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Experience

Recent cases include:

• acted for the City of Yarra in common law and statutory claims involving contaminated land: MFESB v City of Yarra (Vic. Supreme Court and Court of Appeal)
• acting for building surveyors and fire services engineers in claims and inquiries regarding aluminium composite panel (ACP) cladding to high rise buildings
• acted for civil engineers in a dispute involving a major flooding of the Yallourn coal mine: EnergyAustralia Yallourn & Ors v SMEC Australia & Ors (Vic. Supreme Court)
• acted for the EPA (Vic) in common law claims and judicial review sought by licensed landfill operators: Hi-Quality Quarry Products & anor v EPA (Vic) & Anor (Vic. Supreme Court)
• acted for a national contractor in a claim relating to the flooding of 52 floors of a high rise apartment building: Owners Corporations v Grocon Constructors (VCAT)
• acted for design engineers in a multi-party claim by Melbourne Water involving the alleged failure of sewerage treatment tanks at the Eastern Treatment Plant (Vic. Supreme Court)
• acted for train operators in claims involving metropolitan and regional railway level crossing collisions: V/Line v Jenkins & Ors and Metro Trains Melbourne v Bollen (Vic. Supreme Court)
• acted for geotechnical engineers in a dispute involving the alleged failure of a municipal recreation facility, including claims against a Lloyd’s of London syndicate (Vic. Supreme Court)
• acted for the EPA (Vic) in a class action arising from methane gas escaping from a landfill into a residential development: Wheelahan v City of Casey & Ors (Vic. Supreme Court)
• acted for building surveyors in a professional negligence claim involving proportionate liability: Godfrey Spowers v Lincolne Scott Australia & Ors (Vic Supreme Court and Court of Appeal).

Profile

Tony specialises in insurance, construction, professional liability and environmental law, and is a Victorian Bar Advanced Mediator. He frequently chairs Court ordered conclaves of technical experts.

He has extensive experience in representing, advising and resolving disputes for local, state and federal government, statutory authorities, construction professionals, property owners and contractors, as well as professional indemnity, construction risk and liability insurers.

Tony is currently recognised in Doyle’s Guide in the following categories:

• Leading Construction & Infrastructure Junior Barrister – Australia 2018-2024
• Leading Construction & Infrastructure Junior Barrister – Victoria 2018-2024.
  

In 2017, Tony was awarded the President’s Award by Consult Australia, the peak national body representing engineers and related professions in the built and natural environment. The annual award was given for his contribution to the engineering profession, including legal advice on law reform and policy issues, and professional development and training.

He has advised government and others on law reform, particularly on proportionate liability, insurance, building regulation and professional liability. Tony’s report: ‘Proportionate Liability: Towards National Consistency’ was produced for a working group of the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General to review the national legislative framework on proportionate liability.

Tony is a Sessional Member at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

He is a Senior Fellow of the University of Melbourne Law School, and is a guest lecturer at the Monash University Law School.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Tony was a partner at DLA Piper (Phillips Fox) for 10 years. From 1997 until 2018, he was a Member of the Victorian Legal Profession Tribunal and its successor, the VCAT Legal Practice List.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.