Elizabeth Boon

Property Damage

Elizabeth’s experience ranges from acting both as a junior to other members of Chambers (often as part of a larger team) to acting in her own right in relation to multi-million pound construction and property damage claims in the Technology and Construction Court (TCC).

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. 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, and often involve highly technical issues including extensive expert evidence on causation, and a detailed understanding of how a particular product works.

Selected Cases

Elizabeth is currently instructed by a major construction company in relation to various cladding litigation arising out of the use of insulation products. The claims involve detailed considerations of the applicable Building Regulations, a technical understanding of fire spread arising due to different types of insulation materials, and are likely to involve the new and novel remedies under the Building Safety Act.

Elizabeth is also currently working for a company providing pressure washers said to have caused a major fire on an industrial estate. The case involves both fire experts and materials scientists, as one of the issues involves the possible effect of sodium on the refractory material and the metal components.

Elizabeth is also currently instructed by an engineering company in relation to a claim brought by a major UK house builder, arising out of the failure of retaining walls at a residential site. The case involves the usual competing design vs workmanship allegations, a detailed understanding of hydrostatic pressure and friction forces on the walls, and arguments involving the correct measure of the consequential loss.

• 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 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 The case was 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.
• 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.

News

• Elizabeth Boon successful in the Court of Appeal
• Crown Office Chambers to speak at the BILA Virtual Lecture, 14 November 2024

Read more

Events

• Crown Office Chambers to speak at the BILA Virtual Lecture, 14 November 2024

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