Kathy Maus elected Secretary-Treasurer of Defense Research Institute.
Butler, Weihmuller, Katz, Craig, LLP is pleased to announce that Kathy Maus was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the Defense Research Institute (DRI) at its Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. As a former president of the numerous organization and former Co-Chair of the Bad Faith Committee for the ACCC, she is no stranger to hard work and dedication. We would like to extend our sincerest congratulations on such a huge milestone.
Posted November 15, 2022
DBusiness names ACCC Fellows Browning and Newa from Plunkett Cooney among its 2023 Top Lawyers
DBusiness magazine recently named eight metro Detroit attorneys from Plunkett Cooney, one of the Midwest’s oldest and largest law firms, to its 2023 list of “Top Lawyers.” ACCC Fellows Charles W. Browning and Kenneth C. Newawere among those named on the list.
DBusiness is Detroit-based multi-media platform that provides daily news coverage about the business climate in southeast Michigan. Its annual Top Lawyers list, which was published in the November/December edition of DBusiness magazine, was compiled based on a peer-review survey of attorneys in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and Livingston counties seeking lawyer nominations in 50 practice areas.
Established in 1913, Plunkett Cooney is a leading provider of business and litigation services to clients in the private and public sectors. The firm employs approximately 140 attorneys in seven Michigan cities, as well as in Chicago, Illinois, Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana.
Plunkett Cooney has achieved the highest rating (AV) awarded by Martindale-Hubbell, a leading, international directory of law firms, and it was recently named a “Best Law Firm” nationally in 11 practice areas as determined by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® in 2022.
Posted October 24, 2022
Robinson+Cole’s Rhonda Tobin Recognized as Managing Partner of the Year
Tobin is one of five women selected by Corporate Counsel to receive award
Robinson+Cole Managing Partner Rhonda J. Tobin is one of five women selected for recognition as “Managing Partner of the Year” as part of Corporate Counsel’s 2022 Women, Influence and Power in Law (WIPL) Awards. Tobin was profiled in a special supplement published on October 17, 2022 and presented with the award during a ceremony on October 18, 2022 hosted in conjunction with the WIPL Conference in Washington D.C.
A trial lawyer who has spent her entire thirty-two-year law career at Robinson+Cole, Tobin has significant trial experience in state and federal courts and has been involved in high-profile insurance coverage litigation on behalf of insurers, including the September 11 terrorist attacks, sexual abuse claims involving the Catholic church and academic institutions, and coverage issues arising out of the #MeToo movement and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to becoming the first woman to lead the 177-year-old firm as Managing Partner, Tobin served on Robinson+Cole’s Managing Committee for 12 years and as a chair of the firm’s Litigation Section for 13 years. Since assuming the Managing Partner role, Tobin has continued executing on the firm’s Strategic Plan while ensuring loyalty to the firm’s core values of collaboration, civility and inclusion. During her tenure, the firm has experienced strategic, targeted growth by expanding its practice and geographic diversity. This has been accomplished through lateral hires which have deepened the strength of several practice areas, including bankruptcy, health care, intellectual property, business litigation, real estate and affordable housing, managed care and insurance. Tobin has also overseen the launch or continuation of several diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including becoming Mansfield Rule certified, providing billable-hour credit for participation in DEI-related activities, and instituting the use of personal pronouns, which create a more inclusive workplace and empower diverse lawyers to become leaders in the firm.
Tobin’s reputation, as well as her expertise and knowledge in insurance coverage litigation, led to her election as a Fellow of the highly-selective American College of Coverage Counsel. Earlier this year, she was listed in the Hartford Business Journal’s 2022 Power Players section highlighting the region’s most influential leaders and was also selected as one of the publication’s 15 “Women in Business” honorees for 2020. In addition, Tobin was recognized in the National Law Journal’s 2021 Insurance Law Trailblazers list for being a leader in the insurance industry. She was also honored in 2020 by Business Insurance as one of its 30 “Women to Watch” in North America. Tobin is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and The Connecticut Bar Foundation, and has been active in, the Defense Research Institute (DRI), Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) and the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS).
The WIPL Awards honor general counsel and other in-house leaders as well as law firm leaders who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing the empowerment of women in law and made a remarkable difference in the legal profession.
Posted August 23, 2022
Charles W. Browning Kenneth C. Newa
Browning & Newa named as Plunkett Cooney attorneys among the 2023 ‘Best Lawyers in America’
Thirty-two Plunkett Cooney attorneys were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.
First published in 1983, Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which lawyers within their own geographic region nominate their peers. These lawyers are not allowed to select nominees from the same area(s) in which they practice. Inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered an honor because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed.
In addition to inclusion on the list this year, three Plunkett Cooney attorneys received the Best Lawyers™ “Lawyer of the Year” award. Daniel J. Hurley was named the Best Lawyers® 2023 Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants “Lawyer of the Year” in Columbus, Ohio. In Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Jeffrey C. Gerish received the Best Lawyers® 2023 Appellate Practice “Lawyer of the Year” award and Scott H. Sirich was recognized as the Construction Law “Lawyer of the Year” award winner. This designation is awarded to only a single attorney in each practice area in each community.
Posted August 8, 2022
Robinson+Cole Managing Partner Among Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women in Litigation Rhonda J. Tobin is the only female litigator in Connecticut named to national list
Robinson+Cole Managing Partner and past Litigation Section Co-chair Rhonda J. Tobinhas been named one of Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women in Litigation for 2022. Published on August 4, 2022, the guide focuses on the leading Top 250 female litigators from across the US who have earned their place by participating in some of the most impactful litigation matters in recent history, as well as by earning the hard-won respect of their peers and clients as top players in their respective fields. Tobin is the only female litigator chosen in the state of Connecticut. This is the ninth consecutive year she has received the distinction.
Tobin has represented insurance companies for more than 30 years in litigation, arbitration, and mediation of complex disputes involving insurance and reinsurance coverage. She is a frequent lecturer at insurance industry programs focused on insurance coverage and litigation. Prior to becoming the first woman to lead Robinson+Cole as Managing Partner, she served on the firm’s Managing Committee for 12 years and as a chair of the firm’s Litigation Section for 13 years.
A trial lawyer who has spent her entire thirty-two year law career at Robinson+Cole, Tobin has significant trial experience in state and federal courts, and has been involved in high-profile coverage litigation on behalf of insurers, including the September 11 terrorist attacks, sexual abuse claims involving the Catholic church and academic institutions, and coverage issues arising out of the #MeToo movement and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tobin’s reputation, as well as her expertise and knowledge in insurance coverage litigation, led to her election as a Fellow of the highly-selective American College of Coverage Counsel. Earlier this year, she was listed in the Hartford Business Journal’s 2022 Power Players section highlighting the region’s most influential leaders and was also selected as one of the publication’s 15 “Women in Business” honorees for 2020. In addition, Tobin was recognized in the 2021 Insurance Law Trailblazers list for being a leader in the insurance industry. Published in a special supplement of the National Law Journal, the inaugural list spotlights professionals who are agents of change in the area of insurance law. She was also honored in 2020 by Business Insurance as one of its 30 “Women to Watch” in North America. Tobin is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and The Connecticut Bar Foundation, and has been active in the Professional Liability Underwriting Society, the Defense Research Institute (DRI) and Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM).
According, to its website, “the extensive research process used in the creation of Benchmark’s Top 250 Women in Litigation 2022 involves months of investigation into individual litigators’ professional activities as well as client feedback surveys and one-on-one interviews, and has culminated in the selection of the most distinguished women in the world of litigation.” Attorneys named in the publication were chosen through several phases of research: review of their recent case work, consideration of how attorneys at peer legal institutions might rank them, and client feedback on their performances. Information about Benchmark Litigation’s ranking process can be read here.
Alycen Moss Promoted to Co-Vice Chair Of Cozen O’Connor Global Insurance Department
Atlanta attorney Alycen Moss, Co-Chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Property Insurance Group, has also been appointed to Co-Vice Chair of the firm’s Global Insurance Department.
Moss, who serves as managing partner of Cozen O’Connor’s Atlanta office, concentrates her practice in civil litigation, and has extensive experience with matters pertaining to property and casualty insurance, transportation matters, and mass and complex torts.
