Simon is an acknowledged commercial litigation specialist.
His commercial litigation experience spans banking and financial services litigation, arbitration (domestic and overseas), construction litigation and professional liabilities including bringing and defending claims against a range of professionals in the legal, property, insurance, and construction sectors. Simon’s commercial litigation practice includes advising on partnership and franchise disputes, insurance coverage matters (for both insurers and policyholder) and disputes arising from the sale of goods and manufacturing equipment, often with a conflict of laws element.
Highlights of Simon’s High Court advocacy and drafting practice include:
- Defending an application for security for costs (£18m) brought by a clearing bank against a litigation funder where the underlying proceedings involved a LIBOR manipulation / mis-selling claim in which the damages claimed exceeded £600m (led by Michael McLaren QC, Fountain Court Chambers).
- Instructed by Shearman & Sterling LLP to assist with amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Bill promoting enhanced accountability for the U.K.’s financial services regulators and the introduction of a financial adjudication scheme and the establishment of a new financial services tribunal. The drafting included significant amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Financial Services Act 2012 and the First Tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal (Chambers) Order 2010.
- Instructed in respect of alleged mis-selling of structured foreign exchange derivatives. The issues involved complex technical issues concerning the nature and effect of the transactions and the close out costs (led by Adam Tolley QC, Fountain Court Chambers).
- Acted unled for several large (generally) Far East based claimant groups advancing claims (total value over £10m) against multiple firms of solicitors who acted for the claimants in the purchase of units in off-plan buyer funded mixed-use developments. Simon advised several of the claimant groups from inception, drafted the Particulars of Claim and other statements of case, and attended several interim hearings before a successful resolution of the claims shortly before the lead multi-week trial. Simon conducted (unled) the lead claim (various separate claims were case managed together in the Manchester District Registry) which was listed for a 5-week trial in the Chancery Division of the Manchester District Registry.
- Acting for a prominent city law firm defending a multi-party claim brought by claimants concerning building works connected to a Grade 11* property in central London.
- Defended to a multi-day trial a claim advanced by residential homeowners against a building contractor which concerned allegations of defective workmanship and/or negligent design.
- Acted for a regional contractor in a series of disputes with its groundwork sub-contractor across several projects, including advising on various adjudications; successful enforcement of an adjudicator’s award; the defence of Part 8 proceedings; prosecution of separate Part 8 proceedings regarding declaratory relief as to whether a document was a valid ‘pay-less’ notice; and the defence of Part 7 proceedings involving the underlying dispute in the adjudication enforcement proceedings.
- Defending as sole counsel claims against an independent financial advisor (settled by leading counsel) concerning alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, breach of trust, fraud and deceit in addition to alleged breaches of retainer.
- Settled the Defence in a substantial claim brought by several claimants against an insurance broker. It was alleged that the broker failed to effect the relevant insurances for an industrial unit and stock that was subsequently destroyed by a fire.
- Acting for several homeowners in claims brought against a national homebuilder alleging negligent design, defective workmanship, failures to comply with Building Regulations and NHBC codes of practice and breaches of the Defective Premises Act 1972.
- Acting in a multi-party dispute in the TCC in Manchester concerning claims arising in respect of an ‘eco-village development.
Further details of Simon’s commercial litigation practice can be found in the sections below.
