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It’s Always the First Place You Look: Finding Harm and Completing the Cause of Action in Negligence for a Defective Building

Tuesday, May 5, 2026 - 6.00PM
Venue
National Liberal Club, 1 Whitehall Pl, Westminster, London SW1A 2HE
Speakers
Kevin Touhey, Associate, White & Case LLP

The Hudson Prize Presentations

The SCL Hudson Prize committee invites you to a stimulating lecture given by Kevin Touhey, this year’s competition winner. Our speaker will be discussing the subject matter of his 1st Prize-winning essay: when does a cause of action in negligence accrue to the owner of a defective building? This question is of vital importance to construction lawyers and has generated controversy since Diplock LJ’s first analysis in the 1960s right down to the present-day Supreme Court decision in URS Corp v BDW Trading.

Join us as our speaker traces the history of this elusive concept from the origins of its mid-20th century jurisprudence across multiple jurisdictions and the historical shifts in emphasis from discoverability to physical damage, culminating with his own analysis as to the preferred approach.

(Please note that bookings must be made online for this event, and SCL will not take bookings by email)

Please also note: this event will attract 1 CPD hour unless otherwise advised at the beginning.

Chair
Michael Levenstein, Barrister, Gatehouse Chambers and Chair of the Hudson Prize Competition
Event region
London
Organisers
Rebecca Shorter, Murray Armes, Lucy Pearson, Louise Forster, Amy Armitage & Sue Kim