As Co-Chair of the Property Insurance Group at Cozen O’Connor, Moss regularly advises property and casualty carriers on various coverage issues and defends carriers in lawsuits brought by insureds. She also handles life, health, disability, and commercial general liability claims. Moss has litigated numerous coverage issues, including bad faith, extracontractual damages, and deceptive trade practices claims.
“We are delighted to have Alycen help lead the continued growth in our Global Insurance Department,” said Global Insurance Department Co-Chair Joe Ziemianski. “Alycen is highly respected in the national coverage arena and brings a depth of experience to our practice leadership.”
Moss, an active member of The Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), was recently selected as the 2022 CLM Professional of the Year in Litigation Management.
She is also a member of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC). The FDCC comprises U.S. and international peer-reviewed leaders of the civil defense, corporate legal, and insurance industries. She is chair of the FDCC Property Insurance section, and Vice-Chair of the Insurance Industry Institute Committee, the Professional Women’s Forum, the Bylaws & Resolutions Committee, the FedLife Committee, and the Membership Development and Retention Committee. She also sits on the Admissions Committee. In 2021, Moss received FDCC’s John Appleman Award. This award honors the section chair who has made the most outstanding contribution to the advancement of the FDCC's educational goals through the work of his or her section
Moss is an elected fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel, an organization committed to the creative, ethical, and efficient adjudication of coverage and extracontractual disputes. She is also the Chair of the Insurance Coverage section and creator/Chair of the Women Litigators section of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association. In addition, Moss is a member of Law360’s Insurance Authority Property Editorial Board.
Moss is licensed to practice in Georgia and North Carolina. She received her B.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1994 and J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law in 1998.
Legal publication names Browning among 2021 ‘Leaders in the Law’
Plunkett Cooney partner Charles W. Browning was recently selected a 2021 “Leader in the Law” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly (MiLW), an industry publication serving the state’s legal community. This is the second time that Browning has been selected for this honor, having also been named a Leader in the Law in 2015.
Browning and the other class of 2021 honorees were selected for, among other things, their significant contributions to the practice of law in Michigan, their expertise and leadership, as well as for setting an example for other lawyers.
The annual Leaders in the Law awards ceremony will be held on Dec. 2 at the Detroit Marriott Troy. The “Lawyer of the Year,” as selected by a vote of the class, will be announced during the event. All of the 2021 honorees will be profiled in a special section of the Dec. 6 issue of MiLW.
Browning is a partner and Co-leader of Plunkett Cooney's Insurance Coverage Practice Group, overseeing the firm’s national practice as coverage counsel for numerous major insurance companies.
In addition to this honor, Browning has been designated annually for several years as a Michigan Super Lawyer and has been annually recognized by The Best Lawyers in America since 2010. He is a Fellow in the American College of Coverage Counsel. Browning is also the
2016 recipient of Defense Research Institute’s (DRI) prestigious Albert H. Parnell Award, which is presented annually to honor members who created a particularly dynamic educational program.
Browning is a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (Casualty Insurance Committee (Chair 2006-2008) and Reinsurance and Excess and Surplus Lines Committee); Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (Insurance Committee) and the American Bar Association (Litigation Section and Torts and Insurance Practice Section). He is also a member of the Board of Editors of the Defense Counsel Journal.
Browning has been admitted to practice law in the state courts of Michigan and several federal courts, and he has been admitted to practice law pro hac vice in more than 34 states. He received his law degree from the University of Detroit School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University.
Plunkett Cooney is recognized as one of the nation’s leading law firms for insurance coverage litigation. They routinely handle cutting-edge coverage litigation, including such issues as COVID-19 business interruption and emerging environmental contaminants like polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS).
Established in 1913, Plunkett Cooney is a leading provider of transactional and litigation services to clients in the private and public sectors. The firm employs approximately 150 attorneys in seven Michigan cities, Chicago, Illinois, Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana. Plunkett Cooney has achieved the highest rating (AV) awarded by Martindale-Hubbell, a leading, international directory of law firms.
For more information about Charles Browning’s selection as a 2021 Leader in the Law, contact the firm’s Director of Marketing & Business Development John Cornwell at (248) 901-4008 or via email at [email protected].
On July 12, 2021, the United States District Court Southern District of Florida affirmed and adopted the Magistrate’s Report and Recommendation granting summary judgment in favor of an insurer defended by Traub Lieberman Partner and ACCC Fellow Michael K. Kiernan, Partner Bradley Guldalian, and Senior Associate Ashley Kellgren.
Posted August 9, 2021
Robinson+Cole Managing Partner Among Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women in Litigation Rhonda J. Tobin is the only female litigator in Connecticut named to national list
Robinson+Cole Managing Partner and past Litigation Section Co-chair Rhonda J. Tobin has been named one of Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women in Litigation for 2021. Published on August 5, 2021, the guide focuses on the leading Top 250 female litigators from across the US who have earned their place by participating in some of the most impactful litigation matters in recent history, as well as by earning the hard-won respect of their peers and clients as top players in their respective fields. Tobin is the only female litigator chosen in the state of Connecticut. This is the eighth consecutive year she has received the distinction.
Tobin has represented insurance companies for 30 years in litigation, arbitration, and mediation of complex disputes involving insurance and reinsurance coverage. She is a frequent lecturer at insurance industry programs focused on insurance coverage and litigation. Prior to becoming the first woman to lead Robinson+Cole as managing partner, she served on the firm’s Managing Committee for the last 12 years and as a chair of the firm’s Litigation Section for the past 13 years.
A trial lawyer who has spent her entire thirty-year law career at Robinson+Cole, Tobin has significant trial experience in state and federal courts, and has been involved in high-profile coverage litigation on behalf of insurers, including the September 11 terrorist attacks, sexual abuse claims involving the Catholic church and academic institutions, and coverage issues arising out of the #MeToo movement and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tobin’s reputation, as well as her expertise and knowledge in insurance coverage litigation, led to her election as a Fellow of the highly-selective American College of Coverage Counsel. Earlier this year, she was recognized in the 2021 Insurance Law Trailblazers list for being a leader in the insurance industry. Published in a special supplement of the National Law Journal, the inaugural list spotlights professionals who are agents of change in the area of insurance law. In addition, Tobin was honored in 2020 by Business Insurance as one of its 30 “Women to Watch” in North America, and by the Hartford Business Journal as one of its 15 “Women in Business” honorees. She is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and The Connecticut Bar Foundation, and has been active in the Professional Liability Underwriting Society, the Defense Research Institute (DRI) and Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM).
According, to its website, “the extensive research process used in the creation of Benchmark’s Top 250 Women in Litigation 2021 involves months of investigation into individual litigators’ professional activities as well as client feedback surveys and one-on-one interviews, and has culminated in the selection of the most distinguished women in the world of litigation.” Attorneys named in the publication were chosen through several phases of research: review of their recent case work, consideration of how attorneys at peer legal institutions might rank them, and client feedback on their performances. Information about Benchmark Litigation’s ranking process can be read here.
About Robinson+Cole Robinson+Cole is an AmLaw 200 law firm established over 175 years ago, with a deeply-rooted culture of collaboration, civility and inclusion. The Mansfield Rule Certified-firm has more than 220 lawyers in ten offices throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Florida and California, serving regional, national, and international clients, from start-ups to Fortune 50 companies. Robinson+Cole is a service mark of Robinson & Cole LLP. For more information, please visit www.rc.com.
“The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend”: How Does That Work in the Tripartite Relationship?
By Neil Posner, Much Shelist, P.C. and John Bonnie, Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial(co-chairs of the ACCC’s Professionalism and Ethics Committee)
In third-party liability cases, the insurer and the insured often share a common interest: defeating or minimizing the claimant’s claim. They also often share an “uncommon” interest: namely, whether the underlying claim is covered at all and, if so, to what extent. These competing interests have considerable potential to create conflicts of interest for defense counsel and coverage counsel alike.
