Professional negligence claim dismissed for inordinate and inexcusable delay

Application to dismiss proceedings on grounds of inordinate and inexcusable delay/want of prosecution – plaintiff’s agreed to purchase site and have home built on the site - alleged discrepancy between the original site layout map of property attached to the contract and the Land Registry Approved Scheme map – claimed title acquired was less than that to which they are entitled under the relevant contract for sale – breach of contract - public water and sewer pipes running under and adjacent to the property of which they should have been advised and which they claim has both impeded the development of the property and has seriously devalued the property – explained to the. Plaintiffs that the map attached to the contract was for identification purposes only and that they would only receive title to the lesser area of land shown on the Land Registry Approved Scheme map – plaintiffs entered into the contract - maintain that they were not told that the reason why a portion of the land had to be retained was because of the presence of public water mains and sewers under part of the lands - some additional lands were transferred to the plaintiffs – solicitor’s firm dissolved – plaintiffs refused planning to extend property on the grounds that the proposed development would adversely affect access to a public sewer which ran beneath the adjoining land – proceedings issued seeking damages for negligence and/or breach of contract – initiating letters identified defendants - proceedings were issued against entirely different entities – proceedings issued against a solicitor’s firm with no connection to the events - belief on the part of the plaintiffs’ solicitor that any liability attaching to the defendants would be covered by the insurance cover applicable to their current firm and that accordingly they should be named by reference to those firms – pleadings amended – defendants deleted – summons only served on one defendant - hiatus in the proceedings - applicable law – balance of justice – Prejudice - inordinate and inexcusable delay – periods of delay – law in relation to striking out for delay - no doubt that the delay in prosecuting this claim has been inordinate - delay of ten years in prosecuting a professional negligence suit is simply unacceptable - inordinate delay in this case was of the plaintiffs’ own making - plaintiffs’ claim was deliberately launched for strategic purposes against entities which in fact had no liability to the plaintiff - plaintiffs’ lawyers decided to follow the insurance rather than the liability - balance of justice in this particular case lies in favour of dismissal – claim dismissed on grounds of inordinate and inexcusable delay.