Pillsbury

Service

Insurance Recovery & Advisory

PDF
Share
- Email
- Twitter
- LinkedIn

Contacts

Peter M. Gillon

Partner, Miami

T: +1.202.663.9249

peter.gillon@pillsburylaw.com

Robert L. Wallan

Partner, Los Angeles

T: +1.213.488.7163

robert.wallan@pillsburylaw.com

See All Professionals

Pillsbury’s Insurance Recovery & Advisory group is one of the country’s largest and most diverse insurance departments, with more than 70 dedicated lawyers in Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and Houston.

The firm is a five-time honoree as a Law360 "Insurance Practice of the Year" (receiving the honor in 2022, 2020, 2016, 2015 and 2010), and is nationally ranked in Chambers USA. Housed within our highly respected global law firm, the Insurance group boasts market-leading bona fides, and leverages the firm’s substantive experience in virtually every practice area.

View the Latest COVID-19 Insurance Coverage Implications

Combining deep experience resolving coverage and underlying insurance-related business issues with in-depth knowledge of key industry sectors, our lawyers have conducted thousands of insurance program/policy reviews, regularly help establish effective enterprise risk management strategies and have achieved many of our greatest successes through out-of-court dispute resolution. We pride ourselves on spotting trends, identifying emerging issues and providing practical solutions, which we share with clients via alerts, our Policyholder Pulse blog and direct updates.

Pillsbury’s Insurance Recovery & Advisory team represents corporate policyholders across the U.S. from the earliest stages of policy language negotiations through claims, arbitrations, litigation, trial and appeals. We provide guidance on business issues, such as the interplay between insurance and contractual and statutory indemnification, insurance insolvencies, as well as due diligence and insurance as a part of overall risk management and crisis management programs.

Our approach to problem solving and litigation is rigorous, quantitative, pragmatic and technically sound. Often we make use of in-house nonlawyer engineering and insurance staff.

Representative Experience

Pillsbury is engaged in numerous significant and often headline-grabbing coverage disputes for our clients, including:

Represented an oil refiner in an insurance coverage jury trial against AIG and 13 other insurance companies arising from the rupture of a crude supply pipeline. Jury awarded our client’s full demand of $72 million for contingent business interruption losses.
Represented a mechanical pipe joining manufacturer and secured a jury verdict for breach of contract, bad faith and punitive damages, including attorney’s fees and punitive damages, after denial of coverage for defense of product liability claims by AIG. This was one of the largest insurance jury verdicts in California in 2015.
Representing a university and medical center in major litigation against insurers for over $2 billion in losses suffered due to Superstorm Sandy.

Natural Disasters
- Representing a university and medical center in major litigation against insurers for over $2 billion in losses suffered due to Superstorm Sandy. Recoveries to date of over $1 billion from FEMA and $100 million from insurers.
- Representing three prominent Big Sur businesses seeking in excess of $22 million in damages from their property and business interruption insurers following severe mudslides.
- Represented the owners of a New York office building in lower Manhattan in litigation seeking $150 million for property damage and rental income losses caused by Superstorm Sandy. The case settled shortly before trial.
- Representing numerous businesses impacted by Hurricanes Harvey Irma and Maria, including Puerto Rican locations of pharmaceutical manufacturers, Caribbean resort properties, healthcare providers and transportation companies, among others.

D&O
- Represent dozens of public and private companies and their boards in resolving securities class actions, derivative actions, merger objection, event driven litigation, and Delaware appraisal proceedings, serving as coverage and settlement counsel. Clients include the largest public utilities and energy companies, and leading financial institutions, IT, software, entertainment, healthcare and transportation companies.
- Represented major public REIT in litigation with carriers over priority of coverage rights claimed by external manager.
- Representing a national bank seeking coverage from a $120 million tower for Ponzi scheme claims in class action litigation.

Cyber
- Representing client that manages loyalty programs to recover insurance proceeds for losses and liabilities due to fraudulent exfiltration of gift card redemption codes, via a spear phishing attack, followed by installation of suspected malware.
- Represented Japanese electronics manufacturer and gaming company on insurance issues related to the November 2014 cyberattack on its network and IT infrastructure and on insurance claims arising out of attacks on its online gaming networks in 2011.

