Alex joined Nockolds in 2011 and is a Legal Director in the litigation team. Before joining the firm, Alex studied law at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and then trained in the City.
Since joining Nockolds, Alex has dealt with a number of commercial, property and professional negligence claims which have involved bringing or defending actions against insurers or acting for clients who find that their insurers have withdrawn cover. Alex has developed a particular interest in insurance-related litigation and examples of his work include the following:
- Acting for the owners of a commercial property who found themselves underinsured in respect of losses arising from business interruption and property damage following a fire which resulted in the death of two occupants. Alex made a successful complaint to the Financial Ombudsman to secure funding for legal representation for an inquest into the fire and concluded a substantial settlement of the client’s professional negligence claim against the broker at a mediation without the need to issue proceedings.
- Defending a component manufacturer in a substantial product liability claim. The Claim arose from the supply of defective gaskets, which were used in radiotherapy machines. After the client’s insurer withdrew cover, Alex obtained a stay in the proceedings brought by the manufacturer of the transformers and commenced proceedings for a declaration that the client’s insurance cover had been wrongfully withdrawn. Both claims settled simultaneously at mediation with a payment being made by the client’s insurer to the manufacturer of the transformers.
- Representing the owner of a company which inadvertently sold counterfeit oxygen monitors to the NHS. The monitors functioned but the client faced an investigation by Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority. The client’s insurance did not cover the claim but the investigation was brought to a conclusion following a period of negotiation without the company or its directors facing any sanction.
- Acting for an individual facing a claim by his insurer for the reimbursement of monies that had been paid to settle a substantial personal injury claim following an accident in which his daughter had crashed a car whilst driving unsupervised with a provisional licence. The case settled for one tenth of the sum claimed on the basis that the insurer could have refused to have made certain payments to the injured party.
- Assisting an insurance broker to defend negligence proceedings that had been issued in Northern Ireland by a former client and construction contractor whose Liechtenstein-based insurer had become insolvent and unable to compensate one of the former client’s employees who had fallen from scaffolding. After arranging to file a defence based upon jurisdiction and the client’s own knowledge of the insurer’s financial position, the parties agreed a settlement.
- Advising a housebuilder in connection with its negotiations with the Building Safety Fund and property management companies regarding uninsured liabilities relating building remediation and the form of contract which the client has been asked to conclude with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Alex is a member of the Property Litigation Association and the London Solicitors’ Litigation Association. Alex is also an accredited mediator (London School of Mediation) and he has successfully used mediation to settle a number of cases without the need for court proceedings.
Alex enjoys engaging with the varied subject matter of his cases and settling cases that might otherwise threaten the financial viability of his clients.