Daniel has expertise in a range of practice areas since starting his legal career in 2000 and he has a very broad caseload. After moving to Watmores in 2006 from a West Country based insurance practice he quickly established himself as an integral part of the team. Daniel has been closely involved with many of the firm's bigger cases.

Property Damage

Daniel has dealt with and is dealing with a number of claims for property damage. These vary from claims arising in a domestic context to multi-million pound claims for damage to commercial premises arising from failed construction projects.

These claims often fall under the jurisdiction of the specialist Technology & Construction Court (TCC) and Daniel is fully conversant with the TCC guide and the requirements of the Construction & Engineering protocol

Recently Daniel successfully represented a German insurer in a claim for £6m following damage to the new offices of a magic circle law firm. The claim settled in mediation. In 2009 an action to recover insurers outlay concluded in a trial before the presiding Judge of the TCC. Following Judgment insurers recovered in full along with penal interest and indemnity costs. (Siemens Building Technologies Ltd v. Supershield Ltd (2009) TCC).

He has also recently been assisting in a multi-party claim for property damage following the collapse of a crane in South London. The case involves an interesting quantum argument about the cost of rebuilding a Council owned block of flats which had in fact already been earmarked for demolition.

Cntractors all risks (CAR) policies are a feature of construction related litigation and Daniel has given advice on the issues which arise for insurers, particularly in subrogation proceedings where two or more of the parties are co-insureds.

Many claims for property damage include claims for other less tangible losses - in particular business interruption. Daniel has considerable expertise in this area and has recently been defending a claim for loss of rental income following water damage on a holiday caravan park.

Daniel is able to take on subrogated recovery claims under a CFA.

Public Sector Risks

Daniel has acted for public sector clients for over 8 years. He has developed an expertise in relation to officers indemnity claims and these form a significant part of his current case load. Some of these cases relate to alleged errors in local authority planning and land charges departments.

He is currently representing a London Borough in respect of a high profile claim relating to the proposed £16bn Crossrail route and its alleged omission from a local land charges search.

Daniel has also given advice to a local authority about the pitfalls arising where the authority agrees to indemnify council officers engaged as directors of a separate legal entity.

Daniel also successfully represented a local authority in a claim for compensation for breach of procurement regulations following its decision to remove a contractor from their list of approved tenderors following a dispute over fees.

Product Liability

Daniel has been involved in a number of product liability claims. In particular, he has developed an expertise in the areas of food and cosmetics and deals with both commercial claims and claims under the Consumer Protection Act.

Examples of recent work include:-

A claim arising from an allegedly defective luxury bathroom product marketed by a Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesey (LVMH) company. Had the case succeeded the case would likely have had worldwide product-recall implications. However the Judge held that "…. there was nothing wrong with the product and that Givenchy not only took their responsibilities as regards safety seriously but that, in practice, this is the result that was achieved." (L v. Parfum Givenchy (2008) unreported)
Daniel has subsequently dealt with further claims for the LVMH group and their insurers.

Daniel is currently assisting on a multi-million pound, cross-jurisdiction, product liability claim following a major product recall of houmous from all major supermarkets in the spring of 2007. Liability and quantum are in dispute and a number of arguments are ongoing regarding applicable law and applicable jurisdiction. The case is being coordinated in conjunction with local counsel in Greece along with German and Greek based insurers.

Insurance/Reinsurance

Daniel has many years experience in dealing with complex insurance issues. These cases often require a different approach to the adversarial nature of liability claims and Daniel has a good understanding of the commercial considerations that often come in to play in terms of avoiding damage to the relationship between insurer and insured.

Daniel has been asked to advise directly or has been involved in the provision of advice in key areas such as breach of condition precedent, waiver, late notification, extent of policy coverage and limits of indemnity.

Recently Daniel has provided coverage advice to an insurer as to whether the policy extended to provide cover for product liability in a potential claim for in excess of £5m. Such advice led to a detailed re-consideration of the Bacardi/Pilkington Glass line of authority and its relevance to the present case. The matter was ultimately resolved by agreement between insurer and insured.

In addition, Daniel has been acting for an upper level reinsurer in a dispute with a first-tier insurer as to the impact on future costs of the exercise of a Discharge of Liability Clause (DLC).

In addition to providing policy advice, Daniel has undertaken some recovery work in respect of excess payments and premium adjustment for insurers.

Personal Injury/Casualty

Daniel began his legal career defending personal injury claims and still retains a number of interesting cases. Some examples of cases Daniel has recently been involved in are set out below.

The in-service murder of a health care assistant (HCA) whilst on duty at a secure mental health ward. The incident formed the basis of a Channel 4 "Dispatches" documentary and was subject to considerable public scrutiny. The claim (by the wife of the deceased) also involved careful analysis of the relevance of Shariah Law and the cultural beliefs of the Muslim family in determining the special damages claim. The case settled on confidential terms following a mediation.

Daniel recently received instructions to defend an unusual claim for damages from a Claimant who is alleged to have contracted bladder cancer whilst working with the chemical Trichlorethylene (TCE).

Before joining Watmores, Daniel assisted in defending Somerset County Council in the landmark stress at work case of Barber v. Somerset County Council in the House of Lords (formerly referred to as Hatton v. Sutherland in the Court of Appeal) which set out the methodology upon which all stress claims are to be assessed. Since then Daniel has retained an interest in stress claims and, more recently, claims under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

Daniel's first solo trip to the Court of Appeal was a personal injury claim - Burgess v. Plymouth City Council (2005).

Health & Safety/Regulatory

Daniel has acted on behalf of insureds in defending prosecutions by health & safety and trading standards.

Recently Daniel represented a client within the LVMH group who were being prosecuted by trading standards for allegedly inflicting chemical burns upon a customer. The action was discontinued mid-way through a magistrates court hearing.

Daniel has advised a London Borough on the FSA implications of setting up an insurance vehicle and offering the benefit of the "fund" to other legal entities in exchange for a premium.

Daniel has written a number of articles for various law journals. He is an affiliate member of ALARM.
He has also spent time on secondment to insurers.

Contact: dturner@watmores.co.uk