30 October 2020
Contract – Illegality – Unlawful purpose
The present appeal raised issues as to the application of the new policy-based approach outlined in Patel v Mirza[2017] 1 All ER 191 (Patel) in the context of a claim for negligent breach by a solicitor of his retainer, a concurrent claim in breach of contract and in tort. In Patel, a majority of the Supreme Court had rejected the reliance principle whereby relief was refused to parties who had to rely on their own illegality to establish their case. In its place, the majority adopted a more flexible approach which openly addressed the underlying policy considerations involved and reached balanced judgment in each case, and which also permitted account to be taken of the proportionality of the outcome.