Practice Area
Forcing insurers to honor the policies that contractors, owners, and businesses paid for.
Overview
A disclaimer letter can be more dangerous than the lawsuit it concerns. When an insurer refuses to defend or indemnify, the client is left to fund its own defense and face the judgment alone. The firm's coverage practice exists to change that outcome.
A disclaimer letter is the beginning of the argument, not the end of it.
In one matter, an insurer commenced a declaratory judgment action seeking to escape responsibility for a $530,000 judgment entered after trial against the firm's client, a general contractor. The firm forced the insurer to pay the judgment and to repay the client's $20,000 in defense costs. In another, a carrier that had disclaimed coverage years earlier was compelled not only to take over the defense and indemnify the client, but to reimburse every dollar of legal fees the client had incurred since the inception of the case.
The firm also uses procedural tools to bring carriers to the table. In one case, it vacated a default judgment of more than $584,000 entered against a nightclub, which removed the insurer's claim of prejudice and forced it to cover the claim.
What we handle
Representative matters
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
All representative matters$530K
For: General contractor
Represented a general contractor in a declaratory judgment action commenced by its insurer. The firm forced the insurer to indemnify the client and pay a $530,000 judgment entered against it after trial, and to repay the $20,000 the client had spent on its own defense.
Full defense & fees
For: General contractor
Took over the defense of a general contractor facing Labor Law claims for construction site injuries on a Queens project, after its insurer had disclaimed coverage and left the client to defend itself. Following a thorough analysis of the case and its documents, the firm forced the insurer to withdraw its disclaimer, take over the client's defense, and reimburse the client for all of the legal fees it had already incurred in defending the action.
$584,960
For: Nightclub owner
Represented the owner of a nightclub and vacated a default judgment of $584,960.27 entered against the business. The vacatur removed the insurer's claim that it had been prejudiced, and the insurer was forced to cover the claims.
The matters described on this site are illustrative and do not describe every matter the firm has handled. Each matter turns on its own facts, and the absence of a stated outcome should not be read as a comment on the result. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Related practices
Start a conversation
Whether you are planning a transaction or responding to a dispute, the fastest way to find out how the firm can help is a short conversation.
Discuss your matter