Introduction

[1] The 1st to 4th plaintiffs purchased a piece of land from the purported owner. It later transpired that the purported owner was not the true owner of the land but a fraudster who impersonated the true owner. Consequently, the plaintiffs failed to acquire title to the land. The plaintiffs sued the solicitors (the 1st defendant) who were acting for the purported owner for damages for breach of warranty of authority to act and for breach of stakeholders duties. The plaintiffs also sued (i) their own solicitors (the 2nd defendant) for negligence, (ii) the Registrar of Titles and the Selangor State Government (the 3rd and 4th defendants) and its officers (the 5th and 6th defendants) for negligence and breach of statutory duties.

[2] After a full trial of the action, the learned judge allowed the plaintiffs claim and apportioned liability against the defendants as follows:

The 1