A solicitor who accepts instructions from a person purporting to act for registered proprietors to obtain a new Certificate of Title owes a duty of care to the registered proprietors even absent a retainer, but does not owe a duty of care to a mortgagee that lends on the security of the fraudulently obtained certificate where the mortgagee had its own opportunities to detect the fraud. Under proportionate liability, a solicitor's share of liability may be as low as 10% where the primary wrongdoer is a deliberate fraudster. A Justice of the Peace who accepts the identity of signatories based on a long-standing trusted relationship with the person introducing them acts reasonably.
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