Katy Handley
Call 2021
Instruct Katy
To instruct Katy please contact our clerks on +44 (0)20 7842 5555 or email [email protected].
Katy Handley is a junior tenant at 4 Pump Court with a broad commercial law practice and experience in both domestic and international disputes.
Katy has been instructed in a variety of construction, technology, and professional negligence claims in both the County Court and the TCC, and is also regularly instructed in admiralty matters. Clients have described her as “well prepared, clear and methodical” and “able to cope well with the unexpected”.
Katy’s experience includes:
- Construction, Engineering and Energy
- Commercial litigation
- Financial Services, Banking and Insurance
- Technology & Telecoms disputes
- Professional Negligence
- Shipping
Construction
Katy is regularly instructed as sole counsel to draft pleadings and appear in construction matters in the TCC. She has experience in cladding disputes and in-depth knowledge of the implications of the Building Safety Act 2022. In the 4 Pump Court Construction Newsletter, Katy has provided an update on key changes brought in by this act.
Featured Construction cases
- Assisted with a claim for indemnity under an insurance policy for damages resulting from defective water-proofing of a property, which subsequently led to the development of fungal decay
- Instructed as junior counsel to Matthew Thorne to draft a Letter of Claim in a high value cladding dispute
- Instructed as junior counsel to Tom Crangle to draft a response in an adjudication brought by a the main contractor of a hospital construction project against the mechanical and electrical engineer in relation to alleged defects in the heating and cooling system
- Instructed to draft a Reply in a claim for breach of profit-sharing agreement by a property developer against the owner of the property
- Instructed to advise on whether limitation had expired in a claim assigned by a piling works contractor following liquidation against customers under a JCT contract
- Assisted with advising on defending a potential claim under a NEC3 contract for defective design requiring remedial works estimated in excess of £5million
- Instructed as sole counsel in an adjudication enforcement hearing concerning costs and interest in the Technology & Construction Court
- Instructed as junior counsel to Jennie Gillies in responding to one of the first actions in the FTT brought by leaseholders in relation to cladding defects pursuant to new DPA 1972 provisions introduced by the BSA 2023
- Instructed as sole counsel drafting a Defence to a claim brought against an architect for defective design of a residential property, considering in particular issues of limitation and causation
- Advised on liability, causation, limitation and quantum in the context of a claim against installers of a potential claim arising out of the negligent installation of a defective tap
- Instructed as sole counsel to draft the Defence and Contribution Notice, in the context of a “landslip” claim whereby the Defendant was alleged to have removed support from the Claimant’s adjoining land through excavation works
- Instructed as sole counsel to draft the Defence and Part 8 RFI in the context of a claim brought for breach of contract and under section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 against contractors, for allegedly defective brickwork, and also asked to advise on limitation issues and the reasonable range of settlement
- Instructed to draft Particulars of Claim for unpaid sums of circa £60k owed as payment for various building works undertaken by the Claimant at the Defendant’s residence
- Instructed as sole counsel to draft pleadings in a construction project financing dispute worth circa £200k
Commercial Litigation
Katy has experience in complex commercial disputes, in both litigation and arbitration, often with an international flavour. She has assisted with numerous service out and substituted service applications and advised on the application of the service convention post-Brexit. She has recently given a talk, with Stephen Cogley KC and Laurence Page, on the main issues surrounding service in and service out in the context of actions in fraud.
Featured Commercial Litigation cases
- Regularly instructed to appear in CMCs and CCMCs in complex and higher value commercial disputes
- Worked on a case where the defendants sought an anti-suit injunction to restrain the claimant, a multinational technology provider, from pursuing trade secrets claims against them in the US and globally
- Advised a leading aviation insurance provider on commencing arbitration in the UK against an airline based in Estonia
- Instructed as sole counsel in numerous cases to draft various documents in an application seeking permission to serve out of the jurisdiction, substituted service and extension for the period of service of a claim form
- Instructed as sole counsel to draft necessary documents for an application seeking an order for extension of time for service, and substituted service
- Instructed as sole counsel for the Respondent in an application to vary a judgment debt order, disputing the application on the grounds of lack of cogent evidence supporting the applicant’s proposed payment plan
- Instructed as sole counsel to draft the Reply and Defence to Counterclaim, and subsequently to appear at the CCMC and final hearing, in respect of a claim for rebates agreed in the context of a contract for the provision of heat installation units
- Instructed as sole counsel to advice on and draft particulars of claim (both in contract and in negligence) against a manufacturer and supplier under a hire contract of a defective lorry engine which caused the vehicle to explode whilst in use
- Instructed on a highly confidential government matter concerning a multi-million-pound procurement contract
Financial Services, Banking and Insurance
Katy is regularly instructed to advise and act by banks, particularly in the context of AML regulations and consumer credit agreements. She also has experience acting for insured parties and assisting leading insurers and insurance brokers within the UK market.
