David Lewis

Call:1997

Introduction and Contact details

David prides himself of offering an outstanding service to all his clients.  His extensive experience in a broad range of commercial, insurance, and employment litigation equips him well to provide insightful, commercially minded, and practical advice. His ‘tenacious advocacy’ and commercial approach produce the right results.

Tel: 020 7242 2523

Fax: 020 7691 1234

Email: david.lewis@hardwicke.co.uk

COMMERCIAL

David’s commercial practice includes building disputes, sales of goods and services, asset finance, general breach of contract, commercial agency cases, and restraint of trade matters.

David has particular expertise in sales of goods and automotive industry litigation regularly advising and acting for one of the country’s largest retail motor groups. He also specialises in commercial agency cases (Commercial Agents Regulations) and is counsel of choice for one of the leading solicitors’ firms representing agents.

Emergency remedies/ injunctive relief applications feature regularly in David’s commercial and employment litigation practice. He is experienced in this aspect of work and is of course willing to ‘run across the road’ as and when required.

David also specialises in employment law, representing Claimants, Respondents, Directors, and Senior Executives from all industries, both in the Tribunals and the High Court. David’s extensive experience in commercial litigation is particularity attractive to commercial employment clients and the senior executives he represents.

Construction and Engineering

David has and continues to represent both construction professions and contractors in a cross-section of domestic and commercial construction disputes. He is instructed is construction and related cases involve loss and expense, delay, design and build, all major standard form contracts, the liability of construction, design and engineering professionals, claims against the NHBC and under the Defective Premises Act.

Examples of recent work

• In 2008 David acted for 8 Claimants against one of the country’s leading homebuilders involving multiple issues including limitation (extension of), design and build issues, Defective Premises Act and latent damage. 

 Trade

David specialises in trade disputes, in particular sale of goods, agency, commercial agency disputes acting for both agents and principals, though mostly for agents. In the last three years David has represented over 25 commercial agents, both individual and corporate, and has secured compensation for his clients running into seven figures.

Examples of recent work

• Ongoing dispute involving the sale of Boeing and Legacy Aircraft, with David representing Kama Aviation Company Ltd and Sheik Fahad Bin Saleh Mohammed All Athel.
  

Cases

• Davenport v House of Dee Plc [2009]: Interesting case determined involving the interpretation of R18(b)(ii) – termination on grounds of illness and age.

• Solutions Marketing Ltd v Artpeak [2008] (HC): Following the House of Lords decision in Lonsdale, at trial secured 6x R17 multiplier for the commercial agent.
• Invicta UK v Holsten (UK) Ltd [2007] claim involving the acquisition of Holsten by Carlsberg, the loss of an agency and compensation pursuant to R17.

• Fitzkriston LLP v Panayi and another - [2008] All ER (D) 165 (Feb) CA – successfully in cross appeal where trial judge has failed to deal with a good point of law.

Franchising

David has broad experience of franchising work and advises franchisors and franchisees on a range of contentious issues.

Recent Cases

• In 2008, acting for the Claimant Gable Recruitment Network Ltd (Gable Recruitment Network Ltd v AM RE 24/7, [HC]), circa £250,000 judgment awarded to Gable for damages for breach of the franchise agreement.

Professional Negligence

David acts and advises regularly in various professional negligence disputes, especially in respect of solicitors’ negligence and insurance brokers. Unsurprisingly, disputes involving negligent surveying and property sales on the incline are generally.

Arbitration and Mediation

David recognises the value of ADR and in recent years this area of his practice has significantly increased, both Arbitrations and Mediations.

Employment   

David represents, via a variety of West End Firms, both Claimants and Respondents including unions, leading publishing groups, leading motor retail groups, hoteliers and many more.

David specialises in all areas of employment law, with particular emphasis on discrimination, restrictive covenants and Directors disputes, representing his clients in all levels of Tribunals and the High Court.  In order to protect his clients’ interests, David regularly advises on all aspects of emergency remedies, most notably in respect of  restraint of trade/ restrictive covenants issues, and finds himself a frequent visitor to the High Court. 

David accepts instructions direct from individuals and corporations under the Direct and Public Access schemes, both in respect of contentious and non-contentious work. 

 David also undertakes a variety of non-contentious work including drafting bespoke contracts of employment and handbooks, as well as offering training days to both legal and corporate clients.

Recent reported Cases

Smith Knight Fay v N McCoy [10/10/2008] UK EAT/0245/08

Swallow Security Services Ltd v Rosemary Millicent [19/03/2009] UKEAT/0297/09

INSURANCE

In addition to David’s commercial and employment practices, which are increasingly funded by BTE or ATE policies, David has particular experience in and advises on a range of policy coverage and avoidance issues, all risk policies and construction related insurance disputes.

Construction and Engineering

The majority of David’s insurance Construction and Engineering practice involves acting for the insured under subrogated claims. However, David also advises and represents clients on policy coverage, declinature, and avoidance issues.

For an overview of Construction and Engineering - see Construction and Engineering section of CV.

Examples of recent insurance work

• (2009) advising in claim against the NHBC involving defective premises and breach of terms of NHBC policy

Cases

• Shinedean Ltd v Alldown Demolition (London) Ltd (in liquidation) and another [2006] EWCA Civ 939 – condition precedents in insurance contracts and the relevance of prejudice

ATE & BTE

Increasingly, David’s commercial and employment practices, including Direct Access (see Commercial CV) involves bringing or defending subrogated claims under various policies of insurance, whether on behalf of the insured or the insurer. David is always willing to accept instructions in insurance funded litigation.

All Risk

David accepts instructions in and advises on all risk policies. A recent case example in which David advised involved complex coverage/ policy avoidance issues and the Third Party (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930, the central issues being admissions of liability by the insured.

Fire Damage

David accepts instructions in fire damage cases. A recent example of the type of disputes that David is instructed on involves fire damage resulting from the defective design and specification of a fire suppression system.