Natasha Parkhomenko

Natasha specialises in construction and engineering disputes, acting for professionals in the construction sector and their insurers. She has considerable knowledge and experience in both insurance and construction law and is well versed in all standard litigation processes.

Experience

Natasha is involved in a multitude of construction disputes in VCAT, and the County, Supreme and Federal Courts. She acts for building consultants (including architects, builders, engineers, project/contract managers, building surveyors and building inspectors), government bodies, real estate agents, and their insurers.

Natasha has experience in different jurisdictions, running matters in Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and Tasmania.

Natasha's areas of expertise include:

• providing coverage advice to insurers on a variety of construction risk policies, including professional indemnity, public and products liability, general liability, third party liability, and business interruption
• acting as defence counsel for insurers in relation to coverage disputes
• acting as defence counsel for building contractors (and others), often in complex, multi-party disputes.

Career highlights

Natasha's career highlights include:

• acting as defence counsel for a geotechnical engineer in relation to a claim worth +$7m in the Supreme Court of Victoria, regarding the foundation and associated structural defects to residential units at a retirement village
• acting as defence counsel for an architect in relation to a claim worth +$5m in the County Court of Victoria, concerning the installation of combustible cladding and waterproofing defects at an apartment building in Melbourne
• acting as defence counsel for a waste management company in relation to design and safety mechanisms at a warehouse transfer facility that caught fire
• assisting the Insurance (Construction & Engineering Disputes) team at Lander & Rogers in acting as coverage / defence counsel for the lead insurer in multiple Federal Court proceedings concerning damage to the Opal Tower in Sydney
• acting as coverage / defence counsel for a London-based insurer of a deregistered building company regarding a claim concerning the construction of an apartment building in Sydney and damage to an adjoining property.