From the standpoint of defense counsel, she is obligated to provide a competent and diligent defense to liability for the insured defendant. Insurer’s coverage counsel, on the other hand, is obligated to determine whether the liability is fully or wholly insured, or entirely uninsured. Insured’s coverage counsel needs to protect the insured from uninsured liability, which may involve keeping the insurer involved in the underlying case. In order to keep the insurer informed, certain information often needs to be shared between insured’s defense counsel and insurer, raising a question as to loss of privilege if any of that information would be subject to the attorney-client privilege and/or the work-product doctrine.
In U.S. v. Ghavami, 882 F. Supp. 2d 532 (S.D.N.Y. 2012), the court provided the general principles regarding the scope of “common interest” or “joint defense” arrangements, stating that “[i]t is well-established that voluntary disclosure of confidential material to a third party generally results in forfeiture of any applicable attorney-client privilege.” The court went on to explain that an exception to this principle is “when the privilege holder and the third party share a common legal interest” and that the “ ‘common interest’ doctrine precludes a waiver of the underlying privilege concerning confidential communications between the parties made in the course of an ongoing common enterprise and intended to further the enterprise, irrespective of whether an actual litigation is in progress.” Thus, “the common interest doctrine permits the disclosure of a privileged communication without waiver of the privilege provided the party claiming an exception to waiver demonstrates that the parties communicating: (1) have a common legal, rather than commercial, interest; and (2) the disclosures are made in the course of formulating a common legal strategy.”
It should be obvious that when two parties are represented by the same attorney, establishing the common interest should not be difficult. But when the parties are represented by different counsel—as is the case with insurers and insureds wrestling with questions of the availability of coverage under the policy—can the common-interest doctrine still apply? The Ghavami court says it can:
At its core, the common interest doctrine applies when multiple persons are represented by the same attorney. In that situation, communications made to the shared attorney to establish a defense strategy remain privileged as to the rest of the world. However, the doctrine is not limited to such situations. The weight of authority is that the common interest doctrine does extend at least to situations where a joint defense effort or strategy has been decided upon and undertaken by the parties and their respective counsel. That is, the doctrine applies where parties are represented by separate counsel but engage in a common legal enterprise.
Id. at 538, quoting Denney v. Jenkens & Gilchrist, 362 F. Supp. 2d 407, 415 (S.D.N.Y. 2004). The party seeking protection of the doctrine must show:
that (1) there was an agreement between individuals, not necessarily in writing, “embodying a cooperative and common enterprise towards an identical legal strategy;” (2) the disputed communication “was given in confidence and that the client reasonably understood it to be so given;” and (3) a joint strategy among the individuals is apparent.
Id. at 538, quoting Barcomb v. Sabo, No. 07-CV-877, 2009 WL 5214878, at *3 (N.D.N.Y. Dec. 28, 2009).
So, there has to be an agreement to share information, and the agreement doesn’t have to be in writing. Accordingly, if we assume for the sake of this discussion that insurer and insured have entered into such an agreement and have checked the necessary boxes, can the insurer later use that shared information—obtained for the joint purpose of defeating the claimant’s claim in the underlying case—in connection with the dispute over coverage? The case law on is the subject shows a split.
Insurers sometimes seek disclosure of privileged information that, although pertinent to defense issues (about which insurers certainly have an interest), may have an impact on coverage. They may argue that the common interest of the insurer and the insured supersedes any privilege that might otherwise protect such information. The Illinois Supreme Court agreed with that argument in Waste Management, Inc. v. International Surplus Lines Insurance Company, 579 N.E.2d 322 (1991). Other courts have raised concerns, however. For example, in Farmers Insurance Company v. Vagnozzi, 675 P.2d 703, 708 (1983), the Arizona Supreme Court held that where there is a conflict between the insurer and the insured with respect to coverage, defense counsel may not disclose information that would compromise the insured’s coverage rights.
This brings us to the opening question: how does the common interest between insurer and insured (“the enemy of my enemy is my friend”) play out in the tripartite relationship, especially when information shared pursuant to the common-interest doctrine when the later may be used by the insurer in the coverage dispute? We submit that there is no easy answer to this question. Rather, we hope that his article will begin a discussion among ACCC Fellows that may yield workable solutions.
Posted June 29, 2021
Stacy Broman Named Managing Partner of Meagher + Geer Meagher + Geer has announced the appointment of Stacy Broman as the firm’s Managing Partner, effective July 1, 2021. Stacy is the first woman to serve as Managing Partner in the firm’s 92-year history. She joined Meagher + Geer in 1991 and has long been involved with firm management, having served on the firm’s Management Committee for the past 10 years. In addition to her new role as Managing Partner, Stacy will continue her full-time law practice focusing on complex commercial litigation where she defends insurers in insurance coverage and bad faith litigation and represents professionals in professional liability litigation.
Throughout her career, Stacy has earned numerous accolades, most recently receiving the 2020 Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel Diversity Award through her work on the Barb Currie Scholarship, the Diversity Committee, the Admissions and the Membership Committees. She has been inducted as a Senior Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America and was a member of the ACCC Board of Regents from 2015-2021. She is regularly named to the Minnesota Super Lawyers® list and the Best Lawyers® in America list. Stacy is active in her community and volunteers her time with Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services as a member of The Campaign for Legal Aid.
Posted April 20, 2021
Ned Currie Receive Multiple Honors The Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association presented Ned Currie of Currie Johnson & Myers, P.A. with the 2021 Defense Lawyer of the Year award; in 2016 the MDLA bestowed him with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Best Lawyers in America selected Ned as Mississippi’s 2021 “Lawyer of the Year” for Insurance Law. He received the same Best Lawyers distinction in 2012.
Posted March 16, 2021
COVID-19 Insurance Coverage and the Virus Exclusion by Robert Chesler and Nicholas Insua Companies interested in pursuing insurance coverage for COVID-19 business interruption loss should review their virus exclusions — if the policy contains one — to see if they contain anti-concurrent cause language. Click here for more.
Posted March 4, 2021
ACCC Fellows Recognized as Agents of Change in Insurance Law In the “Insurance Law Trailblazer” inaugural list published by the National Law Journal
Posted February 23, 2021
Meagher + Geer is proud to announce that Best Lawyers® has selected Charles Spevacek, as the 2021 “Lawyer of the Year” for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants in Minneapolis. Chuck was also previously named Minneapolis Insurance Law “Lawyer of the Year” in 2014 and 2019. He also earned Minneapolis “Lawyer of the Year” for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants in 2016.
On February 8, 2021, Meagher + Geer attorney Chuck Spevacek and his team made news heard around the insurance world when they obtained on behalf of two Chubb entities – ACE American Insurance Company and ACE Property & Casualty Insurance Company – an order from United States District Court for the District of Minnesota granting their motion for summary judgment and dismissing the claim of Target Corporation for insurance coverage for losses arising out of its 2013 data breach. News of this decision has been reported in Insurance Journal, Reuters, Insurance Business, Business Insurance, The Insurer and Fintech Zoom. It was the “headline” case reported in Law360 Insurance. Further information can be viewed on the firm’s website here.
Posted February 19, 2021
Robinson+Cole Elects Rhonda J. Tobin Managing Partner First Woman to Lead 175-year old Law Firm
Rhonda Tobin
Robinson+Cole’s partnership has elected Rhonda J. Tobin as its next Managing Partner, effective March 1. Tobin will be the first woman to lead the 175-year old AmLaw 200 firm, and will succeed Stephen E. Goldman, who has led the firm since the beginning of 2016.
A trial lawyer who has spent her entire thirty-year law career at Robinson+Cole, Tobin’s practice focuses on the litigation, arbitration and mediation of complex disputes involving insurance and reinsurance coverage. She has significant trial experience in state and federal courts, and has been involved in high-profile coverage litigation on behalf of insurers, including the September 11 terrorist attacks, sexual abuse claims involving the Catholic church and academic institutions, and coverage issues arising out of the #MeToo movement and the COVID-19 pandemic. Tobin’s reputation, as well as her expertise and knowledge in insurance coverage litigation, led to her election as a Fellow of the highly-selective American College of Coverage Counsel. Tobin has served on Robinson+Cole’s Managing Committee for the last 12 years and as a chair of the firm’s Litigation Section for the past 13 years. She played a leading role on the 2019 committee that developed the firm’s current Strategic Plan, and was part of management’s proactive response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the firm.
