Elizabeth Boon

Property Damage

Chambers & Partners 2020 – “A wise and analytical advocate. She’s tenacious, combative and very hard-working.” “She has an excellent understanding of technical matters.”

Elizabeth’s experience ranges from acting both as a junior to other members of Chambers to acting in her own right in relation to construction and property damage claims. She is frequently instructed as junior counsel in multi-million pound claims in the TCC, and in addition to such work, Elizabeth advises on and appears at trial in her own right in smaller disputes, especially those relating to domestic construction and maintenance works.

Elizabeth undertakes all areas of property damage work. She deals with coverage, recoveries and defences. She has extensive experience of very large fire claims and disaster litigation. She has been involved in the TCC and Commercial Court multi-million pound litigation arising from major fires. Elizabeth acts for Claimants and Defendants in cases involving damage to property and consequential losses both in relation to primary questions of liability and issues of insurance coverage. Cases involved fires, explosions, floods, landslips, and contamination by oil leakage.

Selected Cases

• Lloyd-Jones v Whirlpool – Elizabeth acted for the Claimant when a fire commenced in a residential flat. The cause of the fire was alleged to be a domestic drying machine. As well as the property damage, two men were killed in the fire. The case was relatively high profile as the coroner was highly critical of Whirlpool’s attitude, and they were requested to attend a Parliamentary Committee hearing where this case was raised.
• Acting for a University in a claim against electrical contractors who were carrying out testing at the University, and failed to switch four freezers back on containing various scientific research including gene clones. The case involves a novel point of law as to how a court would quantify the loss of research material such as gene clones.
• Acting for a roofing contractor in relation to a fire claim at a school. Highly contentious issues as to the various responsibilities between the parties as well as complications due to the fact that the defendant’s insurers had declined indemnity. Counsel managed to negotiate an extremely favourable settlement against a claim pleaded at £1.25m.
• Acting for a sewerage undertaker in relation to alleged subsidence at the Claimant’s riverside premises in Southwark, allegedly caused by defects in the Defendant’s sewer. Highly contentious issues as to whether and in what circumstances the Defendant as the statutory sewerage undertaker can owe the Claimant a duty of care (pursuant to the decision of Marcic v Thames Water).
• Acting for one of a number of Claimants pursuing a well-known car manufacturer for property damage and loss of their vehicles arising out of the well known Zafira fires. The case is relatively high profile, with the particular type of Zafira being subject to two product recalls, and has been the subject of the Parliamentary Transport Committee.
• Acting for global logistics provider in relation to multi-million pound claim in the TCC arising out of fire damage to a large warehouse due to a defective sprinkler system (with Andrew Rigney KC).
• The Hatfield Colliery landslide – Elizabeth acted for a sub-contractor (led by Alex Antelme KC) at the Hatfield Colliery when a significant landslide led to the disruption of the local rail network.
• The Buncefield Litigation – Elizabeth acted as part of the team for Total in defence of the Buncefield Litigation. In particular, Keystone v Total UK Ltd – Elizabeth acted for Total in relation to a claim in excess of £80,000,000 brought by Keystone, the distributor for McDonald’s Restaurants in the UK.

Articles

• Covid-19: Business Interruption insurance, an FCA class action, and the long-tail risks to insurance brokers
• Covid-19: issues for property and business interruption insurers by Elizabeth Boon, Crown Office Chambers

Qualifications

• Major Scholarship, Inner Temple
• BA (Hons) (Oxon)

Memberships

• Adjudication Society
• Commercial Bar Association
• LCIA Young International Arbitration Group
• London Common Law & Commercial Bar Association
• Professional Negligence Bar Association
• Society of Construction Law (UK & Gulf)
• Technology & Construction Court Bar Association