Chris Dunlop

Client matter highlights

Construction Professionals

•  Advising major UK developers on coverage issues arising from multiple multi-million pound claims relating to historic involvement in various commercial and residential developments involving allegations of defective cladding / fire safety protection.   Key coverage issues include advising as to how primary insuring provisions of professional indemnity insurance policies are triggered by liability arising out of (i) developer having signed up to the Developer Remediation Contract, and (ii) Remediation Orders, Remediation Contribution Orders and/or Building Liability Orders being made against the developer pursuant to the Building Safety Act 2022.
• Advising various other construction professionals (including in particular various multi-national architects) facing claims relating to its historic involvement in multiple developments involving allegations of defective cladding / fire safety protection. Advising clients on coverage issues arising from such allegations with its professional indemnity insurers (across multiple years and multiple layers), including ongoing issues around indemnity in respect of Defence Costs. Also advising client as to potential for liability to attach to related Group Companies by virtue of Remediation Orders and/or Building Liability Orders pursuant to the Building Safety Act 2022.
• Advising Main Contractor in construction industry as to potential claims against former Joint Administrators of architect. Historically client placed on notice of a claim shortly before architect was placed into Administration. Administrators failed to notify potential claim to architect's PI Insurers, and instead allowed PI insurance to be cancelled. Claim was then being pursued by client against Administrators for breach of duty, based on loss of a chance on the part of the client to pursue a "Third Party Rights" claim directly against the architect's PI Insurers.
• Advising various construction professionals on appropriate forms of professional appointments or building contracts, and negotiating terms.  Advising as to all types of construction contract, including the JCT Standard Forms, NEC Engineering and Construction Contracts, ACA Forms of Building Agreements, FIDIC Conditions of Contract, and the GC Works Contracts for Building and Civil Engineering. Reviewing proposed appointments and/or warranty documents (as well as other contractual documents, including novations) for construction professionals, highlighting the scope and extent of the professional’s obligations (and helping the professional understand potential pitfalls), key onerous clauses from a coverage and commercial perspective, and providing suggested alternative wordings as appropriate.
• Advising a nationwide firm of surveyors.  Policy advice and assistance provided in relation to proper interpretation of Excess provisions (and application to underlying claims) and recovery of Defence Costs under professional indemnity insurance, as well as questions of interaction of client cover and RICS Minimum Terms.

Other Professionals

• Advising a nationwide firm of estate agents and property consultants.  Policy advice and assistance provided in relation to notification, year of attachment and aggregation issues arising from hundreds of claims made against various insured entities in relation to alleged mis-selling of interest only mortgage products.  Particular policy issues concern questions around scope and efficacy of blanket notifications, as well as interaction between different (and over-lapping) policies raising additional questions around the application of DIC/DIL (Difference in Conditions / Difference in Limits) provisions.
• Advising major firm of investment managers and financial advisers, who in 2018 purchased a major wind farm in France. Issues arose regarding the alleged adequacy of Data Room disclosure, leading to a claim for breach of warranty and a connected claim for indemnity against Insurers under a project specific Warranty & Indemnity Policy.  Advising as to complex coverage issues, involving questions as to the correct approach to Policy response with particular reference to the proper approach in assessing causation and loss.
• Providing coverage advice to various financial advisers facing potentially significant claims from clients and FCA investigations in connection with allegedly negligent advice to clients. Typically coverage issues include complex questions of the triggering of the primary insuring provisions of the relevant insurance policy, potential applications of exclusions (for example Conduct Exclusions), timing of notification and impact on indemnity in respect of Defence Costs, aggregation and allocation issues.
• Advising insolvency practitioner clients (including within restructuring departments of Big 4 accountancy firms) as to various coverage matters.  Recent advice includes advising as to the viability of various potential recovery actions against Directors of insolvent companies for excessive remuneration, sale of assets at undervalue, obtaining funding by dishonest means, and related party funding (with specific advice being sought as to prospects of indemnity under various D&O Policies across multiple policy years of insolvent companies if IP Client was to pursue such recovery actions).
• Coverage advice to a tax management company / tax reclamation experts.  Client was named Defendant in a largescale multi-party fraud claim (involving over 100 parties) being pursued by a foreign tax authority.  Advice provided on an ongoing basis as to the scope of coverage under the client's professional indemnity insurance policy, Insurers having raised various coverage arguments including potential avoidance.
• Advising a multinational diamond manufacturer with the benefit of a Property All Risks policy. Client had purchased rough diamonds from suppliers via a third party entity, which then went missing in the supply chain (with possible fraud on the part of the third party entity). Insurers have rejected the claim on various grounds, including whether the client had a sufficient insurable interest in the rough diamonds at the point of loss through the supply chain.
• Advising a broad spectrum of professional clients (including a nationwide cinema group) as to the extent of business interruption cover following the occurrence of Covid-19 in 2020, with particular reference to the scope and adequacy of the FCA Test Case.

Directory acknowledgments

Legal 500 says: 

Chris Dunlop is extremely knowledgeable, clients love him, and he gets excellent results for his clients. (2026)