Lynden Wellesley

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

An attorney acting for a vendor accepted a deposit and prepared a sale agreement with the Complainants (a young couple buying their home), then, on his client's instructions, pursued a rival second sale of the same property to overseas purchasers. Without informing the Complainants, he withdrew their agreement from the Stamp Office and rushed through the stamping and registration of the transfer to the second purchasers, defeating the Complainants' equitable interest and depriving them of specific performance. The Committee found him guilty of professional misconduct under Canons V(n), IV(q) and I(b), noting an obvious element of deception, but declined to strike off or suspend as he sought no personal gain. He was ordered to pay restitution of J$35,261.03 with interest, a fine of J$100,000, and costs of J$20,000.

Duties found breached:

• Uphold public trust in the profession
• No conflict between current clients

Aggravating factors:

• Deliberate conduct that made it impossible for the Complainants to preserve their claim to the property
• Deception/misleading of the Complainants by continuing correspondence as if their sale was proceeding while completing a rival sale
• Pushed through registration of the rival transfer with unusual speed before informing the Complainants
• Failed to return the deposit promptly and returned it without full interest

Mitigating factors:

• No personal gain or advancement sought; acting to discharge client's instructions
• Misconduct resulted from an overly blinkered view of duty to client rather than self-interest
• Counsel conceded liability to refund costs and pay interest