Viv Braithwaite
Viv is an insurance and litigation specialist with extensive experience across various areas of insurance law in both defence and coverage capacities.
Viv specialises in advising international and domestic underwriters on complex indemnity and liability issues in relation to directors’ and officers’, professional indemnity, industrial special risks and general liability and indemnity policies.
Viv regularly acts as defence counsel for insurers in indemnity disputes as well as for insureds and corporate clients in matters involving professional indemnity claims, directors’ & officers’ liability, financial disputes, property damage, construction, product liability and fraud. Viv also undertakes subrogated recoveries in all jurisdictions.
Experience
Viv’s experience includes:
- Liability Class Action Defence: acting for the design and construction contractor in defence of class action proceedings against the NSW Government and others commenced by residents affected by the Sydney Light Rail construction.
- Liability Defence: acting for a client in defence of highly publicised claims by detainees and employees arising from the detainment of refugees at the Nauru regional processing centre.
- Liability and Professional Indemnity Defence: acting for builders, architects, engineers, accountants, financial advisers and other contractors and professionals in defence of contractual, negligence and statutory claims.
- D&O Securities Class Action Coverage: advising numerous primary and excess underwriters across multiple insurance programs in relation to shareholder class actions and regulatory proceedings including those arising out of the Banking and Financial Services Royal Commission, business interruption caused by COVID-19 and alleged failures to comply with anti money laundering legislation.
- Professional Indemnity Class Action Coverage: advising excess underwriters on domestic and international class actions involving alleged mis-selling of financial products, charging of fees for no service, payment of conflicted remuneration and misleading and deceptive conduct by various financial institutions.
- Councillors & Officers Coverage: advising the insurer on risk for Queensland Local Government Councils and Councillors involved in and subject to criminal charges by the Crime & Corruption Commission following its wide-ranging investigations into misconduct in public office.
- Product liability Coverage: acting for a domestic insurer with respect to a disputed claim for indemnity relating to defective products sold for use in shipbuilding in Australia and internationally including by several defence forces.
- Fraud Investigation and Prosecution: undertook the investigation and freezing of assets of a former director of an ASX listed company’s subsidiary accused of misappropriating in excess of $10 million in company funds.
- Undertook a review and redrafting of an international insurer’s trade credit policy