June 28, 2023
Mitigating the effects of catastrophic events on personal and business landscapes.
Our firm has considerable experience advising and litigating on a myriad of first-party property coverage issues, such as:
- All-risk
- Inland marine
- Commercial crime
- Equipment breakdown
- Business income/extra expense and service interruption
We counsel on the claims resolution and valuation issues presented by property insurance claims, whether isolated events affecting individual policyholders or catastrophic loss scenarios.
Business income and extra expense claims often involve challenging coverage, causation and valuation issues, and the firm frequently advises clients every step of the way in the adjustment of these claims. In addition to providing coverage advice to clients, the firm also assists clients with respect to:
- Appraisal
- Investigation of claims
- Communications/negotiations with policyholders
- Examinations under oath
- Matters relating to proofs of loss
- Drafting policy forms and endorsements
- Litigation of claims that cannot otherwise be resolved
TEAM
EXPERIENCE
- Following discovery, obtained summary judgment against insured for failure to substantiate “direct physical loss of or damage to” under first-party business interruption policy coverage.
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Obtained summary judgment against policyholder for failure to substantiate first party fire loss.
- Obtained affirmance of judgment for first-party property insurer on an ordinance-and-law claim on basis that a sub-limit applied.
- Assisted in successful negotiation of settlement relative to claim involving the partial collapse of large office building in metropolitan area that posed life-safety issues.
- Resolved, without payment to insured, complex and significant contingent business-income and extra-expense claim arising out of alleged damage to property of insured's foreign supplier.
- Assisted with investigation and valuation of claims involving string of employee thefts at insured hotel, and performed evaluation of related coverage issues.
- Successfully resolved commercial property lawsuit in Harris County, Texas, involving significant hurricane property damage and business-income loss, after the court agreed with the carrier and dismissed several of the insured's claims immediately prior to trial via motions in limine.
- Obtained favorable court rulings and, ultimately, settlement in defending insurer in $20 million coverage dispute in state court arising out of alleged Ponzi scheme and employee dishonesty, including bad faith claims.
- Represented insurer in coverage action involving coverage under financial institution bond for claim by insured bank's receiver that employee participated in inducing bank to make loans to prominent fraudster.
- Won jury verdict on insurer's cross-claim against insured in bad faith litigation, that insured fraudulently pursued fire loss and obtained criminal restitution award.
- Assisted with appraisal of product spoilage in claim involving complicated valuation issues.
- Obtained judgment permitting denial of first-party property claim upon establishing that insured engaged in a scheme to submit a fraudulent claim.
- Obtained dismissal with prejudice for insurer in federal court action involving a multimillion-dollar fidelity claim, including bad faith allegations, arising from employee dishonesty at non-profit organization.
- Successfully denied coverage for vandalism and burglary claim and obtained rescission of first-party property policy following investigation and using Examinations Under Oath to successfully establish misrepresentations and concealments in insurance application.
- Secured affirmance on summary judgment that business income loss to the insured's telecommunications company following a flood was limited to the period of restoration instead of the 12-month period the insured allegedly sustained due to suspension of its operations.
- Obtained favorable settlement in federal court coverage dispute over multimillion-dollar fidelity claim arising from health insurance fraud and related employee-dishonesty claims.
- Successfully used favorable discovery and dispositive-motion rulings to obtain settlement for insurers in a $60 million coverage dispute in federal court arising from a trading Ponzi scheme and allegations of employee dishonesty.
- Obtained reversal of a $9 million business interruption jury verdict on basis that the client's first-party property policy did not owe coverage.
- Obtained affirmance that coverage action was properly dismissed in favor of another forum.
- Obtained affirmance of judgment for first-party property insurer on ordinance-and-law claim, based upon court's agreement that sub-limit applied.
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