Alethea Redfern

Alethea has growing experience in relation to a range of insurance and reinsurance disputes. She is well-positioned to advise on construction, breach of claims conditions, and avoidance. Much of Alethea’s court work involves insurers, including subrogated recoveries and defending liability claims both against the insurer and the insured.

As well as her own cases, pupillage seats with Richard Sage and Carlo Taczalski mean that Alethea is comfortable with a wide range of insurance and reinsurance issues.

Examples of her current and recent work include:

• Advice on the prospects of successfully invoking fraud in relation to a suspect insurance claim submitted by livestock farmers with a history of similar claims.
• Advice on the prospects of successfully defending a claim for business interruption losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in FCA v Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd [2021] UKSC 1 (as a pupil).
• Advice on the prospects of successfully overcoming a Berni Inns [1985] 3 All E.R. 473 defence in a claim for property damage caused by an outbreak of fire (as a pupil).
• Research for Andrew Rigney KC on whether a clause excluding coverage for “intentional” breaches of intellectual property would also exclude liability for a reckless breach (as a pupil).
• Drafting a skeleton argument in a substantial dispute concerning a Qatar-based insurer’s entitlement to indemnification under two reinsurance contracts against the risk that certain construction bonds it had issued would be called upon (as a pupil).

Alethea is a member of the London Common Law and Commercial Bar Association.

Alethea has growing experience in relation to a range of insurance and reinsurance disputes. She is well-positioned to advise on construction, breach of claims conditions, and avoidance. Much of Alethea’s court work involves insurers, including subrogated recoveries and defending liability claims both against the insurer and the insured.

As well as her own cases, pupillage seats with Richard Sage and Carlo Taczalski mean that Alethea is comfortable with a wide range of insurance and reinsurance issues.

Examples of her current and recent work include:

• Advice on the prospects of successfully invoking fraud in relation to a suspect insurance claim submitted by livestock farmers with a history of similar claims.
• Advice on the prospects of successfully defending a claim for business interruption losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in FCA v Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd [2021] UKSC 1 (as a pupil).
• Advice on the prospects of successfully overcoming a Berni Inns [1985] 3 All E.R. 473 defence in a claim for property damage caused by an outbreak of fire (as a pupil).
• Research for Andrew Rigney KC on whether a clause excluding coverage for “intentional” breaches of intellectual property would also exclude liability for a reckless breach (as a pupil).
• Drafting a skeleton argument in a substantial dispute concerning a Qatar-based insurer’s entitlement to indemnification under two reinsurance contracts against the risk that certain construction bonds it had issued would be called upon (as a pupil).

Alethea is a member of the London Common Law and Commercial Bar Association.

Alethea is developing a practice in construction and engineering law, building on experience gained as a pupil during supervisions with Carlo Taczalski and Richard Sage.

Examples of her work in this area include:

• Advice and drafting the Defence for an architectural designer in response to allegations that drawings produced for a Planning and Building Regulation application were prepared negligently.
• Advice on the prospects of a construction company successfully defending a claim for liquidated damages for alleged delays to a scheme of maintenance and public sector dwellings for Lewisham Council, in light of a settlement agreement and Deed of Variation (as a pupil).
• Drafting a skeleton argument on behalf of the respondent to an application to enforce payment of the remainder of a judgment sum in a high-value construction dispute, on the basis of a real prospect of disputing jurisdiction (as a pupil).

She is a member of the Technology and Construction Bar Association.

Alethea welcomes instructions across a broad range of commercial disputes, including sale of goods, contracts for services, agency, bailment, and debt claims. She benefits from experience gained as a pupil during supervisions with Carlo Taczalski and Richard Sage.

Examples of her recent and current work include:

• Drafting a Defence and strike-out application in relation to a claim against a director of a company in liquidation.
• Assisting Jason Evans-Tovey (leading Michele De Gregorio) with preparations for a trial concerning a petition for relief under Part 30 of the Companies Act 2006 on the grounds of unfairly prejudicial conduct of the affairs of a family-owned car company (as a pupil).

Alethea is a member of the Commercial Bar Association.

Alethea has a growing property damage practice. She is regularly instructed to provide drafting, advice and representation in relation to a range of scenarios including fire damage, storm and flood damage, water ingress issues, and defective design and building work.

Examples of her recent work include:

• Advising the owner and occupier of a property on the prospects of successfully bringing claims against the property developer and a drainage surveyor in respect of damage caused by a waste water ingress problem.
• Successfully defending a charitable trust for the preservation and restoration of historic English canals, operated by volunteers and funded by the public, against a claim for property damage brought by a local dog-walker.
• Drafting a Particulars of Claim relating to a fire at a residential treatment facility which resulted in several million pounds of damage, reinstatement, reputation damage, and rehousing costs for displaced patients (as a pupil).
• Drafting a Particulars of Claim against a plumber for alleged breaches of implied terms under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Defective Premises Act 1972 resulting in a flood and property damage (as a pupil).

Alethea welcomes instructions relating to product liability. She has experience of product liability disputes in contract, tort, and under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, and in both industrial and consumer contexts.

Examples of her recent work include:

• Advice on the prospects of pursuing claims for breach of contract, negligence or under the Consumer Protection Act against the manufacturer and distributor of an electrical component, the parent company, and the installing electrician (as a pupil).

Alethea’s personal injury practice focuses on road traffic accidents, employer’s liability, and occupier’s liability, in relation to which she has conducted a number of successful strike-out applications.

As well as her own cases, Alethea gained personal injury experience as a pupil for Alexander Macpherson during the “practising” six months of her pupillage. She has assisted other members of Chambers with a variety of personal injury matters, including in relation to secondary psychiatric injury, occupiers’ liability, industrial and occupational diseases, and drafting schedules and counter-schedules.

Examples of her recent work include:

• Advising a defendant bus company on the most appropriate procedural course of action in response to a claimant passenger’s late service of the Particulars of Claim and medical evidence.
• Defence, counter schedule and advice in relation to a case of alleged acoustic shock, tinnitus and hearing loss, including consideration of whether vicarious liability would be established against a further education college for a student (as a pupil).
• Defence and advice on whether a strike-out application might be appropriate in relation to a claim for psychiatric injury brought by a secondary victim (as a pupil).

She is a member of the Personal Injury Bar Association.

Before commencing pupillage, Alethea gained experience as a researcher and reviewer for the team representing the largest group of survivors and victims’ families involved in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

During pupillage, she built on that experience by attending inquests with Mike Atkins and independently on behalf of interested parties and third parties.