Professional negligence claim against a lawyer for failure to register an apartment in the Land Registry

It is important to know that the handling of a professional negligence claim against a lawyer for failure to register an apartment in the land registry can certainly take more than a year, and often more than two years.

Before serving Professional negligence claim Against a lawyer for failing to register an apartment in the land registry, it is worth trying to contact the lawyer who was negligent and try to reach a compromise with him. compromise You will not necessarily receive full compensation for the damages you suffered, but you will save a lot of time, nerves, and most importantly, a lot of money because you will not have to pay attorney fees to another attorney to represent you.

If you are unable to reach a compromise, there will be no choice but to file a lawsuit. It is important not to rush to file a lawsuit with the court, but to gather all the data and evidence, and if something is missing that might prove your claims, it is worth making an effort to obtain the relevant evidence before filing the lawsuit.

For example: If the lawyer promised you in writing that he handled the registration of the property in your name in the land registry, make sure to locate this correspondence and even back it up so that it is not deleted. If the lawyer promised you this during a telephone conversation, check whether the conversation was recorded.

If you see that the lawyer does not complete the registration of the apartment in your name in the Land Registry for many months, or even for a longer period of time, it is very worthwhile to contact a lawyer to ensure that the registration in the Land Registry is completed, and then claim the fees you paid to the other lawyer from the lawyer who was negligent.

Before filing a professional negligence claim against a lawyer for failure to register an apartment in the land registry, it is very important to consult with a lawyer who deals with professional negligence and has filed cases in the past. Lawsuit against a lawyerThis is an area that requires familiarity with the relevant case law and legislation, and not every lawyer will be able to represent you well in this area.

Statement of Claim: Professional negligence claim against a lawyer for failure to register an apartment in the Land Registry

Regarding:

The plaintiff: שם ושם משפחה, ת"ז: ____________
_______________ Street 
Tel: ________________ 
ע"י עוה"ד אדי בליטשטיין (מ.ר. 60023)
13 HaHagana St., Rishon LeZion (Yaron Miller Tower, Office 501) 
Tel: 03-6427876; Fax: 077-4704697;

N G D

Defendants: 1. שם ושם משפחה, ת"ז: _________________
Address and contact information 

Claim

Essence of the claim:  real estate – Another.
Requested remedies: פיצוי כספי בסך 1,064,266 ש"ח.
Court fee amount: 26,606.65 ש"ח (13,303.33 ש"ח במועד זה לפי תקנה 6(א) ופרט 1 לתקנות בתי המשפט (אגרות), תשס"ז -2007).
The existence of an additional procedure: As far as the plaintiff is aware, there is no additional proceeding relevant to the disputes between the parties detailed in this statement of claim.

Summons

Since the plaintiff has filed this lawsuit against you, you are invited to file Statement of defense within sixty days From the date this invitation was presented to you.

Please note, if you do not submit Defense אזי לפי תקנה 130 לתקנות סדר הדין האזרחי, התשע"ט-2018, תהיה לתובעת הזכות לקבל A verdict not before you.

The emphasis in the statement of claim is not in the original unless otherwise noted.

A concise description of the litigants

1. The plaintiff is a private individual who purchased an apartment in the city of _______ from defendant 1.
2. As far as the plaintiff knows, the 1st defendant is a private individual. The 1st defendant sold the plaintiff an apartment _______ on August ___________.
3. Defendants 2-3 are lawyers who were appointed by the plaintiff and defendant 1 for the purpose of registering ownership of the apartment in the plaintiff's name.

