EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE

Property damage, professional indemnity and ISR claims

James has acted for leading insurers in relation to hundreds of claims with a heavy focus on claims arising from damaged or defective buildings, and failed machinery. In particular, James advises on:

• complex multi-party disputes involving damage to domestic and commercial properties
• claims involving complex construction machinery
• claims made on ISR, property damage, business interruption and contractors all risk policies
• claims against building professionals including architects, engineers, building surveyors and head contractors.

Strata claims

James has advised numerous owners corporations and their insurers in relation to complex defect claims (including flammable cladding, cracked render, fire separation defects, leaking balconies and planter boxes; water ingress to car parks and calcification to swimming pools), policy coverage issues and recoveries.

Recoveries

James and his team have conducted thousands of recoveries and recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for insurers in respect of:

• claims under underwriting securities such as deeds of indemnity and bank guarantees
• subrogated recovery actions for insurers under ISR, professional indemnity, property damage and contractors all risk policies
• Water Act claims
• recoveries concerning property damage caused by accidental fire
• recovery actions for owners corporations and strata plans in respect of building defects.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Some notable claims and recoveries James has been involved in include:

• Punt Hill Apartments - Acted for an insurer in a multi-million dollar claim concerning alleged deficiencies in fire protection systems in a serviced apartment building in the Melbourne CBD. The claim raised complex issues regarding compliance with the relevant fire codes
• Flinders Street office fire - Acted for an insurer in litigation concerning a fire in a high rise office building plant switchboard that had caused millions of dollars in damage and involved complex issues of causation. It was settled on favourable terms before hearing
• Commercial Road scaffold collapse - Acted for an underwriter in respect of a scaffold collapse on a work site in Prahran, Victoria which damaged building works and surrounding property and was widely reported in the media
• Owners Strata Plan 63517 (NSW) - Acted for an Owners Corporation in a claim against an engineer who had overseen the construction of a multi-unit development. The client had instructed another firm of solicitors to commence proceedings in the NSW District Court against the engineer but became dissatisfied with their handling of the matter. The client was pessimistic about its prospects when it transferred the file to James and instructed us that it may have been willing to ‘walk away’ from the claim. However, James negotiated a settlement where the engineer paid his client $125,000 plus its legal costs
• Southern Star Wheel - Acted for the head contractor for the construction of the Southern Star Wheel on instructions from its insurer, which experienced serious cracks shortly after it commenced operation. James assisted the head contractor negotiate a favourable settlement of the dispute, which saw it avoid litigation and incur no liability to the operators of the Wheel
• Highpoint Shopping Centre - Advised an insurer in relation to claim by geotechnical engineer in relation to the collapse of piles in a car park of the Highpoint Shopping Centre
• Industrial Park warehouse - Advised an insurer in relation to a $10 million claim concerning cracking in a warehouse slab. The matter was resolved before hearing
• Port Melbourne apartment complex - Acted for an insurer in a $7 million subrogated claim against the head contractor, building surveyor and architect in relation to water ingress defects in an apartment complex in Port Melbourne. The claim was settled before hearing on favourable terms.