Louis Zvesper

Areas of expertise

• Construction & engineering
  • Adjudication

    Adjudication

    Louis has extensive adjudication experience, acting for both referring and responding parties in a wide variety of cases, including payment notice disputes, true value adjudication, defects claims, delay and disruption claims, and allegations of professional negligence.

    Louis also regularly appears in the High Court on adjudication enforcements, and has experience dealing with arguments relating to jurisdictional and natural justice challenges, stays, and set off.

  • Construction & engineering

    Construction & engineering

    As a construction specialist, Louis has experience of a wide range of construction disputes, acting for both claimants and defendants, employers, contractors and professionals, on everything from relatively modest residential matters to multi-billion pound international arbitrations. He is ranked as a “rising star” by The Legal 500 in construction.

    Louis’ experience includes acting and advising from an early pre-action stage all the way through to trial, as well as in mediation and other forms of ADR – and includes claims concerning professional liability, contractual disputes, negligence, nuisance, other tortious liabilities, and equitable remedies.

    Louis is regularly instructed in construction adjudications and adjudication enforcements in the High Court.

    Louis also has extensive experience advising and representing parties on construction insurance coverage issues, including complex Construction All Risks, contractors’ insurance and professional indemnity insurance policies.

    Louis’ recent instructions in this area include:

    • Instructions from Kennedys on a £9 million pound arbitration concerning structural engineer’s negligence and significant structural damage to a care home, led by Michael Wheater.
    • Instructions from Fieldfisher to act for a property developer in a £7m claim under a CAR policy for water damage to a luxury apartment development in London, led by David Pleiner KC.
    • Instructions from Beale and Co. on a £6 million claim in the TCC concerning structural engineer’s negligence and damage to a substantial property on Muswell Hill, led by Michael Wheater.
    • Instructions as sole counsel from Acuity Law to act for an RMC in a £5m claim relating to roofing defects and water penetration affecting a development of apartment blocks.
    • Instructions as sole counsel from CMS to act for an energy distributor in a £2.5m claim for defective connection works for a substation and PV generating station.
    • Instructions as sole counsel from Richard Nelson LLP in a £1.5m claim relating to negligent over-specification of concrete reinforcement by a structural engineer in two apartment blocks.
  • Property damage

    Property damage

    Louis has experience acting for clients in relation to property damage, including cases concerning the Party Wall Act 1996. Louis’ recent instructions in this area include instructions to act as junior counsel (led by Michael Wheater) in relation to a claim by a restaurant against the National trust for fire damage and consequential loss.

  • Construction arbitration

    Construction arbitration

    Louis has experience acting in construction arbitrations under a number of different model rules, including CIMAR and ARIAS. He is ranked as a “rising star” by The Legal 500 in construction.

    Louis’ recent instructions in this area include:

    • Instructions from Kennedys in a £9 million pound ARIAS arbitration concerning structural engineer’s negligence and significant structural damage to a care home, led by Michael Wheater.
    • Instructions from Herbert Smith Freehills in a multimillion-pound ARIAS arbitration concerning the meaning of professional services in an insurance policy within the context of marine piling, led by Nigel Jones KC, Chambers Bar Awards Commercial Litigation Silk of the Year for 2022.
    • Instructions in relation to a multi-million pound arbitration with Paul Reed KC in Peru concerning, among other things, the application of the LEG3 exclusion where the shaft of a hydroelectric plant had cracked.
    • Instructions as sole counsel from Acuity Law in a £600,000 CIMAR arbitration concerning a final account dispute relating to the construction of a retail development.
  • Professional liability construction professionals

    Professional liability construction professionals

    Louis is regularly instructed in cases concerning the liability of construction professionals, acting both for and against professionals such as architects, structural engineers, project managers etc. He is ranked as a leading junior by Legal 500 in professional negligence, and as a “rising star” in construction.

    Louis’ recent instructions in this area include:

    • Instructions from Beale and Co. in a £6 million claim in the TCC concerning structural engineer’s negligence and damage to a substantial property on Muswell Hill, led by Michael Wheater.
    • Instructions from Kennedys in a £9 million pound arbitration concerning structural engineer’s negligence and significant structural damage to a care home, led by Michael Wheater.
    • Instructions as sole counsel from Richard Nelson LLP in a £1.5m claim relating to negligent overs-pecification of concrete reinforcement by a structural engineer in two apartment blocks.
    • Instructions as sole counsel from Furley Page to act in relation to a £500,000 claim under the Third Party (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 for failure by surveyors to identify asbestos containing materials in a series of pre-demolition/refurbishment surveys.
    • Instructions as sole counsel from Beales and co. in a £150,000 claim by a water supplier for alleged negligent structural engineering works leading to a pile being driven through a sewer.
  • Construction insurance

    Construction insurance

    Louis has experience acting in relation to complex Construction All Risks, contractor’s insurance, and PII policies including on the meaning of damage and defects, fortuity, notification, co-insurance, and the construction of a range of bespoke, standard and amended exclusion clauses, such as the DE and LEG clauses. He is ranked as a “rising star” by The Legal 500 in insurance & reinsurance, and in construction.

