Julian Field
- Date of Call: 1980
- Email: field@crownofficechambers.com
General Information
LL.B (King's College London)
CEDR Registered Mediator
Current Practice - Summary
Having begun his career in general common law and personal injury, he quickly developed a commercial practice in the areas of insurance, reinsurance, construction, product liability, contract, commercial fraud and professional negligence. Recent emphasis has been on insurance disputes and large property damage claims based upon tortious or contractual liability. Technical issues feature regularly. He has considerable experience in the conduct of large and complex actions and has a reputation for being "user friendly" and able to work as part of a team. He is frequently led by the commercial silks in Chambers.
He is a registered mediator with both CEDR and ADR Group.
Professional Guide
"Leading Junior" in the fields of Construction and Professional Negligence
(Legal 500 2009)
"Leader at the Bar" in Commercial Dispute Resolution, described as having 'deep-tissue insight into insurance claims'
(Chambers & Partners 2008)
"Leading Junior" in the fields of Construction and Professional Negligence
(Legal 500 2008)
Publications/Seminars
Speaker at Chambers' seminars on insurance issues.
An active promoter of mediation, he has lectured and given seminars on ADR and, in particular, on the role of lawyers (for good and ill) in mediation.
Former contributor to Emden's Construction Law and to Litigation magazine.
Selected Cases
The Buncefield litigation [2009] EWHC 540; [2009]; [2009] EWCH 823. Commercial Court.
Explosion caused by overspill from petrol storage tank. Instructed on behalf of Total in relation to issues in negligence, Rylands v Fletcher, public nuisance, private nuisance and foreseeability of damage. Also primarily responsible for the technical electrical and mechanical issues arising out of failure of the tank gauging and overspill protection systems. (With Andrew Bartlett QC and Alex Antelme)
Instructed in relation to the larger of the quantum claims.
Tate Gallery v Duffy Construction Ltd (No 2) [2007] EWHC 912. TCC
Flooding at the Tate Gallery. Reasonable precautions condition. (With Andrew Bartlett QC)
Tate Gallery v Duffy Construction Ltd [2007] EWHC 361. TCC
Flooding at the Tate Gallery. Co-insurance and construction of contract. (With Andrew Bartlett QC)
BASF v Nu-Way [2007]. TCC (settled)
Product liability. Explosion and fire caused by catastrophic failure of gas booster. (With Michael Harvey QC)
GeoAcoustics v QinetiQ [2006] QBD (settled)
Commercial contract relating to Synthetic Aperture Sonar. Misrepresentation, repudiatory breach and estoppel by convention.
Axa General Insurance v Gottlieb [2005] Lloyd's Rep IR 369. Court of Appeal
Insurance fraud. Claim paid in part by insurers before discovery of fraud. Insurers' entitlement to return of sums paid.
Paine v Catlins [2005] Lloyd's Rep IR 665. TCC
Insurance. Construction of fire policy. (With Andrew Bartlett QC)
Morant v Zurich & Amlin [2005] (settled)
Fire insurance. Misrepresenation, breach of warranty and fraud in the claim.
