Benjamin David Tisdall

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

The Respondent, a partner and fee earner at Fursdon Knapper, was instructed by clients Dr and Mrs A in a claim against Galliard Developments Ltd. Between May 2018 and April 2020 he misled the clients: by stating on 2 May 2018 that he had lodged a claim in court when he had not; by stating on 11 February 2019 that he had resubmitted paperwork (sent by DX) when this was untrue; and by creating a misleading impression that proceedings had been issued. The Tribunal rejected the Respondent's explanation that his words merely meant work was progressing and found all allegations proved, including dishonesty. The Tribunal refused to admit the hearsay witness statement of Dr A, finding no good reason for his non-attendance and that admission would be contrary to the interests of justice. The Respondent was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs of £19,877.04.

Duties found breached:

• Good faith and courtesy to colleagues
• Honesty
• Integrity
• No conflict between current clients
• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank

Aggravating factors:

• Dishonesty toward vulnerable/elderly clients
• Repeated misleading statements over an extended period (May 2018 to April 2020)
• Failure to correct the clients' misunderstanding once aware