David Sawtell Barrister (called 2005) David has a busy commercial / civil practice with particular expertise in commercial and civil litigation, property (both commercial and residential), insolvency, ancillary relief and personal injury. He is often instructed in cases where complicated issues of law, often crossing over a number of fields, are involved, or where fraud or dishonesty is alleged. Practice areas Commercial and civil litigation David has extensive experience in a wide range of civil areas and has appeared regularly in the High Court (especially the Chancery Division) and the Companies Court as well as in multi track and fast track county court trials. He is often instructed in civil / commercial disputes (including factoring agreements, bailment, partnership disputes, contracts of insurance, sale and hire of goods, conversion / trespass to goods, and banking disputes). He has recently been instructed in respect of wrongful termination of a contract for services. He has also recently been involved in litigation between investors in overseas property. He is also regularly involved in disputes arising out of indemnities and guarantees. His work regularly exposes him to complicated procedural issues such as res judicata, summary judgment applications and costs disputes. He has experience of drafting and appearing in interim applications for injunctions, freezing injunctions, search orders, and disclosure, often at short notice. He is often instructed to draft complicated commercial agreements, such as franchise agreements and contracts for the sale of or investment in companies. Property David has substantial experience in this area. His landlord and tenant practice (both residential and commercial) includes possession, disrepair and dilapidations, leasehold 1
enfranchisement, breach of covenant / forfeiture, and management and service disputes. He is often instructed in cases where there are guarantee / indemnity issues. His real property work includes mortgages / charges, orders for sale, easements / wayleaves, and trusts of land / beneficial interests. He has recently acted for a commercial property developer in a contested application over alleged adverse possession. David has particular expertise in cases involving trusts of land and beneficial interests, both in respect of commercial investments and agreements and in family disputes. He is often instructed where there are conveyancing issues or where prospective purchasers require specialist advice on their potential rights against occupiers. David is also instructed in cases involving broader property issues, such as council tax disputes, nuisance and alcohol licensing. Professional liability David is regularly instructed in respect of cases involving the alleged negligence of professionals. He has particular expertise in cases involving solicitors (especially in respect of conveyancing or litigation), valuers and insurance brokers. Construction David undertakes work involving and related to property development. He is frequently instructed in delay claims, cases involving defective workmanship, and Party Wall Act disputes. Insolvency David undertakes work involving both corporate and personal insolvency. He is often instructed in relation to statutory demands, winding up petitions, bankruptcy petitions and applications to annul or rescind bankruptcy orders. He is also involved in property, commercial and family cases where insolvency becomes an issue. Taxation David is also instructed in tax cases by the UK Border Agency involving border revenue (especially VAT and customs duties) in the First Tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber). He has particular expertise in the question of the jurisdiction of the Tribunal. He was recently reported in the case of Young v Home Office [2015] UKFTT 133 (TC) (LTL 1/4/2015). Family finance David is instructed in all areas of matrimonial and family finance and property. As a result of his considerable experience in property and commercial litigation, as well as cases where fraud or dishonesty is alleged, he is regularly engaged where those issues become live in 2
