Articles - Wotton + Kearney

Articles, Case Alerts

Recent abuse cases offer further guidance

There have been three recent cases involving abuse matters that provide further guidance on how the courts are addressing some key liability, damages and limitation issues. These issues include: the need for specific evidence about the level of impact of limitation periods in considering applications to set aside settlements in institutional abuse matters the importance […]

By : Emily Xue Sep 24, 2020 Comments Off

Articles, W+K News

Wotton + Kearney expands liability senior team – with more to come

Wotton + Kearney has appointed James Clohesy, a highly regarded insurance liability specialist, as Special Counsel in its Sydney office. James is known for his excellent work in advising on property and construction third party claims, as well as intentional torts, general and product liability matters. James, who will be joined by two more colleagues […]

By : Emily Xue Sep 23, 2020 Comments Off

Articles, Blogs, W+K News

Get to know Dean Pinto, new partner and financial lines specialist

In our next Q&A with recently promoted senior lawyers, we get to know Sydney partner and financial lines specialist Dean Pinto. Tell us about your journey to becoming a partner at W+K I had never given thought to insurance law until looking for a job after university. I accepted a paralegal position in the insurance […]

By : Emily Xue Sep 17, 2020 Comments Off

Articles, Thought Leadership

The value of statutory liability cover in an increasingly regulated world

In the post Royal Commission world, regulator activity in Australia has reached new levels. Increased public scrutiny and greater government funding has meant that regulators are encouraged to take significant amounts of investigation and enforcement action against offending businesses. While there has been a brief hiatus due to the impact of COVID-19, various regulators have […]

By : Emily Xue Sep 14, 2020 Comments Off

Articles

NZ Privacy Act 2020 update #2 – NZ medical practitioners’ obligations

On 1 December 2020, New Zealand’s new privacy regime will come into effect. The new legislation updates New Zealand’s 27-year-old privacy framework, including a new Health Information Privacy Code. Under the Code, medical practitioners continue to have an obligation to provide patients with their health information. They also continue to have an obligation to ensure […]

By : Emily Xue Sep 4, 2020 Comments Off

Articles, Case Alerts

Enough rope? The limits of disclosure under PIPA

The Supreme Court of Queensland has dismissed an application for disclosure of information about prior incidents. The Court found that claimants have a broad entitlement to request information from respondents about the reasons for an ‘incident’, however, that entitlement is limited to the actual incident, not related incidents. In this article, Paul Spezza and Emma […]

By : Emily Xue Aug 31, 2020 Comments Off

Articles, Case Alerts

NZ Court of Appeal upholds insurers’ right to cancel the policies of fraudulent claimants

Taylor v Asteron Life Limited [2020] NZCA 354: On 19 August 2020, the Court of Appeal upheld insurers’ rights to cancel policies and seek damages when there are fraudulent claims. This decision was also significant as it was the first time the Court of Appeal has applied the common law fraudulent claims rule. In this […]

By : Johnny Spiller Aug 28, 2020 Comments Off

Articles, Case Alerts

When recreation means more – NSW Court of Appeal reinforces broad recreational activity definition

Carter v Hastings River Greyhound Racing Club [2020] NSWCA 185: On 21 August 2020, the NSW Court of Appeal again confirmed ‘recreational activities’ do not need to be ‘recreational’ in the ordinary meaning of the term with its decision in Carter. The Court’s decision also reinforced the position that being a volunteer does not affect […]

By : Johnny Spiller Aug 25, 2020 Comments Off

Articles, Case Alerts, Thought Leadership

Resource hub: Legislative reform of the building and construction industry in NSW

The NSW Government has introduced sweeping legislative changes that are intended to regain public confidence in the building and construction industry. The new legislation, in particular the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020, will have a significant effect on establishing the liability of design and building practitioners within the construction industry and how they are […]

By : Emily Xue Aug 12, 2020 Comments Off

Articles

Institutional duty to prevent sexual assault in other places

The ACT Supreme Court has recognised that an institution can, in specific circumstances, owe a duty of care to take steps to protect the safety of intoxicated persons, including from the risk of criminal acts by a third party. In this case, a university college was found liable for the sexual assault of a resident […]

By : Emily Xue Aug 11, 2020 Comments Off