Represented a global insurance company in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit where two claimants sought in excess of $2.5 million in damages and attorneys' fees. The action arose from an underlying personal injury lawsuit against two companies brought by an employee of the insured for severe injuries he sustained while working on an offshore oil platform. Two of the companies sued the insurer, alleging breach of contract and bad faith claims for failure to defend and indemnify them as additional insureds under the policy against the personal injury claims. After moving for summary judgment, one company dismissed its claim against the insurer without any payment and the other settled for a de minimis amount.

Represented a global insurance company in a complex environmental insurance coverage dispute involving the disposal of contaminated railroad crossties. Under Louisiana's direct action statute, two railroad companies sought reimbursement under the company's pollution policy after a formerly insured company filed for bankruptcy, leaving the railroads to bear the cost of remediating the company's contaminated property. The railroads sued to recover the more than $1.5 million in remediation costs they had allegedly incurred and for bad faith. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment on the issue of coverage, but the trial court denied both parties' motions.  On appeal, the court granted the client's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the railroad companies' claims in their entirety.

Represented one of the largest insurers as subrogee in two separate CERCLA proceedings against the United States. The insurer issued a specialty lines environmental pollution policy to a former military ordnance manufacturer. The insurer sought contribution for response/clean-up costs that it paid on its insured’s behalf in connection with the clean-up of two different manufacturing sites. The insurer is one of the first to successfully bring a CERCLA subrogation action under section 9612 of CERCLA in the Ninth Circuit, which had previously decided a question of first impression with a holding that limited insurers’ rights to seek subrogation recoveries under CERCLA. Despite this holding adverse to insurers, favorable settlements for the insurer were achieved in both proceedings that significantly mitigated policy losses.

Represented two large sureties against a contractor and an international, government-owned bank in a declaratory judgment action in a California federal court involving significant claims and counterclaims made against the sureties under transportation-related bonds and indemnity agreements. The bonds and indemnity agreements were issued in connection with the contractor’s agreement to build articulated trolley buses for the City of San Francisco. This complex case also involved several international entities and separate international financial agreements. The lawsuit settled on terms favorable to the sureties.