Benchmark Litigation 2021 Recognizes Blank Rome Attorneys and Practices

Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that our practice groups and attorneys received the following high-level rankings and recognitions in Benchmark Litigation 2021. 

Practice Group Rankings

For the third year in a row, our Insurance Recovery practice group, which was named Benchmark Litigation’s 2020 Insurance Firm of the Year, was ranked Tier 1 nationally. This year, the group was also among three select firms notably ranked Tier 1 for Insurance in California.

In addition, our Firm was recommended for Dispute Resolution in the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania, and our Labor & Employment practice group was recommended in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Individual Attorney Rankings

Insurance Recovery

California

    • Mary Craig Calkins 
      • California – Litigation Star
      • Local Litigation Star

    • Linda Kornfeld 
      • National Practice Area Star
      • California – Litigation Star
      • Local Litigation Star
      • Top 250 Women in Litigation

New York

Washington, D.C.

    • Kyle P. Brinkman
      • 40 & Under Hot List – Northeast

    • John A. Gibbons – Insurance, Product Liability, and Recall
      • Local Litigation Star

    • John E. Heintz 
      • Local Litigation Star
      • National Practice Area Star

    • James R. Murray – Insurance, Product Liability, and Recall
      • Local Litigation Star
      • National Practice Area Star

    • Omid Safa 
      • 40 & Under Hot List – Northeast

Continue reading “Benchmark Litigation 2021 Recognizes Blank Rome Attorneys and Practices”

Top 10 Tips for Insurance Policyholders (Fall 2020)

John A. Gibbons

1. Assess the policies you have and reassess the policies you should buy in the future.

2020 has brought a host of unwelcome events: pandemics, fires, floods, cyberattacks, financial failures, etc. An insurance program tailored to the risks and business opportunities of your specific company can provide for recovery during dark times, and specialized insurance products can help you safely expand your business. It is time to consider how tailored your current program is, and how you can better align insurance assets to your business in the future.

2. Use indemnities and additional insured status to expand your insurance assets.

Everyday business for many companies involves the use of terms and conditions; sales or services orders; and leases that address indemnification, minimum insurance requirements, and additional insured status. A well-thought-out use of additional insured status can allow you to leverage the insurance assets and insurance premiums of counterparties.

3. Ensure that you get the full benefits of your liability and property insurances.

Insurance policies provide many coverages, policy limits, and extensions that may not be readily apparent, and all of which may provide substantial financial assistance in the event of a loss. In addition, specialized forms of insurance, additional riders, or policy wording upgrades can better tailor policies to your specific business attributes. Use the renewal season to explore your options.

4. Avoid “conventional wisdom” about what is or is not covered.

With insurance, words matter! In fact, the wording determines the outcome. Do not accept statements about what others think a policy does or should cover. For example, claims for intentional wrongdoing and punitive damages often are covered by liability policies. Likewise, losses from your supply chain may be covered under your property policies. Non-payments of debts and breaches of contractual promises are covered under various forms of policies. Let the words lead you to coverage.

5. Give notice once you know of a loss or claim.

Typically, notice should be given soon after a loss, claim, or lawsuit, but remember that a delay in giving notice will not necessarily result in the loss of coverage. Consider the potentially applicable insurance assets that may apply and give notice.

6. Insist your insurers fully investigate claims.

Insurers have a duty to investigate claims thoroughly and must look for facts that support coverage.

7. Watch what you say.

Communications with an insurer or an insurance broker regarding a lawsuit against you or a loss are not necessarily privileged.

8. Don’t take “no” for an answer.

A reservation of rights is almost always the start of the insurance claim process, and a denial should not dissuade you from pursuing your rights. Even if coverage is not obvious at first, it may be there, if you look in the right places.

9. Document, document, document your claim.

Whether it is a first-party loss or a liability suit against you, write to your insurer and document your submission of information and materials. Require your insurer to respond in writing and to explain its position. A well-documented chain of correspondence narrows disputes, helps to limit shifting of insurer positions, or helps to make such shifting very apparent if your claim proceeds to formal enforcement measures.

10. Insist that your insurers honor their duties.

In the liability context insurers frequently owe broad duties to defend with independent, conflict-free counsel, even if uncovered claims dominate the lawsuit against you. In property insurance contexts, insurers have duties to help you on an expedited emergency basis to protect your interests immediately after a loss. It is important to hold insurers to their duties to protect you immediately upon assertion of liability or after a loss—delay only benefits insurers.

 

California Corner: Insurer’s Failure to Immediately Commence Defense Waives California Civil Code Section 2860 Rate Limitations for Independent Counsel

Julia K. Holt

California courts strictly enforce an insurer’s duty to immediately commence defending its insured. The insurer’s delay in doing so, even if the delay is short, constitutes a breach of this important duty. In fact, California imposes a 40-day time limit for an insurer to provide its written coverage position under the Prompt, Fair and Equitable Settlement of Claims requirements stated in Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations at Section 2695.7.

