She has deep experience in the conduct of defences of public liability and professional indemnity proceedings acting for insurers as well as NSW Government agencies and local government authorities.

Janet has also worked in Dust Diseases litigation for over a decade acting for major defendants in the Dust Diseases Tribunal. She has been appointed as a Contributions Assessor to the Dust Diseases Tribunal of NSW since December 2018.  This role involves the assessment and apportionment of liability of between multiple defendants in plaintiff’s claims.

Legal expertise

• Assessing liability (including apportionment) and quantum in large number of personal injury and property damage public liability claims against state agencies and local governments. Drafting advices to the client in relation to same, including advice on reserves and as appropriate, settlement or defence strategies.
• Attendances at hundreds of Mediations and informal settlement conferences.
• Appeared without Counsel on contested and non-contested interlocutory matters in the District Court of NSW and the Court of Appeal of NSW and conducted successful Appeals in the Supreme Court of NSW.
• Successfully opposed Notices of Motion seeking leave to extend the Limitation Period against a client insured.
• Advising on common law issues including relative blameworthiness and complex causation issues as well as statutory issues, commencing with the application of the Dust Diseases Standard Presumptions in the first instance.
• Appearing in the Dust Diseases Tribunal on contested and non-contested matters and acted in numerous proceedings commenced in the Dust Diseases Tribunal of NSW including acting for Australia’s largest manufacturer of asbestos containing products in the defence of claims brought against it as well as on recovery actions commenced on its behalf against third parties.
• Acted on the successful Appeal to the High Court of Australia of CDJ v VAJ [1998] HCA 67 – this case involved a determination of what constitutes fresh evidence on Appeal, and the tests of admissibility of such evidence.
• Acted on the successful opposition to an application for Leave to Appeal to the NSW Court of Appeal in Swain v Concord Council [2002] NSWCA 340 – this claim involved an application for Leave to Appeal from the decision of Cooper DCJ who had found in favour of the Defendant. The case involved an assessment of what constitutes an “obvious danger”.
• Acted on the successful Appeal to the NSW Court of Appeal of Leichhardt Municipal Council v Green [2004] NSWCA 139 – this case concerned the admissibility of “expert evidence” as well as the discharge of the plaintiff’s onus of proof to establish a common law duty of care on the defendant.
• First advised on the defence of the claim Montgomery v Leichhardt Municipal Council. The plaintiff succeeded in the District Court and Court of Appeal.  However, the High Court in [2007] HCA 6 subsequently upheld the appeal of Leichhardt Council and found in favour of the Council in relation to the claim.
• Defending proceedings commenced on behalf of third party motor vehicle insurers, public liability insurers (example defending claims commenced by property insurers for property damage) and workers compensation insurers (the latter being claims commenced pursuant to Section 151Z of the Workers Compensation Act 1987).

Legal expertise

• Dispute Resolution
• Government
• Insurance