Sarah Metcalfe

Full Profile

Sarah acts for insurers in construction professional indemnity claims and provides advice and acts for insurers on complex coverage disputes. 

Sarah has deep construction experience and has acted for various building and construction professionals in a broad range of professional liability claims including complex multi-party construction disputes and in disciplinary proceedings. She has successfully represented architects, contractors, building surveyors, engineers and construction managers in defending claims brought against them. The projects underlying these disputes have included tunnels, hospitals, high rise buildings, schools and commercial buildings.

Sarah represented the architecture firm in the well-publicised test case for non-compliant cladding in Australia, the Lacrosse case. Sarah’s experience includes advising and defending insurers in coverage disputes, including a number of large litigated coverage disputes arising from large infrastructure projects in Australia. Sarah also has experience representing law firms and barristers on solicitors PI claims. 
   
Sarah is a proficient disputes lawyer whose talent lies in her ability to identify key issues in matters and negotiate commercial outcomes for clients. Sarah is very responsive and works closely with her clients to achieve successful outcomes. Sarah understands the reputational risks clients often face when defending PI claims and the desire of (many) clients to maintain working relationships with other parties to a dispute, post resolution of the dispute.

Experience

Professional indemnity

• Sarah represented Elenberg Fraser Architects in the Lacrosse 'test' case for ACP cladding disputes. This case was the subject of appeals to the Court of Appeal in Victoria. 
• Sarah is currently representing multiple insurers in several significant construction related PI coverage disputes involving infrastruture projects in Australia. 
• Sarah is currently representing numerous architecture firms in claims brought against them in VCAT regarding the design and construction of high rise residential buildings with non-compliant ACP cladding and other building defects.
• Sarah represented a top tier law firm in a proceeding brought against it and 10 other defendants by a listed company alleging the law firm had given negligent advice and breached its fiduciary duties.
• Sarah represented an electrical engineering company in a multi-party litigated matter in the Supreme Court of Victoria concerning an electrical fire that caused significant damage to a supermarket.

Contractual disputes

• Sarah currently represents a large building company in a multi-party proceeding in VCAT concerning the construction of a high rise building with defective plumbing equipment.
• Sarah represented a large building company in a complex claim brought against a plumbing contractor in relation to defective plumbing works across a large number of domestic buildings in Victoria.