Liana Turner

Recent instructions include:

• Acting for the claimant in proceedings in the Commercial Court to obtain an urgent ex parte interim anti-suit injunction restraining the prosecution of claims for breach of a property insurance policy worth an alleged £4m+ in the Arbitrazh Court of the City of Moscow (led by Carlo Taczalski).
• Acting for an insurer in a claim concerning an alleged breach of a landlord insurance policy, including making a successful application to set aside default judgment.
• David Wood Baking (UK) Limited v QBE & Ors (Comm): assisting with disclosure on a fire insurance claim worth in excess of £100m.
• Advising a claimant who had suffered catastrophic personal injuries worth £3 million on whether the indemnity limit of his insurance was inclusive of his legal costs (which would have eroded his damages by almost £900,000) (as a pupil).
• Drafting a defence on behalf of an insurer who had denied claims for COVID-19 business interruption losses (as a pupil).
• Drafting a defence on behalf of an insurance broker in a claim concerning an alleged non-disclosure of a claimant whose yacht had sustained significant damage (as a pupil).
• Advising on the scope of contractual liability and sub-contractor liability extensions contained within a public and product liability insurance policy (as a pupil).

Recent instructions include:

• Liana received instructions during her pupillage to assist with amending a defence on behalf of the insurers of chartered tax advisers in a multi-million pound claim concerning a claimant who had entered into numerous tax mitigation schemes. She was later instructed to assist with disclosure in advance of the mediation (led by Caroline McColgan).
• Advising solicitors in relation to a potential professional negligence claim arising out of the drafting of a declaration of trust concerning the relative ownership and entitlements in a family property.
• Acting for an architect in proceedings concerning the provision of architectural services in relation to a residential building project.
• Advising a firm of solicitors alleged to have misused client money during a property conveyance (as a pupil).
• Advising a firm of solicitors who had provided the claimant with independent legal advice in relation to a transaction in which the claimant secured a loan for the benefit of her son against two properties (as a pupil).
• Drafting a skeleton argument for an application for summary judgment on behalf of a firm of conveyancing solicitors in relation to a claimant who alleged that the sale of her property was an unconscionable bargain and procured by undue influence (as a pupil).

Recent instructions include:

• Dublin Coach v Dawsongroup & Daimler Buses UK Ltd: acting for Daimler Buses UK Ltd in the successful defence of a product liability claim concerning a Mercedes-Benz Tourismo coach. The claimant discontinued its claim shortly before trial in June, paying the majority of Daimler’s costs (led by Daniel Shapiro KC and Mariusz Rumun).
• Acting for the claimant in proceedings concerning fire damage allegedly caused by two coffee machines (led by Elizabeth Boon).
• Advising on the merits of a claim against an electrician who installed miniature circuit breakers that were later recalled by the manufacturer.
• Advising a leading producer on the prospects of defending personal injury claims arising from the presence of foreign objects in their products.
• Advising on the merits and strategy of a claim concerning an allegedly defective tumble dryer that caused a fire and significant property damage.
• Drafting a mediation position statement on behalf of a residential developer in respect of water damage caused by defective radiators (as a pupil).

Liana gained exposure to a broad spectrum of construction work during pupillage including:

• Advising on behalf of the referring party in relation to the correct interpretation of an adjudication clause contained in a D&B contract for the construction of a school which had been leaking from the atrium roof.
• Conducting research into a contractual dispute concerning an alleged breach of a Development Funding Agreement after the building contractor abandoned the project due to financial difficulties.
• Advising on the enforcement of an adjudication award and the scope of the adjudicator’s power under 22A of the Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998.

Recent instructions include:

• Acting for the claimant in proceedings in the Commercial Court to obtain an urgent ex parte interim anti-suit injunction restraining the prosecution of claims for breach of a property insurance policy worth an alleged £4m+ in the Arbitrazh Court of the City of Moscow (led by Carlo Taczalski).
• Drafting a response to an application in an arbitration claim worth in excess of $25m relating to the collateral management of cocoa and coffee stored at warehouses in Cameroon (as a pupil). The applicant applied for disclosure of the reasons for declinature issued by the respondent’s insurers in response to the respondent’s claim under its professional indemnity policy.
• Defending a builder alleged to have fraudulently obtained materials at a price lower than the market value (as a pupil).

Recent instructions include:

• Advising the claimant in relation to an excavator that became lodged on Mumbles beach. The incident was the subject of a BBC news article:  Mumbles: Digger left on beach swamped by high tide – BBC News
• Drafting particulars of claim on behalf of the operator of a water treatment plant who supplied fresh water to residents in respect of a delivery driver who had discharged sodium hypochlorite into a ferric sulphate tank, causing the production of a highly corrosive gas (as a pupil).
• Settling the defence on behalf of sub-contractors alleged to have caused damage by using a corrosive substance to clean the outside brickwork of a property (as a pupil).

Liana is regularly instructed to appear in small claims and fast track trials and applications, including matters involving fundamental dishonesty. She also advises on liability and quantum. Recent instructions include:

• Advising on the prospects of defending a personal injury claim arising from the unloading of wooden panels, where the delivery was arranged by the first defendant and carried out by the second defendant.
• Advising and settling a defence in a claim against a regulatory sports body for personal injuries arising out of a cycling accident.

Prior to joining Chambers, Liana worked in the injury department of a leading law firm, gaining exposure to a wide range of high-value and complex personal injury matters, including:

• Acting in relation to a claimant who suffered a serious spinal cord injury after falling from a horse during a show jumping competition.
• Appealing a Motor Insurers’ Bureau award on behalf of a claimant who required a below-the-knee amputation following a road traffic accident.
• Acting in relation to a claimant who suffered life-threatening burns at work after a molten zinc tank overflowed.