School successfully defends football head knock case

Mattock v State of New South Wales (New South Wales Department of Education) (No 2) [2021] NSWSC 1045 On 19 August 2021, the NSW Supreme Court dismissed a personal injury claim against a school, which followed the plaintiff’s ‘head knock’ collision with another student during a PE class. The decision was significant for insurers as it […]

Coverage for historic sexual abuse in school case raises problems for insurers

In BB v Helena College [2021] WADC 42, the Western Australia District Court found that three different policies of insurance, held by an insured school, responded to historic acts of intentional sexual abuse by a school teacher. In this article, W+K’s Sean O’Connor and Patrick Thompson provide an in-depth analysis of the coverage issues addressed […]

Emerging Talent Series 2020/2021

The insurance sector attracts and retains young professionals who are hungry for relevant, regular learning and education opportunities. To help further their careers, W+K has put together a multi-part Emerging Talent Series addressing both Property & Energy and General Liability claims issues.

NSW Child Abuse Bill opens door to revisit settled claims

Yesterday, the Civil Liability Amendment (Child Abuse) Bill 2021 was introduced in NSW. The Bill has two objectives: to enable courts to set aside certain agreements that settled claims for child abuse where it is just and reasonable to do so, and to ensure that Part 2A of the Act does not restrict awards of […]

International Women’s Day 2021

To celebrate International Women’s Day 2021, we joined with our Legalign Global partner firms, Alexander Holburn, BLD Bach Langheid Dallmayr, DAC Beachcroft, and Wilson Elser, to create a series of daily videos highlighting leading women across our network and their achievements. You may have seen the videos on LinkedIn which includes our Legalign firm leaders introducing the […]

NZ Insurance Market Trends Update

Welcome to Wotton Kearney’s NZ Insurance Market Trends Update, our biannual snapshot of legal trends and developments impacting claims managers, underwriters, brokers and corporates operating in the New Zealand market. In this edition, we look at the impact of recent matters in the areas of D&O claims, representative actions and EPL. We provide updates on […]

2021 Insurance Predictions Report

Wotton Kearney is pleased to provide our 2021 Insurance Predictions Report, looking at the major trends and issues we expect will remain in the spotlight for the insurance industry in our region this year. It’s no surprise that this report addresses some of the horizon issues that we expect to face in the wake of […]

Wotton Kearney appoints two new female partners

Wotton Kearney has appointed two new partners, Chantal van Grieken, a highly regarded general liability practitioner, and Sian Gilbert, an EPL Accredited Specialist. Chantal and Sian, who were formerly with HWL Ebsworth, will join the firm on 1 February 2021. Chantal is known for her expertise in the areas of public liability, workers actions, statutory […]

Informed Insurance: Critical Uncertainties 2020/21

2020 has reminded us all how quickly our world can be turned upside down. As the market considers how best to prepare for a resilient future, scenario planning is a key tool that can begin to provide the answers. Wotton Kearney has joined with our Legalign Global alliance partners to produce the Critical Uncertainties series […]

Court of Appeal confirms Polglase decision and the critical question of breach

On 23 October 2020, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in Coffs Harbour City Council v Polglase [2020] NSWCA 265. Wotton Kearney acted for the State of NSW in its successful defence of the appeal proceedings. The case confirms, for the purpose of a duty of care on a statutory authority, what matters […]