Featured Financial Services, Banking and Insurance cases
- Regularly instructed on behalf of a major high street banks to defend it from claims taken pursuant to the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (mis-selling PPI)
- Instructed by a major hight street bank in an application to strike out a claim seeking damages for breach of the Equality Act 2010
- Instructed as sole counsel for the defendant in a claim against major bank for losses incurred by the bank withholding the claimant’s money, where the bank’s defence was reasonable suspicion of money laundering and fraud on the part of the claimant
- Worked on a case involving the correct construction of section 26 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 considering whether the making of an agreement by an unauthorised person, the performance of which can constitute a regulated activity, would be rendered unenforceable by that provision
- Advised on whether a loan agreement to fund construction work on a residential property was rendered unenforceable by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 or the Consumer Credit Act 1974
- Assisted with compliance with wide-ranging Norwich Pharmacal and Banker’s Trust Orders by the Royal Court of Jersey in the context of alleged breach of fiduciary duties
- Advised in conference on the reasonable range of settlement and the likely award in respect of an agreement rendered unenforceable by section 26 of FSMA 2000, but enforced by discretion under section 28 of that Act
- Appeared as sole counsel in an application to set aside default judgment made by a Bank in a claim for direct debit refunds
- Assisted insurers in identifying whether cladding defects were correctly notified under various insurance policies
- Assisted one of the UK’s leading insurance brokers with the introduction and adoption of machine learning software to extract and identify key provisions in insurance policies to increase efficiency in insurance claims
- Instructed, on numerous occasions, to represent petitioning creditors in winding up proceedings
Technology & Telecoms
Katy has experience in Chambers’ leading IT work, including assisting in high-value and complex software disputes, and advising, as sole counsel, on quantum in GDPR claims. Prior to coming to the Bar, Katy worked for an online career networking platform as an IT support specialist and also assisted the in-house legal team with GDPR compliance and privacy policy updates.
Featured Technology & Telecoms cases
- Currently instructed by Post Office Limited to assist with the public inquiry into the implementation and failures of the Horizon IT system
- Instructed as sole counsel in a hearing in the Upper Lands Tribunal considering whether expert evidence was required to resolve a valuation dispute under the Electronic Communications Code between a national mobile network operator and the owner of a site where electronic communications apparatus was installed
- Assisted with submissions to the Court of Appeal in CISGL v IBM [2022] EWCA Civ 440, by conducting research on the meaning of “wasted expenditure” in commonwealth authorities
- Assisted with advising travel meta search engines on the legality of “screen scraping” flight data from commercial airline websites, considering the potential infringement of “Database Rights” under the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997
- Assisted with drafting a Request for Further Information in an ongoing dispute involving a multi-national technology corporation against various parties alleged to have reversed engineered the claimant’s software in breach of a license agreement
- Assisted with advising on whether the sale of a “know-how” pack to participants of a proposed class action against a major software provider, in return for a share of the proceeds, would be unenforceable as a “damages-based agreement” under section 47C(8) of the Competition Act 1998
- Instructed to advise on limitation issues, and the reasonable range of settlement for a claim arising out of a data breach according to developing case law since Gulati v MGN Ltd [2015] EWCA Civ 1291and Lloyd v Google [2021] UKSC 50
Professional Negligence
Katy has experience in a broad range of professional negligence claims, particularly claims brought against building contractors, surveyors, and engineers.
Featured Professional Negligence cases
- Instructed as sole counsel to draft an amended defence and attend application hearings, seeking to rely on expert evidence and amend the defence, in proceedings brought against a surveyor based on alleged undetected defects in a residential property
- Regularly instructed, as sole counsel to draft a defence and/or at trial to defend allegedly negligent housing surveyors (particularly those covered by RICS standards) against a claim by a purchaser of a property for losses arising out of the alleged failure to identify defects in a property prior to purchase
- Instructed as sole counsel for the Claimant to draft pleadings and attend trial in a claim for negligence by a contractor in the context of domestic renovation works
- Instructed as sole counsel to defend a claim brought against a drain surveyor for alleged failure to detect a faulty septic tank
- Instructed as sole counsel at trial to defend a company against a claim by a customer for losses arising out of alleged defects with the fencing
- Assisted with disclosure for a multi-million-pound claim in respect of the alleged negligent auditing of accounts
- Assisted in responding to a potential claim brought against consultant construction engineers by a developer for damages resulting from an allegedly negligent failure to achieve an earthworks balance and minimise surplus soil
Shipping and International Trade
Katy is regularly instructed in admiralty proceedings and to draft pleadings in complex shipping disputes, often with an international element.
Featured Shipping and International Trade cases
- Instructed to advise on the prospects of success in a potential claim brought by a shipowner against the surveyor for negligent pre-purchase valuation of a vessel
- Worked on an arbitration where the claimants as time charterers sought a preliminary award for reimbursement of overpaid hire amounting to nearly US$300,000 from the owners under a NYPE 1946 time charter
- Worked on an arbitration concerning the sale of a ship under Saleform 2012 terms for the price of $70,000,000
- Instructed with Alexander Wright KC to draft an application for permission for service out substituted service, and extension of time for service, in the context of a claim for general average contributions against over 70 defendants in various jurisdiction
- Regularly instructed as sole counsel to draft pleadings and attend hearings for an actions for and against marinas in relation to unpaid berthing fees, both in rem and in personam
- Instructed to attend in rem proceedings in the Admiralty court to secure the arrest of a vessel as a result of unpaid berthing fees
- Instructed as sole counsel to draft the Particulars of Claim in respect of a demurrage claim brought by the owner of a vessel against a charterer for fees of circa US$100,000, including allegations of misrepresentation
Energy, Power & Utilities
Featured Energy, Power & Utilities cases
- Regularly instructed to draft Defences, and as sole counsel for the CCMC, on behalf of energy suppliers in claims brought by customers for alleged wrongful payment of commission to energy brokers
- Assisted with advising on a potential claim under Article 1, protocol 1 ECHR brought by various special purpose vehicle companies against Ofgem for damages resulting from Ofgem’s wrongful refusal to register the companies as producers under a renewable energy subsidy scheme
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Two new tenants at 4 Pump Court – 2022
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Instruct Katy
To instruct Katy please contact our clerks on +44 (0)20 7842 5555 or email [email protected].
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Call: +44 (0) 20 7842 5555