Midland Mainline v Commercial Union & Eagle Star [2004] Lloyd's Rep 739. Court of Appeal
Insurance. Shut down of rail network following Hatfield derailment. Business interruption and proximate cause. (With Michael Harvey QC)
Midland Mainline v Commercial Union & Eagle Star [2004] LRIR 22. Commercial Court
Insurance. Train operating companies' business interruption cover. (With Michael Harvey QC and Daniel Shapiro)
Southampton FC v Avon [2004] EWHC 571. QBD
Insurance. Whether an injury to professional footballer was the "sole and independent cause" of his inability to continue playing. (With Richard Lynagh QC)
Rhodia (Albright & Wilson) v Biachem [2003] 2 All ER (Comm) 753. House of Lords
Explosion at chemical plant. Contract - misdelivery of goods. (With Andrew Bartlett QC)
INSURANCE AND REINSURANCE
Insurance work is a core speciality. He has very extensive experience of non-marine insurance matters involving policy construction, materiality and inducement in relation to misrepresentation and non-disclosure, breach of warranty and condition, insurable interest, subrogation and coverage generally. He is a specialist in fraudulent claims, especially fire claims and exaggerated loss. Examples of recent insurance work undertaken:
- property; advising insurers on coverage under English master policy and French local policy
- motor; advising insurers on coverage and estoppel in relation to accident in Bermuda
- employers' liability: late notification; brokers' negligence
- motor: fraud in the claim
- fire: fraudulent claims, both arson by the insured and fraud in the claim
Other selected insurance and reinsurance cases:
Gerling v Turner & Newall: multi-million pound coverage and avoidance dispute arising out of the presence of asbestos in buildings in US
Pryke v Gibbs Hartley Cooper: duties of intermediary on a binding authority
BICC v English & American: multi-million pound dispute between insured, insurers and brokers arising out of Stop Loss policy
Reinsurance arbitration: avoidance of Marine Non-Proportional Treaty
Reinsurance arbitration: avoidance of reinsurance contracts; breach of duty by brokers
Harding v Weatherbys: fraudulent claim under bloodstock policy resulting in avoidance of policy; liability of intermediaries to insured
Banque Bruxelles Lambert v Zurich & various Lloyd's syndicates: claims by banks and MIG insurers under Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930 against insurers of John D Wood
NEM v Pan Atlantic: claim by reinsureds under Excess of Loss retrocession contract
Arbitration, East Africa: dispute between insurer and insured as to entitlement to costs of reinstatement following fire at hotel
In addition to insurance and property damage, the following cases give an illustration of the range of other work undertaken:
PRODUCT LIABILITY
County Glazing v Dow Corning Hansil: silicone double glazing sealant
Dalton v Hoechst UK: veterinary pharmaceuticals
Beckwith v W & J Pye: livestock fatalities; contaminated cattle feed
Dowty v Asda and Johnson Wax: fire; defective plug-in air fresheners
Richardson v LRC Products: condom; failure in use; unwanted birth
BASF v NuWay: explosion and fire; defective design of gas blower
CONSTRUCTION
Cannon Bridge Investments v Drake & Skull: claim against contractors for defective workmanship causing flooding of site
Chelverton Properties v Tilbury Douglas Construction: construction of Safeway superstore. Claim by contractor against employer for additional payments
Lancaster Brothers v Stanley Pond: defective design and installation of farm slurry system
Ron Jones v Hall: defective reconstruction and refurbishment of nursing home
re MJ Vekaria Electric - New British High Commission, Nairobi: claim by M&E sub-contractors for additional payment
King v Technology Piling: defective piling work
COMMERCIAL FRAUD
Aziz v Euro-Am: £4.5m fraud on member of Malaysian Royal Family; worldwide injunction; tracing of assets within jurisdiction and abroad
Jamin v Snelgar: £850,000 fraud by accountant on his client; worldwide injunction; applications to commit for contempt of court
Council of Licensed Conveyancers v Atkins: fraud by Licensed Conveyancer on his clients; £1m worldwide injunction; tracing of assets
State Bank of South Australia v Quercus: insurance brokers' fraud; £1.6m injunction
GENERAL CONTRACT AND TORT
Century Oils v Securiguard: fire started by security guard at premises being guarded
Queally v Thames Water & LB of Brent: point of law under Water Industry Act 1991 as to whether liability for escape of sewage is strict
Marson v Turnpike Hill Trust: damage to private trust estate caused by encroachment of tree roots
Beaton Thomas Partnership v Dollar Bay Developments: construction of architects' appointment; whether architects entitled to fees of £500,000
Wain v Sherwood: cause of action estoppel
MEDIATION
He is a CEDR and ADR Group registered mediator and has been mediating since 1998. The range of disputes mediated include insurance, insurance brokers' negligence, commercial contracts, product liability, construction, solicitors' negligence, banking and sale of goods.