“I’m extremely proud and humbled to be entrusted to lead our great firm of incredibly talented lawyers and professional staff,” said Rhonda J. Tobin. “We have achieved so much over the last few years, and I look forward to continuing the aggressive growth of our practices while also maintaining the essence of our identity. Our 175-year legacy is built on our strong collaborative and inclusive culture – among our lawyers and staff, with our clients, and in the communities where we live and work. I am honored to have this opportunity to build upon that legacy by continuing to embrace change in the years ahead. It is especially meaningful to take on this role at the firm that has been my home for the last 30 years.”
During Goldman’s five-year tenure, the firm developed and began the implementation of a three-year Strategic Plan, improved its profitability significantly, doubled the size of its New York office, opened offices in Philadelphia and Wilmington, and added leading national practices in bankruptcy, insurance coverage and real estate development. The firm also hired a new Chief Operating Officer, a new Chief Information Officer and its first Chief Talent Officer. Building on the firm’s 2015 Diversity Action Plan, Robinson+Cole achieved Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule Certification and added 20 women or otherwise diverse attorneys to its partnership ranks. The firm intends to continue its growth in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Wilmington, with a focus on expanding several of its practices, including healthcare, business transactions and bankruptcy. Goldman will continue to serve as chair of the firm’s lateral growth committee and will continue to be involved in strategic planning as he also devotes more of his time to his trial practice.
Commenting on Tobin’s election, Goldman stated: “I am extraordinarily pleased by the election of Rhonda Tobin. I have known and worked closely with Rhonda for over 30 years, and I can’t think of anyone more qualified to be our next leader. As I have said to our partners, there is no question that Rhonda is the right person at the right time, especially as we approach both the challenges and the opportunities that will be presented by what we hope will be the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rhonda is an incredibly talented lawyer, and was always the first person I consulted when confronted with difficult issues. She is a great strategic thinker and is highly respected by all of our lawyers and staff. By becoming the first woman to serve as our firm’s Managing Partner, Rhonda is also achieving a milestone that is both important and long overdue. I look forward to the firm’s continued growth and prosperity under her leadership.”
Speaking about the firm’s Strategic Plan, Tobin noted that “Our Strategic Plan identifies Collaboration, Civility and Inclusion as our core values. Continuing the growth of the firm while perpetuating those values was the goal of the Plan and is my personal goal as well. Our culture – the mutual respect and admiration that we have for one another – is the glue that has held the firm together through tough times and that has facilitated our success during good times. That was never more apparent than over the last 12 months, when our lawyers and staff bonded together to obtain outstanding results for our clients and great accomplishments for our firm despite confronting innumerable challenges. The loyalty and commitment of our lawyers and staff have never been stronger, and I look forward to guiding our firm to continued success with this extraordinary team.”
Tobin serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of Hartford Stage. She was recognized in 2020 by Business Insurance as one of its 30 “Women to Watch” in North America, and by the Hartford Business Journal as one of its 15 “Women in Business” honorees. Rhonda has been listed as one of the Top 250 Women Litigators in the United States by Benchmark Litigation since 2014, and one of its Local Litigation Stars in Connecticut since 2015. Rhonda is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and The Connecticut Bar Foundation, and has been active in the Professional Liability Underwriting Society, the Defense Research Institute (DRI) and Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM).
About Robinson+Cole
Robinson+Cole is an AmLaw 200 law firm established over 175 years ago, with a deeply-rooted culture of collaboration, civility and inclusion. The Mansfield Rule Certified-firm has more than 220 lawyers in ten offices throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Florida and California, serving regional, national, and international clients, from start-ups to Fortune 50 companies. Robinson+Cole is a service mark of Robinson & Cole LLP. For more information, please visit www.rc.com.
Posted December 31, 2020
Case Competition: AND THE WINNER IS... Gray v. Zurich (and Alex Henlin)!
Alexander Henlin
Back in April, the ACCC began a competition to identify the most important insurance ruling in the modern era. With the aid of the dozen law school professors who comprise our Honorary Fellows, we assembled a list of 100 significant rulings dating back to 1929 (G.A. Stowers Furniture). Since April, a list of cases was posted on the ACCC Community Forum every Monday morning asking Fellows to select the most influential ruling within a particular groups of years.
In the final weeks of the competition, there was a surprising preponderance of California cases. Depending on your bias, this was due either to heavy “homer” voting by our California members (the cynical view) or the central role that California courts have played over the years in creating new standards for interpreting and applying insurance policies (charitable explanation). As Professor Ken Abraham observed, the preponderance of Golden State cases in the final grouping should not be surprising given that “California was and is a pretty litigious state with a large population, an enormous economy, and a body of law that was attractive to policyholders selecting a forum for litigating their claims, as well as a Supreme Court that was very active during the years in question. It is no surprise to me that so many well-known and important cases come from California.”
By the start of December, the original list of 100 had been narrowed to four semi-finalists: Gray v. Zurich Insurance (expanding scope of duty to defend), Gruenberg v. Aetna Ins. Co. (bad faith cause of action available in first-party claims as well), San Diego Federal Credit Union v. Cumis Ins. Society (creating right to independent counsel where a conflict of interest might affect the insured’s defense) and State Farm v. Campbell (setting due process standards to protect against excessive punitive damage awards).
In the end, the winner was Gray v. Zurich, one of the oldest cases in the competition and, ironically, the winner of the first round back in April. The ACCC Fellow with the highest point total at the end of the competition is Alex Henlin of the Sulloway & Hollis firm in New Hampshire, followed closely by Neil Selman, Rich Traub, Mary McCutcheon, Andy Downs, Mike Hamilton and Bryan Weiss. Alex will be honored for his intense coverage nerdiness at our 2021 Annual Meeting, where he will be presented with an inscribed copy of Randy Manilow’s indispensable General Liability Insurance Law: Key Issues in Every State.
In the view of Alex:
“Gray v. Zurich Insurance Company, 419 P.2d 168 (Cal. 1966), is perhaps most responsible for transforming liability insurance into litigation insurance. It’s been cited over 1500 times since it was issued, most recently in November 2020, by courts across the nation, and remains good law today. In terms of durability and influence, it stands without peer. The bedrock propositions announced in the holding have become the received wisdom for at least two subsequent generations of coverage lawyers.”
Although Gray had solid support from our California Fellows (one referred to it as “the Bible”), members from around the country attested to its influence on how courts have expanded the duty to defend. As Rich Traub observed, Gray “has caused more consternation to insurers (and money) than any other decision I can think of (other than possibly triple trigger in environmental cases).” Professor Leo Martinez takes a more positive view: “Over time, it has proven to be a standard by which other cases are measured.” Gray v. Zurich broke “new ground in three significant areas: the intentional acts exclusion, the doctrine of reasonable expectations, and the duty to defend. . . . [T]he confluence of these principles with extensions of each in a single case was unprecedented.”
Former ACCC President Lorie Masters praised Gray as the case that “confirmed that the duty to defend is broader than the duty to indemnify by adopting the ‘potential for coverage’ standard for the duty to defend. That promise of defense coverage is fundamental to policyholders and, I would say, core to our practice area.”
Insurer-side Fellow Neil Selman also emphasized the case’s groundbreaking impact:
“Gray v. Zurich set new standards for the duty to defend, and impacted courts nationwide. It stressed the need to examine the facts alleged in the pleading, and not the theory of recovery, and mandated that insurers look to the “potential” of liability under the policy in determining the applicability of the duty to defend. But, forgetting that, it seems that a good way to determine the importance of a case is by the number of times it is cited by counsel in an attempt to forcefully argue for their position. By this standard, no one can doubt that in the insurance coverage domain, Gray has no competition, both within California and on a national basis, and letters and briefs filed by my policyholder colleagues prove the point.”
This point was echoed by insurer-side Fellow Andy Downs, who commented that “Gray set the standard for the non-mechanical application of the duty to defend. Before Gray, the legal labels the plaintiff attached to its claims were largely controlling, post-Gray what happened mattered.”
