Trudie Nichols is partner in our Durban office Litigation Practice.

She specialises in insurance, corporate, constitutional, medical and malpractice law. Trudie acts for clients in commercial, insurance, mergers, acquisitions and human rights matters before the Magistrate’s Court and the High Court. Her experience extends to business rescue and professional indemnity. She also analyses legal documents and legislation, conducts legal audits and facilitates workshops.

Trudie has acted for various non-governmental organisations and voluntary associations in relation to class action constitutional litigation. This includes matters relating to education, socio-economic rights and the environment. Her commercial and corporate law litigation experience includes representing and advising clients in relation to commercial and contractual law and disputes, financial recoveries and business rescue. Trudie’s criminal law experience includes acting on behalf of accused, advising on and facilitating fraud prosecutions on behalf of companies and sitting as an Assessor in High Court criminal trials.

She is an accredited facilitator for National Treasury, a past chairperson of the Association of Woman in Insurance and a member of The Maritime Law Association of South Africa and the Association of Woman in Insurance.

She has a BA and LLB degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Certificates in Proficiency and Intermediate Business Studies from the Insurance Institute of South Africa.

Relevant Experience

Trudie has the following specific insurance law experience:

• representing attorneys and advocates on the instructions of their professional indemnity insurers in actions against them. She has been instructed by the Attorneys Insurance Indemnity Fund and its predecessors since 2004 and has successfully defended 100% of the actions which have proceeded to trial.
• representing insurance companies in actions against them relating to claim repudiations.
• representing insurance companies and their insureds in subrogated recovery claims
• advising insurance companies on policy wording and regulatory compliance.
• representing insurance brokers in respect of professional indemnity actions against them; FSB enquiries and legal challenges to intermediary insurance legislation.
• advising both insurers and insurance brokers on policy wording and interpretation and insurance regulatory compliance and advice;
• representing consulting engineers and engineers in professional negligence actions and advising them on policy wording;
• representing self-insured and cell captive companies in relation to public and general liability claims and actions;
• representing state owned entities in respect of self-insured insurance actions against them.

Significant Matters

Trudie has been involved in the following reported cases:

• Anirudh v. Gunase (13668/2008) 2010 (6) SA 531 (KZD);
• Gunase v. Anirudh (826/2010) 2012 (2) SA 398 (SCA);
• Abahlali Basemjondolo Movement SA and Another v. Premier of the Province of KZN and Others (Slums Act) 2009 JDR 1027 (CC);
• Abahlali Basemjondolo Movement SA and Another v Premier, KwaZulu-Natal, and other 2009(3)SA 245;
• Watersure (Pty) Ltd v Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality 2010 JDR 0069 (ECP);
• Jesse v The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development N.O. 2012 JDR 0089 (KZD);
• Mchunu and 38 Others v. The Executive Mayor, Ethekwini Municipality and 5 Others 2013 (1) SA 555.
• X-Moor Transport CC v Richter 2014 JDR 0558 (KZP)
• MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works of Province of KwaZulu-Natal v Ethekwini Municipality 2015 JDR 1700 (KZD)

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