The reliefs requested in brief

• The Honorable Court is hereby requested to grant the plaintiff the following reliefs:
• The defendants are charged, jointly and/or separately, in the amount of 448,200 NIS, which constitutes the average of the monthly rent that the plaintiff lost between the periods ____________ (5400 NIS multiplied by 83 months). In this regard, see Appraiser's opinion below.
• The defendants are charged, jointly and/or separately, in the amount of 315 thousand shekels, which constitutes the difference in the cost of renovating the property in the month of _________ compared to the month of __________. In this regard, see the appraiser's opinion below.
• Charge Defendant 1 in the amount of NIS 93,500 plus interest and linkage from ___________ until the date of the judgment, for agreed compensation stipulated in the agreement.
• חיוב הנתבעים, ביחד ו/או לחוד, בגין תשלומי ארנונה_____________, בסך 17,886 ש"ח.
• The defendants' liability, jointly and/or severally, for The anguish of the soul incurred by the plaintiff, in the amount of 100 thousand shekels.
• The defendants' liability, jointly and/or severally, forAttorney's fees In the amount of 82,600 for the purpose of conducting this procedure.
• The defendants are charged, jointly and/or separately, with the appraiser's fees, for which the plaintiff paid, in the amount of 7080 NIS.
• To sections 4(a), 4(b), 4(d), 4(f), and 4(g) it is requested that interest and linkage be added from the date the claim is filed until the date of actual payment.
• Granting any other relief as the Honorable Court may deem fit.

Summary of the facts necessary to establish the cause of action and when it arose

• On _________, Defendant 1 and Plaintiff signed an agreement to sell/purchase an apartment in the city of _______, for a total of ________ thousand shekels.
• According to Section 6.1 of the agreement, Defendant 1 undertook to register the property in the plaintiff's name by __________.
• According to Section 7.1 of the agreement, Defendants 2-3 were appointed to be the attorneys of the plaintiff and Defendant 1 for the purpose of the agreement and for the purpose of handling the transfer of rights and their registration at the Land Registry in the plaintiff's name.
• Years have passed and despite repeated requests from the plaintiff and/or someone on her behalf, the defendants have not acted and/or have not completed the registration of the property in the plaintiff's name.
• התובעת נאלצה לשכור _________ את שירותיה את עוה"ד __________ על מנת שתבצע את הרישום על שמה, ואכן, בזכות עבודתה המאומצת של עוה"ד __________ רישום הנכס על שמה של התובעת הושלם ביום ___________.
• The plaintiff sent a warning letter to the defendants prior to filing this lawsuit. The defendants did not bother to respond. The warning letter, and not even to the reminder sent to Defendant 2.
• Under these circumstances, the plaintiff was left with no choice but to file this lawsuit.

The facts that give the court jurisdiction

1. The Honorable Court has the authority to hear the claim in light of its nature, the amount of the claim, the defendants' place of residence and the location of the property that is the subject of the claim, in accordance with Regulation 7(a) of the Civil Procedure Regulations.

Details of the allegations

1. The plaintiff owns ___________.
2. בתאריך ______ הנתבע 1 והתובעת חתמו על "הסכם למכירת נכס הרשומה בטאבו", שמהותו רכישת דירה ______ על ידי התובעת, תמורת סך של _____ אלף שקלים.

Appendix 2: "הסכם למכירת נכס הרשומה In taboo" שנחתם על ידי התובעת והנתבע 1 ביום _______.

1. Section 6.1 of the agreement states as follows:

"בכפוף לקבלת כל האישורים שבאחראיות הקונים, המוכרים מתחייבים, Register the property by _______ in the buyers' name (להלן "Registration date"), Register and transfer all ownership rights in the property in the buyers' name at the Land Registry Office, with the property free from any debt, lien, encumbrance, mortgage, leasehold right, right of possession and/or any other right in favor of a third party. למעט משכנתא של הקונים."

1. Although the plaintiff maintained her share in accordance with the agreement (and none of the defendants ever claimed otherwise), the property was not registered in the plaintiff's name for years, until ________.
2. Section 7.1 of the agreement states as follows:

"הצדדים ממנים בזה את ______________ (below and above) "עו"ד") להיות באי כוחם לצורך הסכם זה ולצורך הטיפול בהעברת הזכויות ורישומן בלשכת רישום המקרקעין בנכס על שם הקונים."

