Pankhania v Hackney Borough Council [2002]

Court: High Court

Facts: Hackney Borough Council, the vendor of a car park, stated to the buyer, Pankhania, that the occupier of the car park was a contractual licensee. In reality, the occupier was a protected business tenant. When Pankhania discovered this misrepresentation, he sought damages.

Issue: Whether false statements of law could be actionable for misrepresentation, particularly following the House of Lords decision in Kleinwort Benson Ltd v Lincoln City Council [1996].

Held: The High Court held that the statement that the occupier was a licensee was an actionable misrepresentation. Pankhania was awarded damages under Section 2(1) of the Misrepresentation Act 1967. The court found that the traditional rule excluding misrepresentations of law from being actionable did not survive the decision in Kleinwort Benson Ltd v Lincoln City Council [1996].

💡 Leveluplaw: confirms that false statements of law can be actionable for misrepresentation, especially as the traditional rule excluding such misrepresentations was overturned by the Kleinwort Benson case. This decision aligns with the broader legal shift towards treating misrepresentations of law similarly to misrepresentations of fact.