The
firm is a nationally-recognized leader in the area of insurance
coverage, particularly with respect to
establishing the rights of policyholders to protection for environmental
claims and liabilities. Landmark cases litigated by Plews Shadley
Racher & Braun, including the Kiger, Dana,
and Summit decisions, have made Indiana law a forerunner
in assisting policyholders in facing such losses. This work
has drawn widespread attention to the firm, and has resulted
in recovery of nearly $200 million for the firm's clients. Our
insurance coverage clients include products manufacturers, utilities,
governmental entities, petroleum marketers, transportation and
freight companies and real estate
organizations. They range in size from "Fortune 500"
and international companies -- on whose behalf we have prosecuted
a number of multi-site, multi-state comprehensive coverage actions
-- to local businesses and individual landowners.
The
focus of our work in this area is recovering insurance assets
to pay for environmental cleanups or reimburse businesses for
cleanup costs they already incurred. We assist them in realizing
the value of the insurance they purchased as protection against
business losses, often through their current and past comprehensive
general liability and first-party property policies.
We
also have helped solve Brownfields issues faced by governmental
entities through the insurance of past owners and operators
of abandoned, "orphan" or condemned sites, including
decades-old policies of entities which are insolvent, bankrupt
or no longer in business.
Environmental
Coverage
Examples
of some of our recent cases:
#
Sites
#
Insurers
8
175
65
56
125
16
29
8
2
32
6
55
9
5
We have successfully resolved cases through litigation, appeals
and settlements as well as ADR procedures such as mediation.
Our firm has submitted numerous amicus curiae briefs
to courts on crucial issues of insurance coverage on behalf
of groups of manufacturers, petroleum marketers and other businesses.
Lawyers in our firm's insurance coverage practice group participate
in a national association of counsel representing policyholders
that share information about recent decisions, expert witnesses
and amicus curiae opportunities.
One
advantage we enjoy in prosecuting environmental coverage claims
is our experience in the area of environmental law in general.
This allows us to better develop insights about the underlying
environmental claims at issue in these cases, which may open
up new avenues to obtain coverage. It also helps us find global
solutions to environmental problems. As we seek to secure dollars
from insurers, we may at the same time look to past owners and
operators or public funds, simultaneously negotiate with regulators
concerning applicable cleanup standards and also work with consultants
and cleanup contractors to control costs.
Our
work includes insurance archaeology to uncover historical coverages
for long-tail claims and latent liabilities. We have had
considerable success uncovering lost and missing policies.
We have litigated a wide variety of issues including administrative
proceedings as "suits,""after
acquired" sites,"all
sums,"allocation,
aggregate limits,bad
faith, choice
of law,cleanup
costs as "damages,"contribution,
duty
to defend,"drop
down" obligations,"expected
and intended" questions,estoppel,forum
non conveniens, insolvencies, liquidations and receiverships,Lloyd's
of London syndicate Equitas issues, "occurrence" questions,
owned property exclusions, "personal
injury" coverage, pollution
exclusions (both "sudden and accidental"and "absolute
pollution exclusions"), "wear and tear" exclusions
(the so-called "mold exclusion"), self insured retentions
or deductibles and trigger" of coverage.
The
firm also has worked on a broad range of non-environmental
coverage issues, including liabilities arising from asbestos,
actions by directors and officers,
business interruption, construction, fire, fumes, mold and
other "sick" buildings, products, professional errors
and omissions, malpractice liability, torts involving personal
and bodily injuries and toxic torts.
Asbestos
Coverage
Examples
of some of our recent cases:
#
Claimants
#
Insurers
3,400
12
8,700
20
Our attorneys have worked to raise the profession's, the judiciary's
and regulators' consciousness and knowledge of insurance coverage
issues through scholarship and articles published in the Journal
of Insurance Coverage, the Environmental Claims Journal
and otherjournals.
Similarly, the firm's attorneys have spoken at continuing legal
education meetings and before environmental, trade and industry
groups.
The
firm is a nationally-recognized leader in the area of insurance
coverage, particularly with respect to
establishing the rights of policyholders to protection for environmental
claims and liabilities. Landmark cases litigated by Plews Shadley
Racher & Braun, including the Kiger, Dana,
and Summit decisions, have made Indiana law a forerunner
in assisting policyholders in facing such losses. This work
has drawn widespread attention to the firm, and has resulted
in recovery of nearly $200 million for the firm's clients. Our
insurance coverage clients include products manufacturers, utilities,
governmental entities, petroleum marketers, transportation and
freight companies and real estate