1. The plaintiff and/or her family members have contacted the defendants and the secretary of defendants 2-3 countless times over the years to find out why the registration was not completed. Despite this, the defendants continued to drag their feet and did not complete the process of registering the property in the plaintiff's name.
2. Near the time of purchasing the property, the plaintiff decided to carry out renovations in the apartment. The plaintiff's plan was to begin the renovations, and after the property was registered in her name, to take out a significant loan from the bank against the mortgage of the apartment to the bank, in order to ensure repayment of the loan, and to complete the comprehensive renovations in the apartment using the loan funds.
3. What actually happened was that the plaintiff began renovating the apartment, Which became uninhabitable following the start of the renovation (see the appraiser's opinion attached above), And she was unable to complete the renovation because the apartment was not registered in her name by the date written in the agreement, nor shortly thereafter, and therefore the bank did not agree to give the plaintiff a loan. (Because the apartment could not be mortgaged in favor of the bank, since at that time the plaintiff did not yet own the apartment).
4. The plaintiff and/or her family members contacted the plaintiffs many times regarding this matter, And they pointed out to them that the plaintiff had begun the renovation and was unable to finish it, because the apartment was not registered in her name and she could not take out a loan to continue financing the renovation. Despite this, the defendants did not act as they had promised, and continued to drag their feet.
5. As can be seen from the screenshot attached below, the plaintiff's brother in one case contacted the secretary of defendants 2-3 and emphasized once again the urgency of completing the registration so that a loan could be taken from the bank and the renovation completed.
6. The screenshot also shows the response of a representative of Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, who emphasized that until the registration is completed and the property is formally owned by the plaintiff, Nor will execution liens be removed. (Another matter that the defendants had to address and not treated), it will not be possible to examine the plaintiff's application for a loan.

Appendix 3: Response from a representative of Mizrahi Tefahot Bank dated ______.

• It should be emphasized that the plaintiff also tried to take out loans from third parties, but no one else agreed to lend her the amounts of money required to complete the renovation.
• In the circumstances that arose, the plaintiff was forced to live with her daughter, in her mother's house, In a small roomIn other words, not only was the plaintiff unable to rent out the apartment, but she was also unable to live in the apartment she purchased with her daughter, in order to minimize her damages. The mental anguish caused to the plaintiff (and her daughter) is immense.
• בחודש _________, לאחר שהתובעת ראתה שהנתבעים לא מבצעים דבר לצורך רישום הנכס, על אף הבטחות חוזרות ונשנות לטפל בכך, התובעת שכרה את שירותיה של עוה"ד __________, מכיוון שהתובעת הבינה שהנתבעים לא מתכוונים ו/או Cannot and/or do not know how to complete the registration of the property in her name.
• Strangely, הנתבעים 2 – 3 לא שיתפו פעולה עם עוה"ד __________ וזו נאלצה לפנות אליהם ו/או למזכירתם שוב ושוב בבקשות למתן מסמכים ו/או מידע שנמצא ברשותם, לצורך השלמת פעולת הרישום, Among other things, she also handled the cancellation of enforcement proceedings by virtue of which a lien was imposed on the plaintiff's property.. כאמור, כל מה שעשתה עוה"ד _________ היה על הנתבעים לבצע לפני שנים רבות.
• לבסוף, בתאריך ___________ עוה"ד __________ הצליחה להשלים את פעולת הרישום.

Appendix 4: Document dated __________ signed by the Land Registrar, confirming the registration of the property in the plaintiff's name.

• A few days after the registration of the property in the plaintiff's name was completed, she received approvals in principle for loans totaling 500,000 shekels from Discount and Leumi banks, and the plaintiff is currently negotiating the interest rates and the terms of the mortgage.

Appendix 5: Approvals in principle for granting a mortgage from Discount and National Banks from __________.