A breach in this regard results in a waiver of any claimed right of the insurer to control the defense of its insured. This includes a waiver of the insurer’s ability to seek to impose any Civil Code Section 2860 rate limitations for independent counsel. See Travelers Indem. Co. of Connecticut v. Centex Homes, No. 11-CV-03638-SC, 2015 WL 5836947, at *5 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 7, 2015), objections overruled, No. 11-CV-03638-SC, 2015 WL 6164429 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 8, 2015). In Centex Homes, the Court found “that Travelers breached its duty to defend by failing to provide Centex with a defense at least 30 days after the complaints were filed in the [noticed] actions . . . [and therefore] Travelers also lost its right to control Centex’s defense.” Id. Continue reading “California Corner: Insurer’s Failure to Immediately Commence Defense Waives California Civil Code Section 2860 Rate Limitations for Independent Counsel”

COVID-19 Coverage Litigation Update: Will Your Claim Be Batched with Others for Resolution?

Robert N. Lane* and Linda Kornfeld

Part 1

So far, traditional first-party property insurers have taken hardline “no coverage” positions for COVID-19 business interruption claims. As a result, policyholders nationwide (and even around the world) have been left to contemplate whether to press their coverage claims through litigation, or stay on the sidelines and watch as others develop the issues. Those policyholders already in coverage litigation or considering filing suit should be aware of the debate between policyholders and their insurers regarding how to manage the coverage suits that have been filed in many different courts in many different states around the country. To be sure, there are currently nearly 700 lawsuits pending in federal and state courts nationwide (most of which thus far involve small businesses) seeking rulings regarding whether business interruption losses associated with COVID19 are covered by traditional first-party property policies. Of those 700 cases, almost 200 of them are identified as putative class actions. Continue reading “COVID-19 Coverage Litigation Update: Will Your Claim Be Batched with Others for Resolution?”

Wildfire and Hurricane Resources

Linda Kornfeld, John E. Heintz, and Alan Rubin







As the 2020 severe weather season continues unabated, our thoughts are with those dealing with multiple historic wildfires in the western states and on the West Coast, as well as with those awaiting the landfall of Hurricane Sally in the Gulf Coast tomorrow. The long-duration hurricane is expected to cause historic flooding and extremely dangerous storm surge. In addition, the National Hurricane Center has issued advisories on five tropical cyclones over the Atlantic basin; this ties the record for the greatest number of tropical cyclones in that basin at one time.

These unprecedented events are forcing evacuations, and may cause widespread damage, business interruption, and travel disruption for a large part of the country for days and weeks to come.

Blank Rome’s interdisciplinary Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Team (“SWERT”) has developed the following resources for those in the path of the wildfires and the storms, or with business interests in the affected regions, which we encourage you to share with your contacts via e-mail and/or social media:

Written by attorneys in our national Insurance Recovery practice who work with policyholder clients in the wake of property damage and business interruption losses.

Developed by Alan Rubin of Blank Rome Government Relations, who has years of experience working with FEMA in the aftermath of disasters.

Please share this information with anyone who has been impacted by the fires. These resources and many more can be found at our website at blankrome.com/SWERT. Our team stands ready to provide assistance on FEMA and insurance issues to individuals and businesses who are preparing for, or are impacted by, these events.

For additional information, please contact:

Linda Kornfeld, Partner and Vice Chair, Insurance Recovery Practice
John E. Heintz, Partner, Insurance Recovery Practice
Alan Rubin, Principal, Blank Rome Government Relations

Don’t Let Jury Trials Vanish Further Amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic

Jared Zola

A trial team and I were asked recently whether we would prefer to postpone an in-person jury trial several months or conduct the trial now via Zoom. We responded with a resounding, “in person.”

Not a single one of us is immune to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve all suffered loss. Some much more tragic and permanent than others, but no one can honestly say that her or his life is unchanged. Some things that seemed normal earlier this year and before then may never go back to the way they were. Will we fly cross-country to conduct a four-hour deposition in person, even when it is safe to do so? Maybe; depends on the witness. Will we for an in-person meeting with colleagues? Maybe not.

While attorneys are proving every day that many parts of our profession can be performed remotely, we must closely guard the sanctity of jury trials from the coronavirus pandemic. Criminal and civil jury trials are the backbone of the American system of justice; our ultimate safeguard of civil liberties. The American jury trial is a constitutional right. I’m all for adapting to the present situation. But the thought of a “virtual” trial by jury is a bridge too far—and presents a serious risk of eroding one of the most fundamental American rights. Continue reading “Don’t Let Jury Trials Vanish Further Amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic”

Is There a Glitch in Insurance Coverage for Social Engineering Scams?

James S. Carter

Social engineering scams seeking to deceive companies into making wire transfers to fraudulent bank accounts continue to plague companies. According to the FBI, social engineering fraud costs businesses billions of dollars each year. On top of the lost funds, social engineering scams can lead to substantial investigation costs and even litigation.