Product Liability and Recalls
- Representing Japanese manufacturer regarding coverage for alleged bodily injury claims arising out of largest product recall (airbags) in U.S. history.
- Representing product manufacturer against seven insurers seeking CGL coverage for products liability for class action claims. Successful duty to defend motions were followed by defense and indemnity recoveries with trial pending against Fireman’s Fund.
- Represented a meat processing company with respect to the recall of more than eight million pounds of contaminated beef.
- Represented a mechanical pipe joining manufacturer and secured a jury verdict for breach of contract, bad faith and punitive damages, including attorney’s fees and punitive damages, after denial of coverage for defense of product liability claims by AIG. This was one of the largest insurance jury verdicts in California in 2015.
- Represented multiple construction and real estate clients in pursuit of insurance recoveries for Chinese drywall claims from insurance carriers.

Pollution
- On behalf of several of the largest utilities, seeking coverage for the billions in projected costs to remediate coal ash disposal sites. Assignments include representing a utility in litigation over coal ash claims in multiple states with a value in excess of $1 billion.
- Represented one of the three well owners on insurance claims arising from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Macondo well blowout and oil spill for liabilities of more than $2 billion.
- Representing an energy company against 14 property insurers for claims in excess of $200 million.
- Represented an oil refiner in litigation seeking coverage for environmental liabilities arising out of one of the largest petrochemical disasters in the U.S.
- Represented a global engineering firm with insurance claims exceeding $100 million in value in connection with design and construction issues related to a number of coal-fired power plants.
- Representing a petrochemical company regarding damages for oil spill under Bermuda form.

Business Interruption
- Represented an oil refiner in an insurance coverage jury trial against AIG and 13 other insurance companies arising from the rupture of a crude supply pipeline. Jury awarded our client’s full demand of $72 million for contingent business interruption losses, the largest insurance verdict of the year.
- Representing oil refiner and waste-to-energy company in separate litigations over measure of damage for shutdowns due to facility fires.
- Represented leading airline in recovery of business lost due to Japan earthquake and Fukushima nuclear accident.
- Represented a Fortune 500 utility and recovered hundreds of millions for repairs and power replacement costs stemming from a nuclear energy plant containment failure in Florida.

Construction
- Representing a joint venture on construction and insurance issues arising from the sinking and leaning Millennium Tower in San Francisco.
- Representing an EPC contractor in pursuing recovery of more than $200 million of insurance claims arising out of the construction of enhancements to four coal-fired power plants. Tenth Circuit sided with our client, who can now pursue coverage for construction defects at the plants in question.
- Represented a national developer of commercial and residential property against National Surety Corporation and more than 20 different contractors and subcontractors in connection with its significant property and business interruption losses. We secured a substantial appraisal award for our client. The matter settled confidentially mid-trial.

Other Industries
- Representing a former FIFA representative on an insurance coverage dispute in connection with defense costs arising from racketeering charges in a high-profile bribery case.
- Represented health care provider in an insurance litigation seeking liability insurance coverage for an underlying lawsuit alleging Sherman Act violations and other commercial torts.

Practice Area Highlights

U.S. News – Best Lawyers Best Law Firms 2023 National Tier 1 Insurance Law ranking.
Pillsbury is recognized as among the most feared law firms for litigation by BTI Consulting Group.
Five-time Law360 Insurance Practice Group of the Year (2022, 2020, 2016, 2015, 2010)

Nationally ranked by Chambers USA, shortlisted for 2021 "Insurance: Policyholder, Law Firm of the Year," and finalist for Chambers USA's 2018 Award for Excellence in Insurance.

Recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. (2017 – 2023)

Team lawyers are lauded by Best Lawyers in America and Who’s Who Legal in the field of insurance

Resources

Insurance Recovery & Advisory

Areas of Focus

Practices

Pillsbury’s Insurance Recovery & Advisory group is one of the country’s largest and most diverse insurance departments, with more than 70 dedicated lawyers in Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and Houston.

Representative Experience

Practice Area Highlights

Resources

Blog

Recovery Insurance

Brochure

Factsheet

2024 MOST FEARED FIRMS

Video

Press

Case Study

Related Insights