Agenda

A: An analysis of recent case law

9.15am-10.15am
11.45am-12.45pm

This session will look at recent Subsidence case law, with particular attention to Limitation and Tree Preservation Orders

Facilitated by: Anna Norrie, partner, Plexus Law, and Julia Wilkinson, salaried partner, Plexus Law.

B: Can litigation ever be free?

10.30am-11.30am
1.00pm-2.00pm

Following recent developments with after the event (ATE) insurance and conditional fee agreements, some legal providers claim to offer a cost and risk free subsidence recoveries service. This workshop explores how such funding arrangements operate and asks:

• Are they too good to be true? What risks remain for Claimant insurers, their representatives and ATE providers?
• Who is actually paying? What are the implications for Defendant insurers and their representatives?
• Who is looking after the policyholder?
• What further developments can the market expect and how might it react?

Facilitated by: William Ellerton, partner, Eversheds and Anthony Davies, associate, Eversheds

C: Collaborative approaches to managing third party trees

9.15am-10.15am
2.15pm-3.15pm

• Developing relationships with local authorities
• What protocols can we put in place and what effect will they have?
• Managing disputes efficiently

Facilitated by: Mike Duckworth, national engineering manager for project managed subsidence, Cunningham Lindsey UK and Peter Osborne, Treesubs Ltd

D: Managing Tree Subsidence Risk in an Ever Changing Political Climate

10.30am-11.30am
3.30pm-4.30pm

• Impacts of the corporate manslaughter bill
• Changing legislation relating to trees
• Political pressures surrounding trees

Facilitated by: Paul Thompson and Keiron Hart, Marishal Thompson

E: Workshop reserved for Infront Innovation

11.45am-12.45pm
2.15pm-3.15pm

Subsidence–Latest Research, Development and Technology (improve efficiency and reduce cost)

• The latest from The Clay Research Group
• What are roots doing down there?
• Should trees be the problem they are perceived to be – reality versus myth
• How can we manage tree induced clay shrinkage claims better – where does it still go wrong?
• Is there any soils testing we can rely on these days?
• New approaches to subsidence in the future
• How predictive soils and tree modelling can revolutionise an Underwriting and Claims approach

F: Subsidence and Floods

1.00pm-2.00pm
3.30pm-4.30pm

This workshops takes a look at the effects that the 2007 flood events, combines with a flat subsidence year, have had on the subsidence industry. Discussion will include:

• Skills and resource issues
• Pressures on suppliers
• Priorities and work in progress
• Process development
• Event planning
• Lessons learned for the future
• Case studies where flooding caused subsidence damage

Facilitated by: Nigel Barham and Jill Maclean, executive committee members, Subsidence Forum