Dave Barnard

Dave particularly enjoys marine insurance disputes. Dave became an Associate of the Association of Average Adjusters in 2022, following his completion of exams concerning the Marine Insurance Act 1906 and the Insurance Act 2015.

Dave is currently instructed in a property insurance proceedings concerning alleged defects in the construction of a £15 million property (led by Peter MacDonald Eggers KC).

During pupillage, Dave experienced a wide range of insurance and reinsurance disputes. Selected work includes:

• Assisted in relation to a claim in negligence against brokers which arranged a policy of fire insurance, in which the insured property was allegedly undervalued.
• Assisted and advised in relation to the appeal in Quadra v XL [2023] EWCA Civ 432, which concerned an insurance claim arising out of fraud on Ukrainian agribusiness.
• Advised in relation to a claim on a policy of marine cargo insurance arising from an alleged fraudulent financing arrangement and an alleged breach of the duty of fair presentation.
• Advised in relation to a claim for a constructive total loss on a policy of marine insurance based upon the allegedly-improper detention of a vessel in Libya.
• Prepared draft pleadings in a claim on a policy of mortgagees’ interest insurance.
• Advised in relation to a claim on a policy of charterers’ liability insurance.
• Assisted and advised in relation to claims on various policies of proportional, stop loss, excess of loss and treaty reinsurance.
• Assisted in relation to consequentials following the hearing of preliminary issues in Greggs Plc v Zurich Insurance Plc [2022] EWHC 2545 (Comm).

Prior to pupillage, Dave worked in the shipping litigation team at an international law firm, during which Dave advised on various claims on policies of vessel and cargo marine insurance. In this role, Dave also drafted a variety of pre-action correspondence, in both Court and arbitral proceedings, as well as submissions in arbitral proceedings.

Dave is currently instructed in the ongoing Commercial Court proceedings regarding aviation insurance.

Dave experienced a wide range of shipping disputes during pupillage. Selected work includes:

• Advised on various charterparty disputes related to laytime and demurrage, some of which related to the Court of Appeal’s decision in The “Eternal Bliss”, and others of which related to vessel detention and maintenance issues.
• Advised on the application of a force majeure clause in a voyage charterparty.
• Advised on a yacht brokerage dispute.
• Advised in relation to a cargo claim against a carrier based upon alleged cargo contamination during shipment.

Prior to pupillage, Dave worked in the shipping litigation team at an international law firm, during which Dave experienced a wide range of wet and dry shipping disputes. Dave was heavily involved in the expedited Commercial Court trial and the expedited appeal in The “Amethyst” and “Courage” [2022] EWHC 452 (Comm); [2022] EWCA Civ 1091. Dave also advised on numerous wet and dry shipping disputes, which concerned (for example) charterparty construction, the Inter-Club Agreement, disputes involving charterparty chains, and cargo claims.

At university, Dave scored the highest in his year in Maritime Law, and Dave wrote a dissertation about general average with a focus on the Supreme Court’s decision in The “Longchamp” [2017] UKSC 68.

Dave’s current and recent instructions include:

• US$20 million dispute concerning payment for an international shipment of coal (led by Andrew Pearson).
• Advised in relation to bailment and exclusion clauses in contracts of carriage.

During his pupillage, Dave:

• Assisted in the appeal in Quadra v XL [2023] EWCA Civ 432.
• Advised in relation to a dispute concerning a fraud allegedly perpetrated in relation to the storage of co-mingled commodities.
• Advised on a dispute concerning the improper storage of commodities.
• Advised on a dispute concerning the contamination of commodities during shipment.

Dave’s current and recent instructions include:

• Appeals pursuant to sections 68 and 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996, to be heard over two days in November 2023.
• US$20 million international arbitration which concerns a dispute related to a sale of coal (led by Andrew Pearson), involving a dispute as to the arbitral tribunal’s constitution.
• Bermuda form arbitration applying New York law.

During his pupillage, Dave assisted with, and attended, various arbitration hearings, including a dispute arising out of the management of a vessel, and a multi-million-pound arbitration concerning the sale of a Lloyd’s syndicate.

Prior to pupillage, during his work in the shipping litigation department at an international law firm, Dave worked on dozens of arbitral proceedings subject to LMAA, GAFTA and LCIA Rules. Dave drafted pleadings, written submissions, and various applications to tribunals (including for security of costs and disclosure). Additionally, Dave assisted in the drafting of a skeleton argument for an application for permission to appeal pursuant to sections 68 and 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996.

Dave is currently instructed in challenges to a tribunal’s jurisdiction in LCIA arbitral proceedings. Additionally, Dave is instructed in ongoing jurisdictional challenges in aviation proceedings in the Commercial Court.

During his pupillage, Dave:

• Prepared an application for permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction in relation to an international brokerage dispute.
• Assisted with a jurisdictional challenge in relation to ongoing civil fraud proceedings.

The majority of Dave’s work prior to pupillage, in the shipping litigation department at an international law firm, was international and involved cross-border issues. For example, Dave worked on cases which involved the extra-territorial enforcement of worldwide freezing orders and anti-suit injunctions to restrain foreign proceedings.