Kieran Ferguson

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

Kieran Ferguson, a junior solicitor at Ashurst LLP, made an insurance claim on 10 April 2022 for a stolen Cannondale Topstone bike that was not covered by his Laka/Zurich policy, then amended the policy 10 minutes after submitting the claim to add the Topstone in an attempt to create retrospective cover. He subsequently made deliberately untrue/misleading statements to insurers on 11 April and 3 May 2022 claiming the policy had been amended before the theft. The Tribunal rejected his claim of genuine belief in multi-bike/value-based cover, found both allegations proved including express dishonesty under the Ivey test, and breaches of Principles 2, 4, 5 and paragraph 1.4 of the Code. The Tribunal found no exceptional circumstances (distinguishing Mohindru), holding the dishonesty was not momentary and personal stressors did not explain the conduct. He was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs of £20,757.00.

Duties found breached:

• Honesty
• Integrity
• Not mislead third parties or opponents
• No conflict between current clients

Aggravating factors:

• Proven and partially admitted dishonesty
• Conduct was not momentary but continued over a period with opportunities to correct
• Deliberate false and misleading statements to insurer on multiple occasions
• Sought to recover losses for a bike that was not insured
• Harm to reputation of the profession and administrative burden on insurer

Mitigating factors:

• No previous disciplinary findings
• Otherwise positive professional record and good character
• Continued employer support (Firm retained him)
• No repetition since 2022
• Expert evidence of low risk of recurrence and not inherently dishonest
• Personal stressors including bereavement (murder of close friend), accommodation difficulties, and shock of witnessing theft
• No retained financial benefit and no financial loss to insurers
• Junior solicitor with limited experience