Robert Bourne
Year of Call: 1978 (Gray’s Inn)
Education: St. Peter's College, Oxford (B.A. Modern History)
Email:robertbourne@13oldsquare.com
Areas of Practice
Professional Negligence work for Claimants and Defendants arising from all areas of contentious and non-contentious work including actions arising from defective advice about valuation, tax, company formation and flotation and in relation to the preparation for, conduct and settlement of actions in Court, and Arbitration.
Claims concerning works of fine art, notably those brought by and against international auction houses, actions relating to forged antique furniture, professional negligence of auctioneers, sales of furniture, paintings, sculpture, diamonds and fine wines
General Chancery and Commercial claims
Banking, bills of exchange
International carriage of goods
Consumer and commercial credit
Construction contracts
Fraud. Money laundering.
Landlord and tenant. Real Property.
Sale of Goods
Representative instructions 2008 – 2010
Solicitors and barristers’ negligence in conduct of claim for sums loaned to purchase a golf course
Solicitors’ negligence claim arising from sale of restaurant chain
Barrister’s negligence in conduct of claim for adverse possession
Solicitors’ and barrister’s negligence in conduct of claim for riparian rights
Solicitors’ and barrister’s negligence in personal injury and medical negligence claims
Solicitors’ negligence claim involving advice relating to company formation and share sale agreement
Barrister’s and accountants’ negligence concerning advice on FURBS
Architect’s negligence in design and supervision of domestic premises
Solicitors’ negligence action arising from failure to serve proceedings within time bar clause in charterparty
Tracing claim against daughter of fraudulent underwriter’s agent
Claim for dissolution of nursing home partnership
Claim for dissolution and account on dissolution of milk co-operative
Claims relating to sale of shares (with Michael Booth Q.C.) (judgment 17 12 2010)
Assistant Editor of the County Court Practice between 1992 and 1999 and a member of the Editorial Board of the Civil Court Practice responsible for the titles Access to Neighbouring Land, Admiralty, Consumer Credit and Sale of Goods.
Licensed for Direct Public Access work
Member of Pro Bono Panel.
Representative Cases
- Attorney General of the Republic of Zambia v Meer Care Desai & Others [2007] EWHC 952 (Ch) Peter Smith J. "Former Zambian Government officers had conspired with others to fraudulently misappropriate monies that belonged to Zambia, and two solicitors' firms in England were liable for dishonest assistance in the misappropriation of some of those monies." (“The case of the year” © The Lawyer).
- Attorney General of Zambia v Meer Care & Desai & Others [2007] EWHC 1540 (Ch); Peter Smith J. The court determined a number of consequential matters, including credit for recoveries against liabilities, claims for compound interest, the impact of a failure to mediate on orders for costs, contribution, permission to appeal and stay of enforcement, identified in an earlier judgment where it held that there had been a conspiracy fraudulently to misappropriate Zambian Government money. The successful Claimant failed to recover all its costs because of a refusal to engage in mediation.
- Cooke J in Reass SARL v Markel International Insurance Co Limited LTL 18/12/2007 - "Unless the parties to an action had intended that a settlement should not become binding until a confidentiality clause had been agreed, an agreed settlement would not be rendered unworkable or void for uncertainty by a subsequent failure to agree the exact terms of the clause."
- Goldman Sachs v de-Laurey [2003]. Acted on freezing order against Defendant subsequently convicted of stealing funds from partners in merchant bank.
- Blake v Bray Walker [2001] Blackburne J. Acted for solicitors on wasted costs application against solicitors and Legal Services Commission. Whether a solicitor is under an obligation to disclose the existence of an LSC embargo on further spending notwithstanding existence of full legal aid certificate. Application dismissed.
- Mubarak v Mubarak [2000] Blackburne J. Can an Administration Order be rescinded on the grounds that it is an abuse of the process? Can the Administration be transferred to the Family Division.
- Sturgess v Wharmby [1999] Scott-Baker J. Whether bonus payable by Aberavon RFC to players upon promotion to Premier Division of Welsh RFU.
- Fox v Fox [1999] Court of Appeal Whether Mareva injunction should be discharged because of failure to make provision for living expenses.
- Westlake v J.P. Cave [1998] Ebsworth J. To what extent are the benefits of mitigation to be brought into account in professional negligence action?
- Re Rae [1995] B.C.C. 102 Is a licence under the Sea Fish Conservation Act "property" for the purpose of the Insolvency Act?
- Bank of Scotland v Grimes [1985] Q.B. 119 (CA) Endowment mortgages and the impact of the Administration of Justice Acts 1970 and 1973.
Professional memberships:
- Chancery Bar Association
- London Commercial Law and Commercial Bar Association
- Professional Negligence Bar Association
- South Eastern Circuit
- Welsh Commercial Law Association
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