Insurance pervades every aspect of the litigation landscape. The banking and financial institution meltdowns, subprime lawsuits, and investment schemes implicate coverage under directors and officers liability, fiduciary liability, and errors and omissions policies. Food contamination issues trigger defense or indemnity obligations under commercial general liability and business interruption policies, and natural disasters and business torts implicate a variety of diverse insurance issues.
The Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee seeks to "Raise the Bar" by fostering professionalism and collegiality in the insurance coverage litigation bar dealing with these issues. The Committee has over 2,200 members but a "small town" feel, where attorneys representing policyholders and insurers mingle with in-house insurance company representatives to develop lasting personal and business relationships. Through the tireless efforts of the members, the Committee has received Section of Litigation Leadership Awards for our journal-quality newsletter, Coverage, and the Committee's Annual CLE Meeting, held each March at the Westin La Paloma Resort in Tucson, Arizona. Our Website showcases "Hot Topic" Features with articles and checklists addressing many of the important issues facing litigants today, and our growing Young Lawyers Subcommittee offers many opportunities to become involved.
Welcome to our Committee, we hope you will become involved.
Natural Catastrophes and Business Interruption Issues
Over the next several months, we will be adding a series of eight Hot Topic features. These new features will showcase articles and checklists addressing insurance issues that arise in the context of specific substantive areas undergoing significant activity and development.
One of the many issues that corporate policyholders face is trying to recoup from the insurers from whom they have purchased directors & officers (D&O) insurance policies the moneys spent on “informal” investigations by a public agency such as the SEC or the office of an attorney general, as well as on the internal investigation conducted by a special litigation or audit committee of the company’s board of directors that often follows.
This teleconference and live audio webcast will be presented on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 from 1-2pm Eastern/12-1pm Central/11-12pm Mountain/10-11am Pacific time. The CLE program will showcase an insurance claim submission expert and lawyers from both the policyholder and insurer sides who will explain the key questions in product contamination and recall insurance claims and disputes. The panelists will include Jim Davis of Reed Smith, Becky Haller of Meckler Bulger, and Brad Murlick of Navigant.
Policyholders are facing increasing numbers of actions for alleged securities fraud, inappropriate options dating and other compensation arrangements, financial restatements, and other purported financial misdeeds. The types of relief sought by claimants in such cases are many and varied.