    Louis’ recent instructions in this area include:

    • Instructions from Fieldfisher to act for a property developer in a £7m claim under a CAR policy for water damage to a luxury apartment development in London, led by David Pleiner KC.
    • Instructions as sole counsel from Fenchurch Law to act for a contractor in relation to a £800,000 coverage dispute relating to water damage to wooden floor cassettes.
    • Instructions as sole counsel from Collyer Bristow in relation to a £1 million claim for insured losses under a Construction All Risks policy, and for uninsured losses against a contractor, in connection with a development of luxury apartments in London.
    • Instructions in relation to a multi-million pound arbitration with Paul Reed KC in Peru concerning, among other things, the application of the LEG3 exclusion where the shaft of a hydroelectric plant had cracked.

    Louis is a contributor to Construction All Risks Insurance 3^rd edition (Sweet & Maxwell).

• Professional indemnity insurance

  Professional indemnity insurance

  Louis has experience acting in relation to professional indemnity insurance coverage issues. He is ranked as a “rising star” by The Legal 500 in insurance & reinsurance.

  Louis’ recent instructions in this area include:

  • Instructions from Herbert Smith Freehills in a multimillion-pound ARIAS arbitration concerning the meaning of professional services in an insurance policy within the context of marine piling, led by Nigel Jones KC, Chambers Bar Awards Commercial Litigation Silk of the Year for 2022.

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  Louis is a contributor to Construction Professional Indemnity Insurance (Sweet & Maxwell).

• Insurance coverage

  Insurance coverage

  Louis has experience acting in relation to complex insurance coverage matters – in particular business interruption, professional indemnity, and Construction All Risks insurance – involving such issues as fortuity, damage, defects, professional services, aggregation, AICW, government support and furlough, and the effects of COVID-19. He is ranked as a “rising star” by Legal 500 in insurance & reinsurance.

  Louis’ recent instructions in this area include:

  • Instructions from Fenchurch Law to act for Stonegate Pub Company Ltd in Stonegate v MS Amlin & Ors. Louis is being led by Ben Lynch KC, Adam Kramer KC, and David Pliener KC. The case was listed as one of The Lawyer magazine’s top 20 cases of 2022. It concerns a £1 billion claim for business interruption losses due to COVID-19, and is a market leading case addressing issues arising from COVID-19 in relation to aggregation, post-policy period causation, treatment of furlough and government support, and AICW. The Stage 1 Judgment was handed down in October 2022, with an appeal to the Court of Appeal due to be head in November 2023, and a Stage 2 trial thereafter.
  • Instructions from Burges Salmon to act for a UK café chain in a £17m business interruption insurance claim, led by David Pleiner KC.
  • Instructions from Fieldfisher to act for a property developer in a £7m claim under a CAR policy for water damage to a luxury apartment development in London, led by David Pliener KC.
  • Instructions from Herbert Smith Freehills in a multimillion-pound PII coverage arbitration, led by Nigel Jones KC, Chambers Bar Awards Commercial Litigation Silk of the Year for 2022.
  • Instructions as sole counsel from Fenchurch Law to act for a £3m business interruption insurance claim by an pharmaceutical R&D company.
  • Instructions as sole counsel from Collyer Bristow in relation to a £1 million claim for insured losses under a Construction All Risks policy, and for uninsured losses against a contractor, in connection with a development of luxury apartments in London.
• Commercial dispute resolution

  Commercial dispute resolution

  Louis is regularly instructed as sole and junior counsel to act in relation to complex high value commercial disputes, whether pre-action, in litigation, arbitration, or ADR. He is ranked as “Up and Coming” by Chambers and Partners for CDR. Louis also has extensive experience in insurance coverage and construction disputes, for which see details under relevant headings.

  Louis’ recent instructions in this area include:

  • Instructions from Fenchurch Law to act for Stonegate Pub Company Ltd in Stonegate v MS Amlin & Ors. Louis is being led by Ben Lynch KC, Adam Kramer KC, and David Pliener KC. The case was listed as one of The Lawyer magazine’s top 20 cases of 2022. It concerns a £1 billion claim for business interruption losses due to COVID-19, and is a market leading case addressing issues arising from COVID-19 in relation to aggregation, post-policy period causation, treatment of furlough and government support, and AICW. The Stage 1 Judgment was handed down in October 2022, with an appeal to the Court of Appeal due to be head in November 2023, and a Stage 2 trial thereafter.
  • Instructions from Birketts to act as sole counsel in relation to an £800,000 claim for damage to plant and economic loss resulting from defective components in a steam screw generator supplied by a genset manufacturer.