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INSURANCE LAW
For Policyholders
Our work for insurers, and
particularly our role in shaping
coverage law at the appellate
level, has led to numerous
referrals from other lawyers on
insurance coverage matters for
policyholders.
We represent a variety of
corporate policyholders,
including a publicly traded
operator of residential care
facilities for the disabled, oil
and gas industry firms,
technology companies , commercial builders and contractors, and several
local Austin businesses. Our
firm was engaged in late 2008 by
apartment owners whose nine
complexes, consisting of some
123 buildings, were heavily
damaged by Hurricane Katrina. We
also represent or have
represented over 50 Texas school
districts on coverage matters
and have had great success in
convincing insurers who
initially denied coverage for a
suit against the district to
reverse that decision and pay
for defense and indemnity when
the insurer makes litigation
necessary.
We have a strong track record of
winning quick turnarounds on
denials of coverage and when
cooperation cannot be
negotiated, for winning summary
judgments. For example, in December 2010, we convinced an insurer to reverse its denial of coverage for defense costs for a commercial construction company, resulting in a retroactive payment of all attorneys' fees plus interest and penalties. We also
obtained a plaintiff's summary
judgment for the Pecos
Independent School District
against a well-known
international insurance company
for attaching to a health policy
a restrictive endorsement which
was not approved by the
insurance regulatory agency.
This ruling led to a quick
resolution of the case. We also
convinced a federal court in
Houston to reconsider a summary
judgment entered against a
public company (while it was
represented by another firm) on
a reimbursement contract the
client had signed with AIG in
order to get AIG to fund a
settlement of an underlying
death case against the company.
In March 2009, we convinced a
commercial general liability
insurer to reverse its “no
coverage” position and start
paying the defense costs of a
construction firm that got sued
by a large pubic utility.
Our other policyholder clients
range from oil field service
companies whose insurers delay
and deny coverage, to a silicon
chip company pursuing business
interruption coverage relating
to an earthquake in Taiwan, bank
directors seeking coverage under
director and officer liability
carriers for lender liability
suits, and an equipment
manufacturer who purchased
transit coverage for sensitive
equipment, only to have the
insurer deny coverage for a loss
that occurred in transit.
We also assist defense counsel
in getting their legal bills
paid by recalcitrant carriers
who insure the defense lawyers'
clients. Our approach to this
work is to begin with a
nonconfrontational letter,
analyzing the insurance coverage
under the applicable law. When
faced with a well-reasoned
coverage opinion, most insurers
will reconsider an improper
denial of coverage. While we are
always prepared to litigate, we
have found that thoughtful legal
analysis, followed up by artful
negotiation, usually yields
highly cost-effective results.
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