Settlement achieved in "Happy Valley" case after 16 years

A settlement has been reached to bring to an end the longrunning saga of the West Lothian homeowners who had no legal title to their properties, the Herald has reported.

The dispute has left a number of purchasers of homes in Happy Valley Road, Blackburn, in legal limbo since 2000. It arose after the builder, Braid Homes, built beyond the ground to which it had title, an error which was not spotted by the various solicitors acting for the house buyers who were affected. Braid Homes became insolvent and the additional ground became a "ransom strip" with the owners attempting to extract a high price to rectify the title.

Various court actions were raised but not concluded, and conflicting professional opinions were obtained as to whether the purchasers' solicitors had been negligent. The affair threatened to bring the Scottish conveyancing system into disrepute and, along with another problem case that arose in Aberdeen, led to the Law Society of Scotland commissioning a report from a former sheriff principal, Edward Bowen, who concluded that more needed to be done to clarify what a house purchaser should expect of their solicitor.

The final outcome has come after eight years during which the insurers underwriting the Society's Master Policy for professional indemnity insurance resisted demands from Crannog, the developers who acquired the site and ultimately went into liquidation. Settlement has been agreed with Crannog's creditors which allows the disputed strip of land to be transferred to the home owners affected. 

The Aberdeen case, which left purchaser Sinclair Brebner without title due to fraudulent conduct by a solicitor, was settled in April this year after a 13 year wrangle, by a payment from the Society's Client Protection Fund.