Former ACCC President Mary McCutcheon took a more Dave Letterman view of Gray, identifying its ten most important features:
10- What other 54-year-old insurance case continues to be cited not only in California but around the country? See, e.g. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Sweet Appetit, Inc., Case No. 19-CV-0630-CVE-JFJ (N.D. Okla. Nov. 9, 2020)
9- It holds that something in the fine print is not “conspicuous plain and clear”.
8- This sentence alone makes it great- “[Defendants] cannot construct a formal fortress of the third party’s pleadings and retreat behind its walls.”
7- It describes insurance companies as “institutions devoted to the public service.”
6- It treats seriously the concept of “negligent self-defense.”
5- It finds that Calif. Ins. Code Sec. 533 (“An insurer is not liable for a loss caused by the willful act of the insured…”) does not eliminate the duty to defend.
4- It holds that an insurer must defend an otherwise non-covered complaint if it is “capable of amendment” to allege a covered claim. (What Honorary Fellow Sue Popik ironically calls “the gleam in the plaintiff’s eye” doctrine.)
3- In drawing a distinction between “an intentional act” and “an intentional harm,” the California Supreme Court has given coverage geeks a subject for philosophical debate which continues to this day.
2- An insurer who fails to defend has to pay for a judgment that “has not necessarily been rendered on a theory within the policy coverage.” Talk about leverage for policyholders!
1- It immortalizes the phrase “potential for coverage”.
Bob Jerry at the University of Missouri Law School in Kansas City took a more empirical view of the important of Gray. “Of the eight cases in the “elite 8,” only two have been cited by other courts more often. One is the SCOTUS decision in State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co. v. Campbell, which has been cited almost twice as often as Gray, is the subject of almost five times the number of discussions in secondary materials, and has a per-year citation rate more than five times the rate as Gray. Campbell, however, is not an insurance law case; it is a Fourteenth Amendment due process case involving punitive damages that happens to have an insurance company as the defendant. The case is certainly important, and it may be that Campbell is “the most consequential insurance company ruling” of the last 50 years, but this does not make Campbell the “most consequential insurance ruling.” Bank of the West has been cited by courts almost 400 times more often than Gray and has an annual citation rate nearly 2.5 times higher. But two headnotes in Bank of the West involving relatively simple and straightforward generalizations about insurance contract interpretation account for over half of Bank of the West’s citations. Thus, Bank of the West may be the most convenient source of citations for a discussion that happens in almost every coverage case (i.e., “what are the rules of interpretation?”), but this does not make the case the “most influential.” Buss has a higher average citation rate, but because the issues discussed in Buss are narrower, it is unlikely to have the enduring importance properly attributed to Gray.”
True to his nature, Walter Andrews took a pithier view “Like gray-haired insurance lawyers, seminal insurance cases, like Gray v. Zurich, seemingly improve with age. The decision, like many of us, is over 50 years old and has gained almost mythical status in how lawyers cite it. Will the ACCC one day achieve the same mythical status?”
Posted December 10, 2020
Robinson+Cole Lawyer Named to Business Insurance’s 2020 “Women to Watch” Class
Rhonda Tobin among outstanding group of female executives in the insurance and risk management sector Robinson+Cole Litigation Section co-chair and Managing Committee member Rhonda J. Tobin was selected by Business Insurance for inclusion in its 2020 “Women to Watch” recognition, which showcases an outstanding group of female executives in the insurance and risk management sector.
Now in its 15th year, the awards honor 50 women annually from around the globe who have been selected through a rigorous nomination process focusing on expertise, leadership qualities and achievements. Ms. Tobin was chosen from hundreds of nominations to be featured in a winner profile published in the December issue of Business Insurance, along with recognition during the publication’s virtual Women to Watch Conference and Awards Ceremony on December 10, 2020.
Ms. Tobin has represented insurance companies for almost 30 years in litigation of disputes involving insurance and reinsurance coverage, insurance bad faith and extracontractual liability, and professional liability. She is one of six Connecticut attorneys named as a Fellow in the American College of Coverage Counsel, the preeminent association of lawyers who represent the interests of insurers and policyholders. Ms. Tobin has also been listed as one of the Top 250 Women Litigators in the United States and a Local Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation. In June, Ms. Tobin was selected by the Hartford Business Journal for inclusion in its 2020 “Women in Business” recognition. She was among 15 honorees who demonstrate business success, confidence in themselves and their organizations, and a strong track record of professional leadership.
The Business Insurance is a singular, authoritative news and information source for executives focused upon insurance, risk management, risk transfer and risk financing. The publication’s Women to Watch awards program highlights the achievements of female leaders in the insurance sector to celebrate their success and promote gender diversity in the industry.
About Robinson+Cole
Robinson+Cole is an AmLaw 200 law firm established 175 years ago with a deeply-rooted culture of collaboration, civility and inclusion. With more than 220 lawyers in eleven offices throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Florida and California, we serve regional, national, and international clients, from start-ups to Fortune 50 companies. Robinson+Cole is a service mark of Robinson & Cole LLP. For more information, please visit www.rc.com.
Posted November 16, 2020
Andy Lundberg featured in Lawdragon's Legal Consultant Limelight profile on October 18, 2020. Read the article here.
Posted November 16, 2020
Richard E. Stewart passed away at age 85 on October 13, 2019
From Andy Lundberg:Dick was very well known to many of the ACCC members as a frequent consulting and testifying expert on all sorts of exotic and complex insurance issues, a role he assumed just as the big environmental coverage wars of the 1980s -- when many of us Fellows were cutting our teeth as insurance lawyers -- started to gather momentum. He really was a special person. The obituary is available on legacy.com at this link. Remembrances can also be posted at the legacy.com link.
Posted September 25, 2020 Stacy Broman receives 2020 Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel Diversity Award
Meagher + Geer Partner Stacy Broman has been awarded the 2020 Diversity Award from the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC). The award celebrates efforts to foster diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and seeks to ensure equal opportunity for all persons in the membership, leadership, engagement and activities of the FDCC. Stacy earned this award through her work on the Barb Currie Scholarship, the Diversity Committee, the Admissions and the Membership Committees. She is known as a tireless supporter of diversity efforts both within and outside the legal community.
Stacy was awarded this honor during the virtual Annual Meeting on July 31, 2020.
Stacy focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation where she defends insurers in insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, and represents professionals in professional liability litigation. She is also one of the firm’s leaders as a member of its Management Committee.
Robinson+Cole Lawyer Among Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women in Litigation ACCC Fellow Rhonda Tobin is the only female litigator in Connecticut named to national list
Robinson+Cole Partner and Litigation Section Co-chair Rhonda J. Tobin has been named one of Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women in Litigation for 2020. In this national list published on August 13, 2020, Ms. Tobin is the only female litigator chosen in the state of Connecticut. This is the sixth consecutive year she has received the distinction.
Ms. Tobin has represented insurance companies for almost 30 years in litigation of complex disputes involving insurance and reinsurance coverage, insurance bad faith and extracontractual liability. In addition to serving as co-chair of Robinson+Cole’s Litigation Section, she is a member of the firm's Managing Committee. Ms. Tobin is one of six Connecticut attorneys named as a Fellow in the American College of Coverage Counsel, the preeminent association of lawyers who represent the interests of insurers and policyholders. She was also selected by the Hartford Business Journal for inclusion in its 2020 “Women in Business” recognition.
According, to its website, “the extensive research process used in the creation of Benchmark’s Top 250 Women in Litigation 2020 involves months of investigation into individual litigators’ professional activities as well as client feedback surveys and one-on-one interviews, and has culminated in the selection of the most distinguished women in the world of litigation.” Attorneys named in the publication were chosen through several phases of research: review of their recent case work, consideration of how attorneys at peer legal institutions might rank them, and client feedback on their performances. Information about Benchmark Litigation’s ranking process can be read here.
Andy Lundberg named to Global 100 Leaders in Litigation Finance ACCC Fellow Andy Lundberg, a Managing Director at Burford Capital, was named to Lawdragon’s inaugural Global 100 Leaders in Legal Finance. The complete list, published on June 4, 2020, can be found here.
