Business

Six-figure negligence victory leaves retired builder trapped in divorce limbo

Published

1 month ago

February 6, 2026

Mr Barrett won over £130k from Milford Haven firm Price and Kelway in 2022 for negligence, but is still waiting to be paid due to ongoing divorce

A NOW-RETIRED Pembrokeshire builder who won a six-figure professional negligence case against his former solicitors says he has still not received any of the money — almost four years after the court ruled decisively in his favour.

Although the court-ordered sum was paid following the judgment, the funds are now held in a solicitor’s client account and cannot be released due to an ongoing divorce dispute over who is entitled to the money.

David Norman Barrett secured judgment in 2022 after a judge found that failures by the law firm Price & Kelway had caused him to lose the opportunity to pursue a potentially valuable claim against HSBC and HSBC Life.

The court ordered that damages, interest and costs totalling £130,820 be paid, and permission to appeal was refused.

However, despite that victory, Mr Barrett says he has yet to personally receive any payment.

***The court ruled that Price and Kelway Solicitor’s inaction caused a loss of chance for a builder to settle a legal dispute with his bank, HSBC.***

A clear win on paper

The negligence case arose from a failed property development at Ludchurch, near Narberth, where Mr Barrett borrowed money from HSBC in 2007 to purchase land and build two houses.

He later alleged that the bank departed from an agreed funding model, draining development funds prematurely and leaving the project financially unviable. He also claimed that associated life insurance policies were mis-sold.

After years of dispute with the bank — including an unresolved complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service — Mr Barrett instructed Price & Kelway.

He did this after hearing a radio advert for the solicitor’s firm on Radio Pembrokeshire. On November 7, 2012 Mr Barrett had a meeting with Mr Gareth Lewis, a partner in the firm.

“After that date and paying the a large amount in legal fees, progress was slow”, Mr Barrett said.

He added: “I gave Mr Lewis lots of paperwork, but work was not done in a timely fashion”

Proceedings against HSBC were eventually issued too late and struck out as time-barred, court documents show.

In 2022, the court found that the solicitors had failed to properly advise on limitation deadlines and that this negligence caused Mr Barrett a “loss of chance” to pursue or settle his claims.

Damages were assessed at £42,000, with statutory interest and costs bringing the total award to £130,820.

Money paid — but not released

Documents seen by The Herald show that following the conclusion of the case, a portion of the judgment money — £34,405.49 after fees and disbursements — was paid into the client account of Mr Barrett’s own solicitors, Red Kite Law LLP.

However, correspondence confirms that the funds have not been released due to an ongoing divorce between Mr Barrett and his wife, Dianne Carol Barrett, who was also named as a joint claimant in the negligence proceedings.

Red Kite Law has stated in writing that it cannot distribute the money without agreement from both parties, or a court order determining entitlement. The firm has also made clear that it cannot hold client money indefinitely and may ultimately be required to pay the funds back into court if the dispute remains unresolved.

‘This was business money’

Mr Barrett strongly disputes that the judgment award forms part of the matrimonial assets.

He told The Herald that the negligence case related entirely to his work as a self-employed builder and property developer, and that the damages awarded were compensation for business losses.

“This money didn’t arise from our marriage,” he said.

“It arose from my business. I was a sole trader. The claim was about my development project and professional advice I received as a builder.

“It wasn’t family savings or joint income. It was compensation for business losses.”

Mr Barrett says the stress and financial pressure of the prolonged litigation played a significant role in the breakdown of his marriage.

Years of financial strain

Earlier cost breakdowns from the case show that Mr Barrett personally paid more than £16,000 over several years to fund the negligence action, alongside significant unpaid disbursements incurred as the case progressed.

He says the litigation drained his finances long before judgment was handed down and left him struggling even after he technically “won”.

Now reliant on his pension and benefits, he says the continued freezing of the remaining funds has left him in financial limbo.

A legal deadlock

Where competing claims exist over money held in a solicitor’s client account, firms can find themselves acting as stakeholders.

Under professional rules, solicitors may retain funds until entitlement is resolved by agreement or court order, to avoid the risk of releasing money to the wrong party.

Red Kite Law has stated that it cannot advise either Mr Barrett or his wife on the dispute due to a conflict of interest, and has suggested options including a restricted joint account or transfer to a neutral third party — proposals which, to date, have not resolved the deadlock.

Personal cost

Beyond the legal arguments, Mr Barrett says the personal toll has been severe.

“The case broke us,” he said.

“And even after winning, I’m still fighting — this time just to get what the court already awarded.”

No allegation of wrongdoing

The Herald stresses that no finding of wrongdoing has been made against Red Kite Law LLP.

The firm has not been accused of acting unlawfully, and the dispute centres on how the judgment award should be classified and distributed in light of ongoing matrimonial proceedings.

The case raises wider questions about whether winning in court always delivers justice — and how long successful litigants can be left waiting for payment when personal and legal systems collide.

The Herald contacted Price and Kelway for comment at their main email address, but at the time of publication had received no response.

HSBC have also been contacted.

Business

Oil firm praised for putting customers first during price surge

Published

9 hours ago

March 14, 2026

Tom Sinclair

A PEMBROKESHIRE heating oil supplier has been praised by a local customer after choosing to honour its original prices despite a sharp rise in fuel costs.

Sarah Maling contacted The Herald after receiving a delivery from J E Lawrence & Son Ltd, saying the company had prioritised fairness to customers during a period of intense demand.