• בתאריך __________ נשלח לנתבעים בדוא"ל ובפקס מכתב התראה לפני נקיטת הליכים משפטיים. בהעדר מענה נשלחה תזכורת ביום _________. ב"כ התובעת קיבלת מהנתבע 2 אישור קריאת הודעת הדוא"ל, אך לא התקבל מענה לגופו של עניין.

Appendix 6: פניות ב"כ התובעת לנתבעים בדוא"ל ובפקס.

• ב"כ התובעת אף ניסה להתקשר למשרד הנתבעים 2 – 3 אך לא היה מענה.
• פרק הזמן הארוך שחלף בין מועד חתימת ההסכם, לבין המועד האחרון שנקבע בהסכם לצורך השלמת פעולת רישום הנכס על שמה של התובעת, לבין המועד שבו הנכס נרשם בפועל על שמה של התובעת (אך ורק בזכותה של עוה"ד _________, ולא הנתבעים) מעיד על הפרת ההסכם באופן יסודי, ומקים חזקה בדבר רשלנות הנתבעים 2 – 3, אשר גרמה נזקים לתובעת.
• This issue has previously been addressed in case law:

" The conceptual duty of care owed by a lawyer representing a buyer in a purchase transaction An apartment imposes on him the basic obligation of registering the apartment in the buyer's name, otherwise the latter is liable to have his rights and legal status as a buyer of immovable property violated, and damage caused as a result.A reasonable attorney would have foreseen the occurrence of damage due to the failure to register a real estate property purchased by the buyer he represents, especially in those cases where the parties to that transaction (the seller and the buyer) fulfilled their full contractual obligations thereunder.

…

A lawyer must use reasonable professional skill to protect the rights of his clients.במסגרת זו עליו להכין ללקוחותיו חוזה אשר יבטיח את זכויותיהם על הצד המועיל ביותר. כך למשל, עליו לדאוג כי תופיע בחוזה הוראה המבטיחה את לקוחו הקונה כנגד התחייבות המוכרים לבצע תשלומים שונים, שיהיו תנאי מוקדם לאפשרות העברת המכר לקונה. דבר זה ניתן להיעשות אם ע"י עיכוב כספים ששילמו הקונים על חשבון המחיר ואם בדרך אחרת(ע"א 554/84Mazor v. Arieli, פד"ע מה(1) 374). Likewise, a lawyer whose services are hired to handle a real estate transaction cannot place his trust in the client to properly handle the transaction (in whole or in part) on his behalf., אלא עליו לדאוג בעצמו (או ע"י מי מטעמו) לכל הטיפול, מתחילתו ועד סופו.

Indeed, in every transaction that a lawyer handles and receives a fee, he is the one who bears full professional responsibility for conducting the tests on time. The client is entitled to receive full information from the lawyer on time, since for this purpose he turned to a professional and was not satisfied with his own knowledge (on this matter see: ת"א 40530/99David N. Aharon [published in Nevo] (28.05.00); and ת"א 2701/04עזבון המנוח בלצקי ולדימיר ז"ל נ' יאמפולסקי אלנה [פורסם בנבו] (2.3.10)).

…

Court rulings have recognized the duty of care imposed on lawyers dealing with real estate agreements., especially in the sale and purchase of residential apartmentsIn this case, both parties to the transaction place their trust in the lawyers representing them in the transaction, because they will perform the essential actions to secure the client's rights, such as payment of the consideration, checking the details of the registration of rights at the Land Registry Office and another appropriate institution, as the case may be (the Planning and Building Committee, the appropriate engineering department, Israel Land Administration, etc.), Transfer of clean rights to the purchaser and registration of the transfer of rights within a reasonable time.

