Thank you all for your support. I was a bit apprehensive about sharing, I must confess. But you guys are the best!
Yes, Stan, the legalities are amazing. It still somewhat staggers me that my solicitor can so blatantly screw up and cost me nearly $100K, and not be held responsible. Even though I eventually got the dispensation, the combine drain debacle still cost a bucket in delays and lost rental, and we nearly went bankrupt. Not to mention the intangible costs - to our mental health and our credit rating. But because I'm a legend
and managed to salvage a profit out of this debacle, the court takes the view that that's a profit I wouldn't have had if my solicitor had done his job properly, and hence even though he was negligent, I have zero damages and he owes me nothing.
My intuitive response was "yes, but I would have had a
bigger profit if my solicitor hadn't screwed up", but I understand now this is the difference between contract law and tort law. In other words, if the vendor - who we had a contract with - had told us there was no combine drain, then we'd have a cause of action against them for the extra costs. But the laws covering damages attributable to third parties to the contract are covered by torts, and it's a different standard for measuring damages.
Anyway, the whole debacle is also outlined, with pictures, in API magazine's "Our Property Nightmare" in the April edition. A dubious honour, that one!!!! I'm hoping to "move up" to a different section if ever I make it into the magazine again!
