Richard has more than 20 years’ experience in advising and litigating all areas of the automotive legal sector, ranging from commercial contract disputes such as engineering, supply of services and parts, driver and sponsorship contracts, through to automotive business sales, and classic and collector car disputes.

Examples of Richard’s cases are given below.

Richard gains plaudits in the independent legal guides (Chambers UK and Legal 500) for the services he provides, with quotes such as:

  • “talented, clever and very good at what he does”
  • “commercially minded and efficient”
  • “superb on his feet and an excellent negotiator”
  • “finds solutions to tricky problems”
  • “client-friendly”
  • “A very strong trial advocate”

 

Commercial Contract & Business Sales

Richard commenced in practice dealing with advisory and litigation work for Tom Walkinshaw’s TWR and Arrows Formula One operations, including driver contract disputes (Arrows v Verstappen; Arrows v Diniz), sponsor contract disputes, and supplier disputes. He has continued with such work for other clients ever since, expanding into other similar areas such as disputed business sales and joint ventures.

Recent cases have included the following:

  • Race engineering contract – dispute over level of preparation of Porsche Carrera Cup racecar for races
  • Seat belt supplier – dispute over supply contracts
  • Sale of precision engineering businesses – various claims of breach of warranty
  • Car finance agreements – breach of agreements and recovery of vehicles

 

Classic, Collector & Prestige Cars

Richard’s work has covered all of the typical areas of dispute:

  • Disputes over engineering and mechanical work
  • Disputes over ownership
  • Disputes over provenance
  • Sale of cars without title
  • Sale of cars that fail to meet description or warranties

Recent cases have included:

  • Disputed provenance of a classic Ferrari
  • Dispute over repair work carried out to a Caterham
  • Importation and sale of a performance car without title
  • Defective repair work to a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud
  • Disputed ownership and rights in a prototype Bentley chassis