Swain Mason & Others v Mills & Reeve

In Swain Mason & Others v Mills & Reeve (CA – 23 April) the CA has unanimously dismissed an appeal against the Ch D decision reported at 2011 STC 1177. A company’s chairman and controlling shareholder (S) who was 61 years old overweight and had previously suffered a heart attack sought the advice of a solicitors’ firm with regard to the sale of his shares. Less than three weeks after the sale S died unexpectedly during a hospital operation. S’s daughters and executors subsequently began proceedings against the solicitors alleging that they should have advised S to defer the sale of his shares until after the hospital operation since if he had still held the shares at the time of his death they would have qualified for business property relief and the IHT liability on S’s death would have...