special delivery’. Both covering letters said: ‘Out of an abundance of caution we are affecting service by registered post and first class Royal Mail’.
The tenant’s son mistakenly believed the three notices were identical. He sent the notices served by first class post – notice 1 and 2 – to his father’s solicitors and the notices served by special delivery to his father.
As the solicitors were unaware of notice 3 until after the expiry of the deadline for service of a counter notice, no counter notice in respect of notice 3 was served.
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