סטנדרט ההתנהגות הדרוש מעורך דין המייצג לקוח בעסקת מכר מקרקעין אינו כשל אדם סביר, אלא כשל "עורך דין סביר המטפל בעסקת מכר מקרקעין". משכך, עליו לפעול עבור לקוחו כאיש מקצוע מיומן וזהיר ולפעול לטובת שולחו בנאמנות ובמסירות. על כן, חובת הרישום של העסקה על שמו של הקונה היא מאבני היסוד של חובת עורך הדין המייצג קונה כלפי לקוחו, בהעדר חריגים לכך.

…

It is undeniable that the registration of rights has an important status.. בהקשר זה נקבע בפסיקה, כי על הקונה לשכלל את רכישתו ברישום (רע"א 2297/95בא כוח היועץ המשפטי לממשלה במשרד האפוטרופוס הכללי נ' הרטפלד, פ"ד מט (3) 863(1995)). על כן, במהלך חיי העסקה נחוץ שלב בו יירשם המוכר במרשם כבעל הזכות, וזאת כדי שיוכל להעביר את הזכויות הרשומות על-שמו לקונה (הבא בתור).

…

לא אחת נפסק, כי משנרשמה הערה, העיד תוכנה רק על דבר קיומה של התחייבות לערוך עסקה(ע"א 624/13[פורסם בנבו] הנ"ל). At this stage, the registration process, including everything it requires, is the sole responsibility of the lawyer..

אחריות זו של עורך הדין חוסה גם על תשלום דמי הטיפול והגשת מסמכים רלוונטיים לחברה המשכנת, לשם ביצוע רישום הזכויות. בעניין זה, יפים הדברים שנפסקו בע"א 751/89Mushapour v. Shohat, פ"ד מ"ו (4) 529 ולפיהם"עורך דין אינו דומה לכותב בקשות. When a client entrusts his case to him, the client should not be expected to know for himself, in any case, what issues require examination. The lawyer's professional expertise should serve him and his client in identifying everything that requires examination.".

See: ת"א 52659-12-17 ודים סמולקין נ' עו"ד מיכאל קפלן (Published in Nevo, April 28, 2021).

• עיון בפסיקה יגלה כי עיכוב ברישום הנכס על שם הקונה במשך שנתיים "בלבד" נחשב כבלתי סביר:

"The delay in registering the plaintiffs' rights in the Land Registry was a prolonged and unreasonable delay that lasted two years.Despite the defendant's attempt to rely on the strikes that were taking place in the economy at that time, this does not justify the very long period during which the registration was not completed.."

See: ת"א 5623/09 ניעמה עבד אל מועטי זגייר ואח' נ' עו"ד איברהים נסאר (Published in Nevo, 7.5.2012).

• בענייננו, כאמור, הרישום הושלם לאחר כשבע שנים לאחר ביצוע העסקה, וגם זאת, אך ורק בזכותה של עוה"ד ______.
• After completing the registration of the property in the plaintiff's name, the plaintiff hired the appraiser Mr. Roy Banai to provide an opinion regarding her damages. The opinion was delivered to the plaintiff in the month of ______, and for this the plaintiff paid a total of 7080 NIS.

Appendix 7: Appraiser's opinion and tax invoice for the amount of 7080 NIS.

Plaintiff's damages

Loss of decent monthly rent

• A review of Section 10 of the Appraiser's Opinion will reveal that in the month of ______ (last date for registering the property in the plaintiff's name, in accordance with Section 6.1 of the Contract Agreement) the rent due for the plaintiff's property amounted to ______ NIS, and in the month of _________ (date of completion of the registration of the property in the plaintiff's name) the rent due for the plaintiff's property amounted to __________ NIS. On average, this is In a monthly amount In the amount of __________ NIS, which the plaintiff lost over 83 months = 448,200 NIS.
• It should be emphasized that during 2024, in light of messages she received from defendants 2-3, it appears that the registration process is about to be completed soon. The plaintiff assumed that she would finally be able to take out a loan from the bank and finish renovating the apartment.
• For this reason, on __________, the plaintiff signed a rental agreement with Mr. ________, who agreed to rent the apartment for 24 months, starting on ________, for a total of _________ shekels per month.
• As stated above, the registration of the apartment was not actually completed and the plaintiff was forced to cancel the rental agreement. Fortunately for her, Mr. ______ understood the situation the plaintiff found herself in and did not take legal action against her for canceling the agreement.

