As auditors and other professional advisers brace themselves for a rise in negligence claims some relief is at hand…

On their last day sitting before moving to the new supreme court, the law lords ruled that Moore Stephens was not negligent in failing to uncover a long-running $95 million (£58 million) fraud at Stone & Rolls, a commodity trader it audited from 1997 to 2001. Stone & Rolls was placed in liquidation in 2002 after being successfully sued by a European bank that was a victim of the fraud. The liquidators then sued Moore Stephens to recover those losses in 2006, as it turns out unsuccessfully.

Professionals’ roles in advising and overseeing companies that collapse in questionable circumstances is coming under heavy scrutiny as the recession pulls down the pants of dodgy businesses. This ruling might give a bit of comfort to auditors but the it certainly wasn’t unanimous. Visit the Times for more details.