Sarah Fountain

Sarah Fountain

Partner
About

Sarah specialises in insurance and corporate litigation.

In the area of insurance, Sarah acts for insurers and their insureds in a wide variety of insurance matters, including professional indemnity claims, public and products liability claims, directors & officers claims, business interruption claims and regulatory inquiries. Her work in professional indemnity claims including acting for many constructions professionals (architects, engineers, building surveyors and project managers), accountants, health professionals, IT consultants and others. Sarah also acts for professionals in professional conduct inquiries and for businesses in a variety of regulatory inquiries, including prosecutions.

Sarah advises for insurers on complex policy coverage issues and acts for insurers in policy coverage disputes.

In the area incorporate litigation, Sarah regularly acts for clients in shareholder disputes and disputes arising out to M&A transactions, including breach of warranty claims.

Professional QualificationsSolicitor of the High Court of AustraliaSolicitor of the Senior Courts of England and WalesSolicitor of the Supreme Court of South Australia

EXPERIENCE

  • Acting for insureds (on the instructions of their insurers) in hundreds of professional negligence claims, including claims against accountants, auditors, lawyers, engineers, architects, financial planners and insurance brokers
  • Acting for a variety of professionals in professional conduct inquiries
  • Providing indemnity advice to insurers in relation to a range of insurance policies, including professional indemnity policies, D&O policies, product liability policies, ISR policies and management liability policies
  • Acting for auditors and their London based insurers in a $50 million claim arising out of the collapse of a financial intermediary and investment broker/adviser. The claim was brought by the liquidators of the collapsed company, who sought to increase the return to thousands of investors
  • Acting for insurers and reinsurers in relation to business interruption claims, including a claim arising out of the flooding of mines, which was one of the largest single loss insurance claims that has been made in Australia
  • Advising insurers in relation to drafting policy wordings
  • Acting for defendants in oppression actions, which have involved complex business valuation issues  
  • Acting for plaintiffs and defendants in general commercial litigation matters, particularly contract disputes 
Education

    Publications

    Sarah has written articles for insurance publications, including developments in the area of reinsurance.

    Memberships And Affiliations

    • Australian Insurance Law Association
    • Australian Professional Indemnity Group
    • Law Institute of Victoria
    • Women in Insurance

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