Liability for acts and omissions of appointed representatives

The recent High Court decision of Martin v Britannia Life has again highlighted the extent to which a principal financial adviser is liable for the negligent acts or omissions of an appointed representative. John Virgo and Philip Ryley consider this judgment with references to section 44 of the Financial Services Act 1986 and section 39(4) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

In this year’s April edition of Compliance Monitor we looked briefly at the decision of the High Court in Emmanuel & Emmanuel v DBS Financial Management PLC. This was the first reported case to consider the scope of a principal’s liability for the acts or omissions of appointed representatives under section 44(6) of the Financial Services Act 1986 ( now section 39(3) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000). It is now appropriate to revisit this topic in the light of a further recent decision on the ambit of this form of statutory vicarious liability: Martin v Britannia Life Ltd [ 2000 Lloyds Law Reports PN 412 ].