Appendix 8: Rental agreement with Mr. _________.

• The amount of rent that Mr. _______ was willing to pay for renting the property is consistent with what is stated in the appraiser's opinion.

Gap in renovation costs

• A review of the appraiser's opinion will reveal that another issue the opinion dealt with was the gap between the cost of renovating the property in the month of _______ compared to the month of _________. The gap amounts to 315 thousand shekels.
• In other words, in light of the defendants' failures and negligence, the plaintiff will be forced to pay hundreds of thousands of shekels more to renovate the property today. The defendants must bear this amount.

Compensation agreed upon in the agreement

• Section 12 of the agreement deals with agreed compensation. In that section, the violation of Section 6 of the agreement (the section dealing with the date on which Defendant 1 will register the property) was determined to be a fundamental violation. In accordance with the provisions of Section 12, a violation that is a fundamental violation entitles the injured party to compensation equal to 10% of the consideration. The consideration for the apartment was determined to be ________ thousand shekels, and therefore, the plaintiff is entitled to receive from Defendant 1 a sum of ___________ NIS as compensation without proof of damage. This amount must be supplemented with interest and linkage from ________ (last date for registering the property) until the date of the judgment.

Attorney's fees for representing the plaintiff in this lawsuit

• Before filing the lawsuit, the plaintiff sent a warning letter to the defendants. Despite this, the defendants did not bother to respond to it and/or compensate the plaintiff in any way.
• בנסיבות אלה התובעת נאלצה לשכור את בא כוחה לצורך ניהול הליך זה, תמורת שירותיו שילמה התובעת סך של 82,600 ₪ כולל מע"מ.

Appendix 9: Tax invoices indicating payment of fees to the plaintiff's attorney for the purpose of conducting this proceeding.

• In the circumstances described above, this amount must be imposed in full on the defendants.

Payment of property taxes

• As stated above, because the apartment was in an uninhabitable condition, and the plaintiff was unable to obtain a loan from the bank to complete the renovation of the apartment, Following the defendants' failure to register the apartment in the plaintiff's nameThe apartment stood like a stone, unmovable.
• למרות זאת, במשך שנים אלה התובעת נאלצה לשלם סך של _________ ש"ח בגין ארנונה. התובעת סבורה כי תשלום זה יש להשית על הנתבעים בגין מחדליהם.

Appendix 10: References for payment of property taxes.

Compensation for mental anguish

• As a result of the defendants' failures, the plaintiff suffered tremendous emotional distress. The plaintiff purchased an apartment with the best of her money that was not registered in her name for over 7 years, and as a result, it was not possible to complete the renovation.
• The plaintiff was denied the opportunity to rent out the apartment and rent an alternative apartment for herself. The plaintiff was also denied the opportunity to minimize her damages and live in the apartment instead of renting it out to third parties.
• As a result, the plaintiff and her daughter were forced to live with her mother all these years, In a small room which was available at the mother's house.
• Under these circumstances, the plaintiff was caused tremendous emotional distress, and the defendants must compensate the plaintiff for this. In the plaintiff's opinion, the appropriate amount for this head of damage is no less than 100,000 shekels.

In conclusion

• In light of all of the above, the Honorable Court is hereby requested to summon the defendants to a hearing before it and to rule as follows:
• the remedies detailed in this statement of claim.
• לחייב את הנתבעים בתשלום הוצאות משפט ושכר טרחת עו"ד בתוספת מע"מ.
• To grant any other relief that the Honorable Court deems appropriate in the circumstances of the case.

_______________
עו"ד אדי בליטשטיין
ב"כ התובעת