professional liability

Question 1

four duties owed by professionals?

Answer 1

1. contractual duty
2. duty of care
3. fiduciary duty
4. Adhere to professional code of conduct

Question 2

what is contractual duty?

Answer 2

• implied that professional will provide services with due care.
• exemption clauses or disclaimers can limit liability

Question 3

what is duty of care?

Answer 3

• professional has duty to use reasonable care to avoid causing client damage
• standard of reasonable professional.

Question 4

defence to duty of care by professional?

Answer 4

common practice: do what is normal/common practice in the profession.
– still may be negligent/liable tho.

Question 5

test for duty of care?

Answer 5

foreseeability test asks whether injury to potential plaintiff was foreseeable.

Question 6

how far does duty of care extend?

Answer 6

originally, could be to many ppl, third parties, many plaintiffs.
- but SCC closed the doors a bit on this, limited to the party that the duty of care was directly for.

Question 7

what establishes causation in professional duty of care?

Answer 7

reliance establishes causation.

- if plaintiff suffers damage due to reliance on negligent advice, liability may follow

Question 8

haig case in negligent misrepresentation?

Answer 8

liability for the tort of negligence was extended to pure economic loss caused by negligent words made my experts

Question 9

negligent misrepresentation to other parties?

Answer 9

yes, responsible to immediate clients + to others who suffer loss because of careless statements.

Question 10

what is negligent misrepresentation?

Answer 10

• careless statement that causes another harm
• errors in advice, statements, reports.
• liable for representations they make.

Question 11

4 parts of negligent misrepresentation need to be proven

Answer 11

1. duty of care
2. standard of care
3. reliance = causation
4. plaintiff suffers loss, injury, damage.

Question 12

what is professional duty of care?

Answer 12

duty of care to client + third parties if representation is within area of professional’s expertise
- foreseeability test

Question 13

what is professional standard of care?

Answer 13

demanded of a professional to reach a standard of reasonable practitioner in that profession.

Question 14

how is causation established in negligent misrepresentation?

Answer 14

reliance = causation (caused injury)

Question 15

damage in negligent misrep?

Answer 15

is plaintiff suffered damage, liability is established.

Question 16

what is fraudulent misrep?

Answer 16

false statement made by anyone

• knowing it to be false
• without belief inits truth
• recklessly, as to whether it is true or false

Question 17

if there’s fraudulent misrep, court imputes what?

Answer 17

intention to mislead

Question 18

3 elements of fradulent misrep?

Answer 18

1. false statement
2. victim acts on the misrep (reliance)
3. victim suffers loss/damage = liability established.

Question 19

how fraudelent + negligent misrep differ?

Answer 19

F: some guilty knowledge, willful disregard. deliberate intent to deceive.

N: requires only breach of standard of care. didn’t intend to suffer loss, but did.

Question 20

what is fiduciary duty?

Answer 20

involves trust, loyalty and good faith.
- act in clients best interest, dont get caught in conflict of interest, dont take advantage of client, respect their confidentiality.

Question 21

adherence to professional code of conduct - breach?

Answer 21

must adhere, if breach = disciplinary hearings, potential loss of the right to practice in the profession.

Question 22

what are professional disciplinary bodies?

Answer 22

self-governing professions, have power to discipline/expel members for misconduct or unskilled practice.

• taken very seriously
• fair hearing provded to members whose conduct is being reviewed

Question 23

what is liability insurance?

Answer 23

coverage in case liability were to occur.

oftentimes coverage is required condition of practice