Events

Bad Faith Claims in Commercial First-Party Property Disputes: A Policyholder Counsel Perspective

Friday, June 14, 2024 – 10:25 AM – 11:25 AM (CST)

Tracy Alan Saxe, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Meghan Moore, Flaster Greenberg

Leading policyholder counsel provides their perspectives on where carriers get tripped up in handling commercial first-party property claims, including using the carriers’ own litigation conduct, institutional discovery, and one-sided experts against them.

Insurance Considerations Related to the Use of Artificial Intelligence

Webinar
May 29, 2024 – 9:00 AM – 12:35 PM EST

Who Comes in Second? Vertical and Horizontal Policy Limit Exhaustion

May 21, 2024 – 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM CST

Tracy Alan Saxe and Kelly A. Johnson, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.

Learn more about the concepts of vertical and horizontal policy limit exhaustion. When multiple policies are involved, the priority of coverage is relevant to determine whether vertical or horizontal policy limit exhaustion applies, as varied by jurisdictions.

Construction Defect - Legal Concepts - Litigation Landscape

May 16, 2024

Gregory D. Podolak, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Ashley Sauve, Turner Construction Company
Richard Sprock, Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman
Paul Ferland, Cozen O’Connor

Navigating Downstream Waters: Effective Additional Insured and Contractual Risk Transfer Strategies

Friday, May 17, 2024 – 9:30 AM – 10:20 AM PST

Cheryl L. Kozdrey, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Cynthia Garcia, Bernards
Trevor Resurreccion, Lynberg & Watkins, APC
Cameron Kalunian, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP

One of the hallmarks of the construction industry is allocation of risk, making risk transfer one of the most important aspects of construction litigation. General contractors, trade contractors, service providers, suppliers, and architects invest time and effort to predetermine how the parties hope risk will be allocated. This presentation will focus on risk management challenges and solutions related to indemnification and additional insured issues, including best practices for handling defense, coverage, and common contract provisions. There will be particular emphasis on providing practical tips for parties to obtaining the benefit of their contractual bargain. The panel is comprised of an in-house risk manager, defense counsel (both general contractor and trade contractor counsel), and coverage counsel, who will share both real life examples and case law to convey a broad range of perspectives. Attendees will be provided with key takeaways designed to improve resolution of claims in the construction industry. The goal of this presentation will be to provide high level analysis and practical tips for strategic risk transfer as distinguished from “cookie cutter” tenders.

Covering the Cyber Risk: An Overview of Cyber Risk Under Traditional Policies and the Cyber Policy

May 14, 2024 – 11:00 AM – Noon EST

Join this webinar to learn about the exposure presented by the cyber risk; coverage of cyber risks under traditional policies; the types of cyber policies; and advise businesses on why they should be purchasing a cyber policy.

Blurred Lines - Adjusting Claims in Good Faith

April 18, 2024 – 11:15 AM – 12:15 PM CDT

Speakers:
Dwight Geddes, Metro Claims & Risk Mgmt
Janeen Thomas, Saxe Doernberger & Vita PC

Join this thoughtful discussion of several claims scenarios as we dissect what is considered ethical claims handling and what may cross the line into bad faith.

Fixing My Project – Tips & Pitfalls Regarding Insurance in the Construction Litigation Case

Friday, April 12, 2024 – 10:20 AM – 11:20 AM CST

The worst possible scenario is finding your client in a construction dispute that could have been covered but was not. Our Panel of insurance experts from varying perspectives – in-house, coverage counsel, and industry – will address the moves savvy counsel should make at the outset of the project and when a claim arises. From how in-house and transactional counsel should set up the project to how outside counsel – both litigation and coverage – can position a claim for resolution, this session will help you turn insurance into a tool to protect your project and learn the best practices so your client can clear the typical obstacles to resolution.

Legal Shields for Risky Deals: Navigating Insurance and Contractual Risk Transfer

Master risk management strategy with Michael V. Pepe and enrich your toolkit with deep insights on the relationship between insurance and contractual risk transfer to ensure your clients are properly protected.

Scope of Coverage, Covered Losses, Exclusions, AI Endorsements

Michael V. Pepe, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Patrick J. Wielinski, Cokinos Young
Christopher Yetka, Larking Hoffman Daly & Lindgren

Construction projects are always at risk for economic losses from unanticipated property damage, additional soft costs, and revenue loss that result in unbudgeted costs that can threaten project completion. Builders risk coverage is a crucial risk mitigation measure for building contractors and developers, as is adequate liability coverage through CGL policies and wrap ups.

Counsel to builders and developers must consider who is covered, what property is covered, what limits and sublimits apply, and when/how coverage applies. Because builders risk policies are not standardized, coverage varies dramatically between insurers. Coverage disputes often arise over the types of costs recoverable, calculation of economic damages, and the coverage exclusions and exceptions.
For liability disputes, CGL coverage must be adequately placed to cover construction risks during the course of construction as well as after. Typical issues include who is covered, the scope of coverage, and exclusions and conditions that apply.

Counsel often must also navigate the interplay between builders risk policies, CGL policies, including wrap policies, and professional liability policies. These issues are influenced by the language of the policies and the parties’ contractual obligations to each other. Attention to the details is necessary to ensure coverage is triggered when necessary.

Maximizing Risk Transfer in Complex Construction Defect Claims

Thursday, March 21, 2024 – 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM PST

Will S. Bennett, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Steven Cuneo, C.W. Driver

Complex construction defect claims implicate many facets of construction risk transfer. Between insurance and contractual risk transfer, a contractor can either set itself up for success in global resolution of the defect claims or for protracted litigation. This presentation will give participants practical tips for how to maximize risk transfer in these claim. The audience will learn about the significance of, amongst others, the following facets of construction defect risk transfer:

– When a claim is properly submitted under builders risk vs. general liability policies
– OCIPs vs. CCIPs vs. Traditional Annual Insurance
– How to utilize contractual indemnity rights to influence insurance claims
– The role of the general contractor’s corporate general liability program
– Wrap-up exclusions and their exceptions
– Policy limits demands and associated bad faith implications
– Blue Ridge and Buss reservations

The audience will learn how to avoid issues with each of these and gain a better understanding of how to identify them and address them proactively to leverage better outcomes.

Complex Risk Transfer in Agribusiness Claims

March 12, 2024 – 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM PST

This session will walk through a complex, multifaceted claim involving a citrus cooperative and detail how several lines of insurance played a role in achieving a favorable outcome for the insured. It will explore how contractual relationships influence insurance outcomes on specialty lines of agriculture.