Tristan has 30 years of experience in commercial insurance and litigation, including alternative dispute resolution, across various lines of business in general insurance, including reinsurance, professional indemnity (financial lines), other professional risks, general & products liability, property and construction risks, recoveries, accident & health, casualty, and life insurance.
Experience
Tristan provides clear and practical advice on defence, coverage analysis and recoveries, to insurers and underwriters in Australia and globally, including the Lloyds market, with a meticulous yet economical and cost-effective approach.
Tristan's areas of expertise include:
- professional indemnity (financial lines)
- public & products liability, casualty, and property
- recoveries
- accident & health.
Career highlights
Tristan's experience includes advising/acting on behalf of large commercial enterprise, small to medium business and government agencies in a variety of industries including agriculture, mining, building & construction, engineering, financial and other professional services, retail, real estate and property development, education, law enforcement, security, and sports & leisure.
Tristan's career highlights include:
- acting for a global reinsurer in Supreme Court proceedings against six related insurers and the trustee of a superannuation fund in an action of damages of $750 million alleging misleading or deceptive conduct
- advising a global insurer on whether an exclusion clause in an accident & sickness policy was discriminatory
- acting for a builder in multi-party Supreme Court litigation involving a serious injury, the duty of care owed by family members to an infant and the design and construction of a staircase. The proceedings were successfully defended on behalf of the builder at trial and on appeal to the Court of Appeal and High Court
- acting for the owners of animals involved in incidents that led to claims for damages for mental harm by family members and neighbours. The case also included Coronial Inquest
- provided pro bono representation for an individual with mental health issues, defending a claim under the Companion Animals Act, including an injunction to prevent the sale of property to avoid paying the arbitrated award. This case was successfully reheard and resulted in a favourable outcome.