Posted June 10, 2020
Robinson+Cole Lawyer Named to Hartford Business Journal’s 2020 “Women in Business” Class Rhonda Tobin among honorees recognized for making a significant difference within their organization and the community
Robinson+Cole Litigation Section co-chair Rhonda J. Tobinwas selected by the Hartford Business Journal for inclusion in its 2020 “Women in Business” recognition. Ms. Tobin is among 15 honorees who demonstrate business success, confidence in themselves and their organizations, and a strong track record of professional leadership. The honorees were each profiled in a special section published in the April 6, 2020 edition of the Hartford Business Journal.
Ms. Tobin has represented insurance companies for almost 30 years in litigation of disputes involving insurance and reinsurance coverage, insurance bad faith and extracontractual liability, and professional liability. In addition to serving as co-chair of Robinson+Cole’s Litigation Section, she is a member of the firm's Managing Committee. Ms. Tobin is the only woman, and one of five Connecticut attorneys, named as a fellow in the American College of Coverage Counsel, the preeminent association of lawyers who represent the interests of insurers and policyholders. She has also been listed as one of the Top 250 Women Litigators in the United States and a Local Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation.
The Hartford Business Journal's 2020 “Women in Business” class features 15 remarkable women, selected from a record-breaking 116 nominations, who are being recognized for making a significant difference within their organization and the community. In lieu of a recognition event, which was canceled as a result of the current social distancing guidelines in effect, honorees were celebrated during a special two-part webinar series titled “Women in Business Leaders Power Hour Webinars: Leading, Inspiring & Motivating Through Change” hosted on June 2 and June 9. During the webinars, 2020 Women in Business honorees discussed their leadership roles as well as inspiring and motivating through change and growth.
About Robinson+Cole Robinson+Cole, an AmLaw 200 law firm established 175 years ago in Connecticut, has more than 200 lawyers in eleven offices throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Florida and California. We serve regional, national, and international clients, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Robinson+Cole is a service mark of Robinson & Cole LLP. For more information, please visit www.rc.com.
Posted May 28, 2020
Kramon & Graham rankings increase in 2020 Chambers USA legal guide ACCC Fellow Lee Ogburn, identified as "preeminent practitioner in the coverage area" and receives top tier ranking again this year.
Kramon & Graham, a leading law firm providing litigation, real estate, and transactional services, announced today that twelve firm attorneys have been recognized for legal excellence and client service in the 2020 Chambers USA legal ranking guide.
Kramon & Graham's Commercial Litigation practice holds its Band 1 ranking for the sixteenth consecutive year and is one of only four firms in the state recognized at this level. The group is co-led by Phil Andrews and Jean Lewis.
The firm's Insurance Coverage practice group also maintains its Band 1 ranking. Only one other firm in the state is recognized at this level. Lee Ogburn, whom Chambers identifies as a "preeminent practitioner in the coverage area" and who also receives top tier ranking again this year, leads the group which represents national property and casualty insurers in disputes involving more than $1 billion.
Also ranked is the firm's Real Estate practice, which Chambers describes as offering "experience across all stages of commercial property development, including the purchase, financing, leasing and sale of assets."
In this year's guide, Kramon & Graham founding principal Andrew Jay Graham earns his fifth "Star Individual" ranking, a designation reserved for attorneys garnering exceptional recommendations from clients and peers.
The newly released publication again ranks Natalie McSherry in Band 1 for her successful representation of clients in medical malpractice matters.
The complete list of Kramon & Graham attorneys recognized in the 2020 Chambers USA legal guide are:
Comments about the firm and individual lawyers include:
"The firm is highly responsive, thorough in its analysis of issues and strives to provide practical solutions to complex disputes."
"Every lawyer we have worked with in litigation or appellate work has a great courtroom presence."
"When something requires sensitivity and smarts, [Andrew Jay Graham] is a go-to lawyer…."
"Excellent: tenacious, smart, well prepared and very involved."
Chambers USA is one of the most prestigious legal ranking guides in publication. Updated annually, the guide's thorough vetting process ranks attorneys based on technical legal skills, client service, astuteness, diligence, commitment, professional conduct, and other qualities.
Mike Huddleston honored by the State Bar of Texas.
The Insurance Section of the State Bar of Texas has presented Michael W. Huddleston with the “Russell H. McMains Legends of Texas Insurance Law Award.” The Insurance Law Section from time to time presents the Russell H. McMains Legends of Texas Insurance Law Award to recognize a senior Texas insurance lawyer who represents the highest levels of accomplishment, competence, professionalism, and ethics in the practice of insurance law, and who inspires others to do likewise. The award is the most significant recognition for Texas insurance law practitioners.
The award is named for the late Russell H. (“Rusty”) McMains, who was a Chair of the Section and one of its founders, and who epitomized the type of practitioner the award is designed to honor. Huddleston is a past-Chair of the Insurance Section, one of the original four officers and a founder of the Section. Huddleston was recently elected Secretary/Treasurer of the American College of Coverage Counsel. He is Chair of the Insurance Recovery Practice Group at Munsch, Hardt, Kopf & Harr, LLC.
The award was presented on Zoom by Section Chair William Chriss, a close friend of Rusty McMains. On receiving the award, Huddleston observed: “To receive an award named after Rusty McMains is an incredible honor. I had the challenge of defending cases against Rusty and combining forces in other matters. He was a great, creative lawyer and great friend.” Huddleston gave credit to his mentors, R. Brent Cooper and Jim E. Cowles, and his long-time partners and colleagues, including fellow Munsch Hardt Senior Counsel Steve Gibson, and the support of his current firm Munsch, Hardt, Kopf & Harr.
Posted April 17, 2020
Andy Lundberg's Law360 Article Click here to read Andy's article dealing with the subject of coverage issues flowing out of the new Coronavirus, "A Call To Action For The Coming Insurance Litigation Siege".
Posted March 26, 2020 Dominica Anderson's Co-authored Article Click here to read the DuaneMorris blog article, "Heating Up: New Orleans-Based Oceana Grill Seeks Insurance Coverage for Coronavirus-Caused Business Interruption"
Posted March 24, 2020
Laurie Dugoniths Busbee's Co-authored Article Click here to read the Aprio piece on business interruption due to COVID-19.
Posted March 12, 2020
The Coronavirus’ Impact on Business Interruption Coverage Is “Direct Physical Loss” Being Redefined? By Rick Hammond, Partner of HeplerBroom, LLC. Click here to read the article.
Posted March 10, 2020
Laura Foggan quoted in Business Insurance on business disruption insurance due to COVID-19.
Many commercial policyholders will likely file claims for supply chain related losses resulting from the coronavirus outbreak. Laura Foggan of Crowell & Moring LLP comments in this Business Insurance article. Click here to access.
Posted February 5, 2020
Clifford Shapiro's latest article onthe “occurrence” issue, published by the Illinois State Bar Association You should also be aware that on December 18, 2019 the Illinois Appellate Court (1st Dist.) issued another “occurrence” decision (Lloyd's v. Metropolitan Builders - copy attached). Incredibly, the introduction to the decision states: “And as we will see below, much of our analysis in those cases has been driven less by the literal contextual construction and more by considering the overall purpose of CGL policies.” Thus, we now have an admission by our Appellate Court that the legal analysis used in Illinois does not apply the actual terms of the modern day CGL insurance contract, but instead applies a legal gloss based on the court’s own view of the “overall purpose” of the CGL insurance policy. Unfortunately, the court’s view of the “overall purpose” of the CGL policy is outdated and completely incorrect. Among other things, it fails to discuss or to recognize that the insurance industry itself specifically and intentionally changed the “overall purpose” of the CGL policy in the construction claim context when the terms of the insurance contract were changed back in 1986.
DBusiness magazine recently named 20 metro Detroit attorneys from Plunkett Cooney, one of the Midwest’s oldest and largest law firms, to its 2020 list of “Top Lawyers.” The DBusiness Top Lawyers list was compiled based on a peer-review survey open to all metro Detroit lawyers. The publication polled 19,000 attorneys in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and Livingston counties to nominate lawyers among 50 practice areas. The list was published in the November/December edition and included ACCC Fellow Charles Browning.
