In McClean and others v Thornhill QC [2022] EWHC 457 (Ch) (8 March 2022) the High Court ruled that no duty of care was owed by the defendant to the claimants for professional advice given in relation to film schemes.
The claimants were members of LLPs that were formed for the purpose of participation in the distribution of films. Participation in the LLPs was marketed to potential investors on the basis that they would be entitled to tax relief against their income or capital gains for trading losses that the LLPs were anticipated to make. These were essentially schemes designed to afford tax benefits to high net worth individuals but the schemes failed. HMRC refused the reliefs and eventually made a settlement offer to the investors which all of the claimants accepted. The defendant is an eminent tax barrister. He had been engaged by the promoter of the schemes to provide...