The customer had ordered around 800 litres of heating oil on March 2 after her tank began running low. However, due to extremely high demand, the company was unable to deliver until Friday (Mar 13). Despite heating oil prices increasing rapidly since the order was placed, the firm honoured the original quoted price and delivered 500 litres instead, ensuring more households could receive some oil.

Sarah said the delivery driver arrived at her home at around 11:30am after already completing 27 deliveries that day.

She said: “Prices have gone insane since I ordered yet they stuck with the quoted price and delivered 500 litres and explained why in the letter.

“This is putting the customer before profit and making sure everyone who needs oil will hopefully get oil at a more affordable price.

“I just wanted it acknowledged that not all delivery companies are out to make a profit but care about their customers – the people of Pembrokeshire.”

The letter included with the delivery explained that distributors across the sector had cancelled existing orders as prices surged last week.

However, the company said it had chosen not to cancel earlier orders and instead decided to limit deliveries so that more customers would receive some fuel.

The letter stated: “We have experienced huge volumes of orders and deliveries are now taking two to three weeks.

“Most distributors cancelled existing orders when prices increased rapidly last week, and those customers had to go to the back of a very long queue with another supplier.

“We have chosen not to do that and your original price has been honoured.”

The company added that limiting deliveries was the only way to ensure all customers could receive oil during the current supply pressures.

It apologised for the inconvenience caused but said the situation was being driven by “a very uncertain climate which is outside our control”.

Business

Legal action backed in case over development at Dinas Cross

Published

17 hours ago

March 14, 2026

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

LEGAL action against a landowner, who repeatedly failed to comply with an enforcement notice served back in 2023, has been backed by Pembrokeshire’s national park.

Members of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park’s March development management committee meeting were asked to back delegated authority for prosecution proceedings in the magistrates’ court for failure to comply with steps required to be taken by an enforcement notice on land to the south of Parc Yr Eglwys, Brynhenllan, Dinas Cross.

A report for the committee said that, in May 2023, the park received a complaint that a green field in the open countryside had been stripped of its vegetation and turned into a mobile home park by the new landowners.

Following a site inspection, a planning contravention notice was served in relation to the removal of hedgebanks/hedgerows, widening of the existing access, alterations to ground levels, construction of a track and the siting of a storage container.

After that, a 2024 retrospective planning application was received by the park seeking retention of the hardstanding area, siting of storage container and additional landscape works, which was refused that May.

“As no voluntary steps were taken to remedy the breach of planning control and no appeal made against the refusal of planning permission, the Authority considered it expedient to issue and serve an Enforcement Notice as the development and use of the land resulted in an unnecessary incursion into the rural countryside which causes a significant visual intrusion to the detriment of the special qualities of the National Park,” the report said.

An enforcement notice was service in January 2025, but, the following month, the landowner lodged an appeal with Planning & Environment Decisions Wales, which was dismissed that June; the enforcement notice taking effect.

A further application, seeking permission for a small-scale seasonal campsite on the land was received in June 2025, subsequently refused that October; officers confirming to the landowner the enforcement notice remained in effect, running through to January 3 of this year.

A site inspection undertaken by officers on January 6 confirmed the breach of planning control continued, the report added.

This was followed by a further planning application seeking to regularise the development on January 21.

That application was refused on March 9.

The report concluded: “The landowner has had multiple opportunities to regularise the development through both retrospective applications and an appeal against the enforcement notice. Those processes have not resulted in permission being granted nor compliance being achieved.

“The continued failure to comply with the enforcement notice undermines the integrity of the planning system and public confidence in its proper operation.

“It also results in an unnecessary incursion into the rural countryside which causes a significant visual intrusion to the detriment of the special qualities of the National Park.

“Officers therefore consider it expedient and in the public interest to pursue prosecution proceedings should the breach remain unresolved.”

Members backed the recommendation.

Business

Tesco B&Q Haverfordwest click and collect pod approved

Published

18 hours ago

March 14, 2026

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS for a B&Q ‘click and collect’ pod at a Pembrokeshire supermarket, to save customers having a make a round trip of nearly 60 miles to the nearest home improvement store, have been approved.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, B&Q Ltd, through agent Pyrke Planning, sought permission to install a modular ‘Click and Collect’ pod, with associated livery and signage, on the access road to Haverfordwest’s Portfield Road Tesco Extra superstore.

The application included a related scheme for signage for the proposal.

A supporting statement said: “This planning application seeks permission for the installation of a Click and Collect pod to be operated by B&Q Limited within the car park of the Tesco Extra store at Portfield Road, Haverfordwest.

“It does not involve any construction but simply the placing of a modular unit within the car park which, together with dedicated collection spaces, will take up 12 parking spaces and be situated within the customer car park.

“B&Q Limited (B&Q) is the UK’s largest home improvement retailer, serving both the general public and tradespeople. It supplies a wide range of DIY, home improvement and garden products, primarily from its stores across the UK but also through its online website.

“The trial of a new fulfilment service – B&Q Collect – in partnership with Tesco, is another step forward in their evolution. It gives customers greater choice over how they collect and return their items and helps make it easier to do their home improvement projects.

“B&Q does not have a store in Haverfordwest, with the nearest outlets being situated in Carmarthen (28 miles), Llanelli (37 miles) and Swansea (46 miles).

“It is consequently proposed to introduce a click and collect option for DIY customers and local tradespeople to allow next day collection of products which it is inconvenient for people to have delivered at home and to remove the need for a minimum c.50-mile plus round trip to one of the established stores.”