Posted November 12, 2019
Six ACCC Fellows quoted by Jeff Sistrunk in Law360 on key insurance rulings
College Fellows Michael A. Hamilton, Seth Lamden, Michael Manire, John Vishneski, Bryan Weiss, and Franklin Cordell, were quoted in "3 Key Insurance Rulings Attorneys Should Know This Fall." Click here to read the piece.
Posted November 1, 2019
The new Bermuda Triangle: Arbitration of Coverage Disputes Under the Bermuda Form By Lorelie S. Masters, Michael S. Levine, and Latosha M. Ellis
The commercial insurance programs of many multinational and US businesses include “Bermuda Form” policies, a unique policy form developed in Bermuda in the mid-1980s that provides for arbitration of disputes, usually in London under the substantive law of New York. Click here for the full article.
Posted October 7, 2019
Zale Files it Appellant’s Brief in its Dallas D&O Coverage Action Involving Delaware Securities Appraisal Action.
Between the Zale action in Dallas (which the insurers won on summary judgment) and the Solera Holdings action in Delaware (which the policyholder won the first ruling), a number of Fellows are involved in this high-stakes litigation involving significant money.
As widely reported in the blogs, the parties in Solera Holdings are seeking an interlocutory appeal of the district ruling in favor of the policyholder to the Delaware Supreme Court; however, the Delaware Supreme Court has not yet decided whether to accept the interlocutory appeal.
So, these all or nothing coverage disputes with completely opposite district court rulings are taking very interesting parallel tracks.
Also interesting is the fact that the Dallas Court of Appeals had significant turnover in the 2018 election in which all incumbent Republican judges were defeated (Texas elects their judges in contested political elections). Currently, the Dallas Court of Appeals, which has been solidly and totally Republican for decades, is now comprised of 8 Democrats and 5 Republicans. An initial analysis of the significant state-wide transformation from Republican to Democrat Judges by Haynes & Boone indicates the beginning of a pro-plaintiff trend.
Unless there are extensions, the insurers Appellee’s Briefs will be due on November 4.
Fifth Circuit certifies 8-Corner/Extrinsic Evidence Case to the Texas Supreme Court Regent Mike Huddleston to Play Significant Role
On September 9, 2019, a two-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit issued an unpublished Per Curium opinion that certifies a very interesting extrinsic evidence duty to defend case to the Texas Supreme Court.
A key issue is whether there is a policy-language exception to the 8-corner rule when the policy requires the insurer to provide a defense “[i]f a claim is made or a suit is brought against an insured for damages because of bodily injury … to which this insurance applies;” as opposed to the traditional policy language requiring the insurer to defend “even if the allegations of the suit are groundless, false or fraudulent.”
In this case, the district court allowed State Farm to rely on extrinsic evidence to invoke exclusions to deny a defense. The two-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit in an unpublished Per Curium opinion, which is attached, certified the following question to the Texas Supreme Court:
Is the policy-language exception to the eight-corners rule articulated in B. Hall Contracting, Inc. v. Evanston Ins. Co., 447 F. Supp. 2d 634 (N.D. Tex.), a permissible exception under Texas law?
Mike is involved as the lead appellate attorney for the claimants.
Posted June 24, 2019 Kramon & Graham maintains top-tier ranking in prestigious Chambers USA ranking guide ACCC Fellow Lee H. Ogburn joins firm's growing list of Chambers USA-ranked lawyers
Kramon & Graham, a leading law firm providing litigation, real estate, and transactional services, announced today that ten firm attorneys are recognized for legal excellence and client service in the 2019 Chambers USA legal ranking guide. More than 40 percent of Kramon & Graham's principals are recognized in the directory.
Kramon & Graham's Commercial Litigation practice holds its top tier ranking for the fifteenth consecutive year. The firm's Insurance Coverage practice maintains a Band 1 ranking for its outstanding client results. Led by Lee Ogburn, the firm has represented national property and casualty insurers in disputes involving more than $1 billion.
Also ranked is the firm's Real Estate practice, which Chambers describes asa transactional practice offering "experience across all stages of commercial property development, including the purchase, financing, leasing and sale of assets."
In this year's guide, founding principal Andrew Jay Graham earns his fourth "Star Individual" ranking, a designation reserved for attorneys garnering exceptional recommendations from clients and peers.
Kramon & Graham attorneys earning top rankings in the 2019 Chambers USA legal guide are:
Amy E. Askew, Litigation Cynthia Berman, Real Estate John A. Bourgeois, Litigation Geoffrey H. Genth, Litigation Ezra S. Gollogly, Insurance Andrew Jay Graham, Litigation Steven M. Klepper, Insurance M. Natalie McSherry, Medical Malpractice Defense Lee H. Ogburn, Insurance James P. Ulwick, Litigation
Chambers USA is one of the most prestigious legal ranking guides in publication. Updated annually, the guide's thorough vetting process ranks attorneys based on technical legal skills, client service, astuteness, diligence, commitment, professional conduct, and other qualities.
Posted February 5, 2019 ACCC Fellow Robert Chesler Highlights Five Key NJ Coverage Decisions from 2018 Click here for details.
Posted January 3, 2019 Coverage Opinions: 18th Annual "Top 10 Coverage Cases of the Year"
The January 3rd issue of Coverage Opinions is now available. Provided by ACCC Member, Randy Maniloff of White and Williams, LLP in Philadelphia, PA.
I hope you enjoy this issue of Coverage Opinions - the free bi-weekly newsletter that reports and provides commentary on just-issued decisions that concern numerous issues under commercial general liability and professional liability insurance policies. Subscribe in seconds at http://www.coverageopinions.info/Subscribe.html
Posted January 2, 2019 Announcing the Launch of Adler Law Practice, LLC
Friends,
I am excited to announce a new chapter in my professional life with the opening of Adler Law Practice, LLC. My areas of practice will be the same as they always have been: Commercial litigation and pre-suit dispute resolution. As before, I will continue to represent businesses in pursuing insurance recoveries and resolving commercial coverage disputes.
I look forward to continuing to work with you and to stay in touch. My updated contact information is:
Posted October 19, 2018 College Regent Stephen Pate interviewed on Bermuda Broadcasting's “The Breakdown” discussing Canada's Official Legalization of Marijuana, the growing Marijuana Insurance market in the U.S. and the difficulties it faces.
Posted August 2018
Angela Elbert, Insurance Policyholder Practice Group Chair, Recognized as One of Chicago's Notable Women Lawyers 2018 Neal Gerber Eisenberg is pleased to announce that Angela R. Elbert, chair of the Insurance Policyholder practice group, has been named to Chicago’s Notable Women Lawyers 2018 presented by Crain’s Custom Media.
This year’s list honors 150 legal industry leaders selected by Crain’s Custom Media. According to Crain’s, the recognized women are well-regarded for their practice of law, serve as role models and mentors to other female attorneys, and hold leadership positions in both professional and community organizations.
“Angela’s professional success and reputation among her clients and in the community are representative of what it means to be a lawyer at Neal Gerber Eisenberg,” said Scott J. Fisher, Managing Partner. “Her constant pursuit of excellence in the practice of law and her power to make a difference in the lives of the others make her an inspiration to her colleagues and to the community.”
