Bernard Cheng

Senior Associate

Expertise
Insurance & Health
Location
Sydney
media

Bernard has extensive experience as a coverage (including recoveries) and defence specialist working on major and complex energy and infrastructure, property (including ISR, contract works, contract all risks), inland marine, and professional indemnity (construction and engineering) matters and class actions. He acts for domestic and international insurers in complex high value multi-party litigated, and unlitigated, property and professional indemnity disputes.

Bernard specialises in:

  • Professional Indemnity (Building and Construction)
  • Major and complex property damage including infrastructure and energy
  • Policy and coverage disputes
  • Commercial litigation (including multi-party)

He has advised on first party property and construction risks, as well as acting in defence of complex multi-party litigated, and un-litigated, major defect, mitigation, delay, and recovery actions involving public infrastructure, energy (including renewables), SME’s, and first party property. His focus is to efficiently and plainly distil the heart of disputed issues clearly and efficiently working closely with his clients which include builders, engineers, architects/designers, and certifiers.

'From my experience, it is critically important to take the time to know our clients well, so that we understand their commercial perspectives and approaches to the issues that we advise on. In doing so we are able to work closely in partnership to achieve their goals.'

Key matters Bernard has acted in include:

  • Delay mitigation claims involving a hydro-electric infrastructure project
  • Defective material certification in relation to structural steel manufactured overseas for use in a multimillion-dollar domestic construction project
  • Defective design of sediment basins to a major arterial road duplication project
  • The ‘second test case’ commenced to test the operation of prevention of access clauses in Industrial Special Risk Policies in response to Covid-19 Government closure orders
Qualifications
  • Bachelor of Teaching
  • Bachelor of Education
  • Juris Doctor
Expertise

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