family proceedings. He practices in both the High Court and the County Court. He is regularly instructed in respect of the property rights of cohabiting couples, especially in cases involving trusts of land and other beneficial interests. David also has experience of complicated Schedule 1 Children Act 1989 actions. Personal injury, clinical negligence and non insured loss David is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and the Personal Injury Bar Association (PIBA). He acts for claimants, defendants and insurance companies. He has especial expertise in cases where fraud or dishonest exaggeration has been alleged. He is often instructed in cases where there are complicated issues of liability or quantum, including industrial diseases, accidents at work, abuse cases, defective premises, and animal liability. David undertakes clinical negligence work. He is often instructed in cases involved delayed diagnosis or negligent treatment. Public access David is willing to undertake work on a public access basis. Publications David is the principal author of the two commercial litigation units for the Level 4 higher apprenticeships in legal services. Unit 1 (Resolving a Commercial Dispute in England and Wales: Damar, 2014) and Unit 2 (Tactics and Costs in Commercial Litigation) were published in 2014; he was recently engaged to update them for 2015. He writes prolifically, especially on commercial litigation issues and on the evidential and costs issues surrounding fraud and dishonesty. A Right Royal Dispute Commercial Litigation Journal (2015) No.60 March/April Pages 7 9 Funding a losing battle Commercial Litigation Journal Co. L.J. (2014) No.58 November/December Pages 22 24 (the liability of off shore litigation funders for an order for non party orders for costs) Hot cross bun(ny) Commercial Litigation Journal Co. L.J. (2013) No.52 November/December (test for summary judgment applications) If at first you don t succeed, don t try again? Commercial Litigation Journal (2013) No.51 September/October (res judicata: issue and cause of action estoppel) Keeping the faith Commercial Litigation Journal (2013) No 51 September/October (contractual terms of good faith) Park Life Commercial Litigation Journal (2013) No 48 March/April (Wrotham Park damages) The Devil Is in the Detail: Pleading and Proving Allegations of Fraud, PI Brief Update Law Journal, 16 February 2013 3
Hold the cynicism, New Law Journal, 11 January 2013, vol 163 No 7543 (evidential issues in fraudulent claims) An Unexpected Bill to Pay: Non Party Costs Orders and Claims Management Companies, PI Brief Update Law Journal, 16 November 2012 Whose responsibility is it anyway? Duty to warn non employees of criminal threats, PI Brief Update Law Journal, 10 October 2012 Lucky strike, Commercial Litigation Journal (2012) No 44 July/August (Fairclough Homes v Summers [2012] UKSC 26 and striking out for abuse of process) Passing the buck, Procurement and Outsourcing Journal (2012) No 6 May / June 2012 (non delegable duties of care) Paying the price for leasehold disputes, Solicitors Journal Vol 156 No 16 (24 April 2012) Look before you leap, Commercial Litigation Journal (2011) No 40 November / December 2011 (on the law of the assumption of risk) Playing with Fire: meeting suspicious claims head on, Commercial Litigation Journal (2011) No 38 July / August 2011 Telling a tall story, Butterworths Civil Costs Newsletter, June 2011, p5 (costs implications of fraudulent claims) My big fat fraudulent claim, New Law Journal, 29 April 2011, vol 161 No 7463, pp573 4 David also writes regularly for the 4 King s Bench Walk Property newsletter. Seminars David regularly presents seminars and conferences to solicitors and barristers. In October 2014 David spoke at CLT s conference Contract and Commercial Law Update. He also spoke at Professional Course s conference on the issues of proportionality and settlement agreements. Also in 2014 he gave an all day conference to Thomas Eggar solicitors on torts in commercial disputes. In December 2011 and in December 2012 he spoke at the CLT conference on fraudulent and fictitious personal injury claims. He also presented LawNet s personal injury update conference in June 2014. He spoke at SJ Live in May 2013. Qualifications 2005 Called to the Bar (Lincoln s Inn) 2004 5 Inns of Court School of Law, Bar Vocational Course (very competent) 2003 4 City University, Post graduate diploma in law (commendation) 2002 3 Peterhouse, University of Cambridge, MPhil in Medieval History (distinguished performance) 1999 02 Peterhouse, University of Cambridge, MA (Hons) in History (Part I: First, Part II: 2:1) Awards 2005: Sunley Scholarship, Lincoln s Inn 2004: Lord Denning Scholarship, Lincoln s Inn 2002: AHRB scholarship in full for MPhil 4
2001: Edward Lord North Scholarship (Peterhouse) Contact The Chambers of Timothy Raggatt QC 4 King s Bench Walk, 2 nd floor, Temple, London EC4Y 7DL Tel: 020 7822 7000 Fax: 0871 288 5693 Email: das@4kbw.co.uk Web: www.4kbw.co.uk 5