Kasowitz’s Insurance Recovery practice group is one of the largest in the nation, with more than twenty-five attorneys focused exclusively on policyholder coverage. Led by Robin L. Cohen, one of the preeminent insurance litigators in the nation and one of the 50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America according to The National Law Journal, the Firm’s Insurance Recovery attorneys are nationally known for their innovative and aggressive strategies for maximizing coverage for their clients. The Firm’s attorneys pride themselves on understanding the business needs of their clients, and working closely with them to address all of their legal insurance-coverage needs, including high-stakes litigation, alternative dispute resolution, policy audits, risk assessments, state insurance regulatory matters, and due diligence associated with business transactions. Given its reputation for aggressive litigation and its extensive insurance coverage experience, the Firm’s clients often are able to maximize their recoveries without the need for protracted litigation, at significant savings, because insurance companies recognize that the Firm is prepared to try every case in the event the insurers do not offer a fair and reasonable settlement. As a result, the Insurance Recovery group’s attorneys have recovered more than $2 billion to date for their clients through judgments and settlements. Recognizing the talent, experience, and successes of the group, Chambers USA recently nominated the Firm’s Insurance Recovery group for its 2010 "Award for Excellence for Insurance."

The Firm’s Insurance Coverage practice group’s recent representations include:

• ABT Building Products Corp. (“ABTco”), one of the largest manufacturers of building materials, in its action to recover from its general liability insurers for losses arising from lawsuits stemming form allegedly defective hardboard siding. The Firm’s attorneys reached multi-million dollar settlements with all but one of the carriers. With respect to the only “holdout” carrier, National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., the Firm’s attorneys filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of North Carolina, and tried the action to the jury, obtaining a multi-million dollar verdict for breach of contract and, in addition, multi-million dollar verdicts for bad faith and punitive damages. The Firm also recovered all of ABTco’s attorneys’ fees and pre-judgment interest. The jury verdict and court award were affirmed in their entirety by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
  
  
• Appleton Papers Inc. to recover from its comprehensive liability insurance companies for environmental liabilities arising from contamination of the Fox River in Wisconsin, one of the largest CERCLA sites in the country with clean-up costs that could exceed $600 million. API was sued by its general liability insurers in a declaratory judgment action in Wisconsin. At trial, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of API.
  
  
• A major food distributor at trial in its coverage action against its general liability carrier for coverage of losses arising from claims against the client alleging that the client’s food products were contaminated, establishing that the client’s comprehensive general liability policies provided tens of millions of dollars of coverage for consequential damages arising out of covered bodily injuries.
  
  
• Building Materials Corporation of America d/b/a GAF Materials Corporation in connection with its insurance coverage litigation against dozens of insurers arising out of GAF’s settlement of five class-action lawsuits involving allegedly defective GAF roofing shingles. After nearly eleven years of litigation, GAF turned to the group’s attorneys to take over the coverage action, which focused on GAF’s largest insurer, AIG, successfully opposing all of AIG's dispositive motions and obtained significant pro-policyholder decisions on critical exclusions relating to standard form policy provisions, while at the same time securing millions of dollars in settlements from all of the other insurers.
  
  
• Tyson Foods, Inc. in its coverage litigation arising from losses suffered as a result of Hurricane Katrina. The largest component of the loss arises out of the disruption of Tyson's logistics network on which it relied to ship its frozen leg quarters into the international market. Katrina damaged the port terminals and cold storage units along the Gulf Coast, and the resulting loss, which is in the tens of millions of dollars, falls under the contingent business interruption insuring provisions of the policies.
  
  
• Representation of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in connection with its insurance coverage claims relating to alleged liabilities arising out of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. In 2007, the Court awarded The Port Authority over $1 million sanctions against opposing counsel, setting an important precedent on the ethical obligations of counsel. The lawsuit was successfully resolved after a Second Circuit argument wherein at issue was the ability to sell liability insurance without a defense obligation.
  
  
• A pump manufacturer in an action seeking insurance coverage for thousands of asbestos-related claims. The action, pending in Delaware Chancery Court, involves hundreds of insurance policies sold to one of the pump manufacturer’s predecessors by nearly twenty different insurance carriers from 1972 to 1985. Notwithstanding anti-assignment provisions in the policies, the Firm’s lawyers successfully obtained a declaration that their client was entitled to hundreds of millions of dollars in coverage under excess-layer insurance policies, and obtained a precedent-setting decision allowing the client to allocate asbestos claims under New York law using an "all sums" methodology.
  
  
• Pella Corporation and Pella Windows and Doors, Inc. in their insurance coverage action against their general liability carrier, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, for losses arising from two consumer class actions alleging that certain Pella windows were defective and seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages. The Firm’s lawyers obtained summary judgment for Pella on its coverage claims, successfully arguing that the alleged defect in millions of windows sold over many years was a single occurrence.
  
  
• Philips Electronics North America Corporation and its subsidiary THAN in recovering hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance coverage for liabilities arising out of their alleged distribution of asbestos. In this litigation in Illinois, the Firm’s attorneys obtained a series of summary judgment rulings requiring the primary carriers to provide a complete defense against the underlying asbestos actions, resulting in significant settlements.
  
  
• Givaudan Flavors Corporation in litigation seeking insurance coverage for losses relating to hundreds of underlying lawsuits alleging injuries from diacetyl in butter-flavored popcorn. Within a few short months of their involvement, the Firm’s attorneys were able to achieve a significant settlement with the defendant insurer worth tens of million of dollars and which exceeded that insurer’s policy limits.
  
  
• Murray Energy Corporation and several of its subsidiaries and affiliates in connection with the tragic events at the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah. The Firm’s attorneys secured more than $45 million in insurance coverage under MEC’s general liability, directors and officers, property, and worker’s compensation policies.
  
  
• New Valley LLC in its arbitration against AIG subsidiary, National Union, for coverage under its directors, officers and corporate liability insurance policy relating to a shareholder derivative action, successfully obtaining an award that New Valley was entitled to the full amount of its multi-million dollar claim, plus pre-judgment interest.
  
  
• General Electric and its subsidiary NBC-Universal in connection with their claim for insurance coverage arising out of the June 1, 2008 fire at Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park in Los Angeles, California. The fire gave rise to hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage and business interruption losses arising out of three GE business units – the theme park, the production studio, and the video vault. Less than one year from the date of the fire, GE successfully settled its claims with its property carrier and more than 20 retrocessionaires for close to half a billion dollars.
  
  
• Philips Lighting Company in its lawsuit against several insurance carriers in West Virginia concerning insurance coverage for approximately 4,000 toxic tort claims, successfully obtaining summary judgment requiring the carriers to provide a complete defense to Philips, after which all aspects of the coverage claim was fully and very favorably resolved.