Overview
Edwin is a Partner in the London office within the Property Risks and Coverage (PRC) team, specialising in insurance and commercial litigation with a particular focus on high-value property damage and construction-related disputes.
He is regularly instructed on claims arising from fires, explosions, escapes of water and flooding, together with design and construction defects. He acts for insurers and their insureds in defending complex liability claims and pursuing subrogated recoveries, and advises on coverage and indemnity issues across a range of policies, including property owners, CAR/project, public liability and environmental impairment policies.
Edwin has particular expertise in construction and engineering disputes, acting for employers, main contractors and sub-contractors in multi-party matters often involving parallel coverage issues and technical expert evidence, and leads a team of lawyers on such matters. He has extensive experience advising on disputes under standard form construction contracts, including JCT and NEC suites, and is experienced in adjudication, arbitration, litigation, FOS complaints, mediation and other forms of ADR.
In addition to his disputes practice, Edwin leads the PRC Construction Special Interest Group (SIG) and delivers client training and thought leadership on developments in insurance and construction law.
Selected Experience
- Acted for commercial property insurers in a successful multi-million pound subrogated recovery following a duct fire at a recently refurbished restaurant operated by a national pub company, involving complex issues of causation and the proper measure of loss where the insured did not reinstate.
- Advised insurers on complex environmental and coverage issues arising from a major airport car park fire.
- Advised insurers on claims under contractors’ policies concerning alleged defects across a portfolio of residential and mixed-use developments, including potential exposure to liability arising from Building Liability Orders (BLOs).
- Advised insurers under the master policy and global programme of an international geotechnical and piling contractor, including issues concerning the interaction between global and local policies and the application of local law across multiple jurisdictions.
- Acted for the owner and occupier of commercial premises in relation to significant damage and contamination arising during roof replacement and refurbishment works.
- Acted for an M&E sub-contractor following a major escape of water at a landmark London development, successfully pursuing an indemnity claim under the project policy pursuant to the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
- Acted for a housing developer in a claim concerning damage to a gas main caused by piling works on a large greenfield residential development.
- Acted for an M&E sub-contractor in a high-value, multi-party dispute arising from a significant escape of water at a mixed-use development during construction.
- Successfully defended arbitration proceedings on behalf of insurers following declinature of a claim by a main contractor arising from a fire at an army barracks constructed under a PFI contract.
- Acted for CAR insurers in a high-value coverage dispute concerning failure of a paint system on an energy infrastructure project, involving the interaction between the project policy and the contractor’s annual policy.
- Acted for a principal contractor in a multi-party dispute arising from defective piling works at a major supermarket distribution centre.
Outside of work
Edwin is a father of three and enjoys coaching his son’s football team, as well as walking, cycling and reading history.
