Devereux silks prepare for Trigger litigation appeal court showdown
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Devereux Chambers silks Colin Edelman QC and Colin Wynter QC are set to go head-to-head in the Court of Appeal as one of The Lawyer’s top trials of 2008 prepares for a three-week appeal hearing.
Edelman is acting for Excess Insurance while Wynter will appear for a number of the claimants on the appeal of Mr Justice Burton’s judgment in Municipal Mutual Insurance V Zurich Insurance & others, otherwise known as the Trigger litigation.
Last year’s judgment in six test cases determined that insurers could not reject claims by mesothelioma sufferers who had been exposed to asbestos during employment.
The judgment, which revolved around at what point the insurers were liable for compensation, meant that victims could be in line for six-figure pay-outs.
On appeal, the insurers will argue that the trigger for pay-outs under their policies is not the point of exposure to asbestos, but the later development of the condition.
Edelman is representing Excess Insurance in cases against Akzo Nobel UK and Amec. He was instructed by Plexus Law partner Stephen Phillips.
Wynter is the lead counsel acting for claimants in five of the six test cases. He was instructed by Hill Hofstetter partner Jonathan Hofstetter, Berrymans Lace Mawer partner Brian Goodwin, Irwin Mitchell partner Helen Ashton, John Pickering partner Carolann Hepworth and Thompsons Solicitors solicitor Joanne Candlish.