Many businesses trust their crime or fidelity insurance policies to protect them from social engineering losses. Insurers, however, take the position that such policies do not cover all social engineering scams. Depending on the type of social engineering scam or how it happens to play out, insurers may deny coverage, depriving the policyholder of valuable insurance protection. Continue reading “Is There a Glitch in Insurance Coverage for Social Engineering Scams?”

Blank Rome Attys Talk COVID-19 Insurance Coverage Battles

Blank Rome LLP insurance recovery partners Jim Murray and Linda Kornfeld recently spoke with Law360 about how their practice group has been tackling clients’ claims for business loss coverage amid the COVID-19 crisis, while adjusting to the new normal of working from home.

How has your practice group adapted to the pandemic?

Murray: Our group consists of 32 of us now in several offices, including New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. We collaborate and pitch work as a group. We are not limited by offices. I have not had a single case at Blank Rome that has not included at least one lawyer from one of the other offices.

Our group would typically have a monthly meeting of 45 minutes to an hour, where we discuss key cases and developments. We had always done that by video in our offices. When the pandemic hit and we finally ended up closing, we went from 14 offices to 1,000 home offices. For the insurance group, though, it was in some respects business as usual, as we continued with those meetings, bumping them up to every Friday instead of every month. We limit the meetings now to 30 minutes, and every week we have a speaker talk about one of their cases. We have had a lot of discussion about coronavirus cases, what we will and will not be doing in this area.

Kornfeld: It has really been a great thing to have such a close group in this pandemic situation. In my career, I have never been involved in any situation of this scope, where everyone in the group is thinking about the same issues at the same time. 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy and other large-scale events in the past were geographically specific, where this event is impacting most everyone everywhere.

We are all reading insurance policies on a daily basis and analyzing those policies. We have such strong friendships that we are on the phone with each other all the time, trading ideas about policy language and potential arguments. Since we are such a tightly knit group, we have been able to use that fact to bring sophistication of analysis and thought to bear. We are putting all these smart coverage brains together and focusing at the same time on this specific issue, coverage for the pandemic. The level of intellectual discussion has been a silver lining of this situation.

For the firm as a whole, across all practice areas, we have been in much closer contact. Most everyone’s clients have had some issue relating to the pandemic.

In their full interview with Law360, Jim and Linda further discuss:

  • What pandemic-related work has the group been doing?
  • What do you think of efforts to centralize COVID-19 coverage cases?
  • How have you been spending time outside work?

To read the full article, please click here.

“Blank Rome Attys Talk COVID-19 Insurance Coverage Battles,” by Jeff Sistrunk was published in Law360 on June 17, 2020.

 

Credit Insurance: Insurance for Late Payments or Nonpayments

John A. Gibbons and James S. Carter

Recent events and the decline of the global economy have brought a raft of notices of late payments or no payments for creditors, lenders, landlords, and trade counterparties. In many instances there may be no notice at all, but rather just silence and a nonpayment. With the downturn and record number of layoffs and closures also comes the specter of further prolonged defaults and bankruptcies.

Is there insurance to protect against a nonpayment? Yes. Beyond Business Interruption / Business Income and other insurance policies that cover losses from recent events and business suspension losses, there is specific insurance designed to protect against the risk of nonpayment of a debt: Credit Insurance / Trade Credit Insurance.

What Is Credit Insurance?

Credit insurance protects those that purchase the insurance against the risk of nonpayment of an insured debt. Purchasers of credit insurance can fall within a wide array of businesses—lenders, exporters, commodity traders, product suppliers. Credit Insurance is typically used to protect a company’s own account receivables (“AR”) against the risk of nonpayment. Continue reading “Credit Insurance: Insurance for Late Payments or Nonpayments”

CANCELED: Guidance for Policyholders on Event Cancellation Insurance in the Wake of COVID-19

Dominique A. Meyer

Across the globe, governments and public health officials are banning large gatherings and imploring citizens to practice “social distancing” in order to slow and prevent the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, or “COVID-19.” As a result, festivals, sporting events, conferences, and community celebrations are being canceled or postponed, leaving event organizers of all sizes—from major production companies, to would-be newly-weds—wondering how to recoup their substantial losses.

The pandemic has led to an unprecedented number of high-profile event cancellations and the potential for billions of dollars in lost income and other damages to the entertainment and sports industries. Just last week, concert giants Live Nation and AEG Presents suspended all tour engagements in North America, and world-famous gatherings like the Coachella Valley Music Festival and Stagecoach Music Festival were postponed until October. The threat of the virus has also taken its toll on professional sports—both the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League suspended the remainder of their 2019–2020 seasons, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association canceled its March Madness tournament altogether. Not even “America’s favorite pastime” has been immune from the effects of the virus—Major League Baseball postponed the start of its 2020 season indefinitely. The economic cost of these cancellations is certain to be substantial. Continue reading “CANCELED: Guidance for Policyholders on Event Cancellation Insurance in the Wake of COVID-19”

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