Posted March 2018 Fellows From Across The Country Participating at the ABA Section of Litigation Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee’s 30th Anniversary CLE Seminar Twenty-eight ACCEC Fellows participated in presentations and served on panels at the American Bar Association Section of Litigation’s Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Annual CLE Seminar. The seminar celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the ICLC’s meeting with three days of cutting-edge programming. Fellows Walter Andrews, Mary Craig Calkins, John Mathias, Jerry Oshinsky and Ray Wong participated in a plenary session entitled “Insurance Coverage Litigation – 30 Years of Lessons Learned,” moderated by John Mumford. “Hot Topics for ICLC’s 40th – The Coverage Battles of 2028” was moderated by John Buchanan. Dan Bailey addressed “What’s New in the Challenging World of D&O Insurance.” Fellows David Goodwin, Lorelie Masters and JeffreyStemple gave an update on “Restatement of the Law, Liability Insurance: Is the Sky Falling?” Mary Borja, James Cooper and Anthony Leuin presented “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off” Trends and Cutting-Edge Strategies for Pleading, Prosecuting and Defending Rescission Claims.” John Bonnie and Laura Hanson participated in “Laugh Until You Cry: Obscure, Peculiar and Overlooked State Laws that Can Crater a Case Before It Gets Of The Ground.” Vincent Morgan participated in “Harvey, Irma, and Maria – Coverage and Litigation Issues.” Christine Haskett spoke on “The Power of the Unconscious: Of Course I’m Not Biased or Am I?” David Schoenfeld participated in the panel “The ‘Next Asbestos’ Will Be … Asbestos: Why the Insurance Industry’s Biggest Problem Won’t Go away Anytime Soon.” Marion Adler, Bill Barker and Neil Posner addressed ethics issues in “Conflicts Among Insurers, Insureds and Independent Counsel: Ethical Considerations.” Helen Michael parachuted in to speak on “The Nuts & Bolts of Insurance Coverage Litigation: A Toolkit for Young Insurance Coverage Lawyers.” Roundtable discussions were led by Fellows John Vishneski (“Sometimes Offense is the Best Defense”), Matthew Jacobs (Coverage for “Other Entities”), and David Attisani (“Reinsurance in a Material World”). Established in 1988, the Section of Litigation’s ICLC Committee is currently co-chaired by two Fellows, Angela Elbert and John Mumford. Fellow Ernest Martin is Vice Chair of the Committee.
ACCC Fellows Appointed to Law360 Advisory Board Law360 has formed its 2018 Insurance editorial advisory board, the purpose of which is to get feedback on Law360's coverage and gain insight from experts in the field on how best to shape future coverage. ACCEC Fellows Lorie Masters, Sheri Pastor, and Steve Pate have been appointed to serve on the Advisory Board. Click here to read more.
Six Fellows From Texas Speaking at 15th Annual State Bar Advanced Insurance Law Seminar Six ACCC fellows will be giving presentations and serving on panels at the 15th Annual State Bar of Texas Advanced Insurance Law Seminar in San Antonio, June 28-29, 2018. Mark Lawless and Brian Martin will be speaking on “Pollution Exclusion/Asbestos/Toxic Torts/Exhaustion.” Beth D. Bradley and Vince Morgan will be presenting on “Rescission, Reformation and Anti-Technicality Statutes.” Michael W. Huddleston will be on a luncheon panel discussing “Coverage for Sexual Harassment Claims and Other Bad Conduct.” Steve Pate will be on a panel as well discussing “Menchaca: Texas’s Bad Faith’s Return from the Ashes?”
Posted November 2017 In Memoriam: Guy E. “Sandy” Burnette, Jr. It is with sadness that ACCEC shares the news of the passing of Guy E. “Sandy” Burnette, Jr. Sandy was Of Counsel for the Chartwell Law Offices, in Tallahassee, FL. A insurer-side attorney, he joined ACCEC in February 2015. We extend our sincere condolences to Sandy's family and colleagues. Click here for more information.
Pate Published in Journal of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society Stephen Pate, Cozen O'Connor, wrote an article titled, "A Perfect Storm: FDR, Pappy O'Daniel, Huey Long's Ghost, and the Failed Fifth Circuit Nomination of James V Allred" for the Journal of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society. The article discusses how tough Texas politics can be and the effect that can have on federal judicial nominations. It goes further to discuss a 1943 case where James V Allred had won Senate confirmation as a U.S. District Judge and then was denied an opportunity to become a judge of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. For the full article click here.
Posted October 2017 Kornfeld Joins Blank Rome LLP Blank Rome LLP has announced that Linda Kornfeld has joined the firm’s Los Angeles office in the Insurance Recovery group. Ms. Kornfeld joins as partner and vice chair of the group. Click here to read more.
Posted October 2017 Sher Cohen Joins Lathrop Gage Nancy Sher Cohen has joined Lathrop Gage's Policyholder and Insurance Coverage practice team in Los Angeles.
Posted September 2017 Pate Cited in "Insurers Could Dodge Harvey-Related Legal Fights Under Texas Law" Stephen Pate, Cozen O'Connor, was quoted in a Financial Advisor article about a new Texas law that may make it harder for hurricane victims to sue insurers for payment of claims. Click here for the full article.
Posted July 2017 Stewart Appointed to Connecticut Superior Court Elizabeth J. Stewart has been appointed to the Connecticut Superior Court. She was nominated by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and confirmed by the General Assembly. Stewart was formerly a partner in the law firm of Murtha Cullina LLP, where she worked since 1986 and had been a managing partner for five years.
Posted June 2017 Cunningham Receives Centurion Award Fred A. Cunningham, of Domnick Cunningham & Whalen, in Palm Beach Gardens, received the Florida Justice Association's Centurion Award in recognizition of his lifetime contribution to advance the group's mission and ensure consumer protection. Click here to read more.
Posted May 2017
Aylward & Huddleston Receive Segalla Award Michael F. Aylward, Morrison Mahoney LLP (Boston, MA) and Michael Huddleston, Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. (Dallas, TX) are the recipients of the 2017 Thomas F. Segalla Service Award. Aylward was recognized for his overall dedication to the College, leadership in planning a successful symposium in Boston, and service on the Board of Regents (Founding member). Huddleston was recognized for his service on the Board of Regents and as co-chair of the Website and Social Media Committee.
In Memoriam: Neal Stauffer It is with sadness that ACCEC shares the news of the passing of Neal Stauffer, a partner in the firm of Stauffer & Nathan in Tulsa, OK. A policyholder attorney, he joined ACCEC in 2014. We extend our sincere condolences to Neal's family and colleagues. Click here for more information.
Posted May 2017 Lorie Masters Joins Hunton & Williams LLP Hunton & Williams LLP continues its national expansion with the arrival of Lorelie S. Masters in Washington as a partner in the global litigation team, focusing on insurance coverage law. A nationally prominent insurance coverage litigator, Masters has handled complex cases in federal and state trial and appellate courts across the country and international disputes in the London market and Bermuda. Click here to read more.
Posted May 2017 Mary Craig Calkins Recognized as One of Los Angeles’ Most Influential Women Lawyers Mary Craig Calkins, Partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, was named one of Los Angeles Business Journal’s (LABJ) Most Influential Women Lawyers. The LABJ selected only 50 “particularly stellar attorneys in the Los Angeles region who happen to be women,” and highlighted the recent success of each their practices. Calkins was selected for handling a broad range of high-profile insurance coverage disputes, helping her clients recover hundreds of millions of dollars through the negotiation, litigation, trial, and arbitration of complex insurance coverage disputes. She is currently handling major coverage litigation in California and North Carolina, negotiating matters in New York and Delaware involving more than $250 million in insurance coverage, and handling insurance coverage matters implicating the laws of multiple states and foreign countries. Click here to read more.
Posted April 2017 Stephen Pate Joins Cozen O’Connor Cozen O’Connor announced that Stephen Pate has joined the firm’s Global Insurance Department, in the Houston office. Pate—who joins as a member and will be co-chair of the property insurance practice group—handles matters such as property insurance, directors and officers insurance, business interruption, CDL insurance, builders risk and commercial general liability disputes, among others. He has been recognized as a leading lawyer for insurance law by Chambers. He is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the American Law Institute.
Posted March 2017 Jill Berkeley Honored with ABA’s Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Lifetime Achievement Award Jill B. Berkeley, chair of the Insurance Policyholder practice group and partner in the General & Commercial Litigation group at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP, was awarded the first Lifetime Achievement Award of the ABA’s Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section’s Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee (ICLC). The award was created this year in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Committee’s annual meeting and recognizes Berkeley's many significant contributions to the mission and objectives of the Committee and the Section. Click here for the full release.
Fellow Brian McDonough recently prevailed at trial in an insurer versus insurer “bad faith” suit arising out of a construction-site wrongful death action. See a copy of the Trial Decision here.
Texas Board of Legal Specialization Announces its Inaugural Class of Board Certified Insurance Law Attorneys. ACCC Fellows Well Represented. Read more.
