Insurance

• Confidential first-party insurance coverage dispute

  Lipe Lyons negotiated a very favorable settlement for its client, an insurer, in a first-party insurance coverage dispute in which the plaintiff alleged the insurer breached the contract of insurance and acted in bad faith when it denied the plaintiff's claim for over $2 million in damages to commercial property. After conducting considerable discovery on the coverage issues raised in the pleadings, the parties settled for significantly less than the plaintiff's initial demand.

• In re Grenfell Tower Litigation

  Jordan Tank was retained by an insurer to help it resolve worldwide litigation arising out of the June 2017 high-rise fire in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in London. The fire caused 72 deaths, hundreds of injuries, and allegedly up to £1 billion in property damage. A public inquiry has been underway in London since September 2017. Some claimants filed suit in Pennsylvania, but the court transferred the cases to England under forum non conveniens, and now all cases are pending in London under English law.

• Elofson v. Costco

  January 17, 2019

  Defended premises liability action where Plaintiff sought damages following a slip and fall on food in a food court area.  Summary judgment was secured for the Defendant.
   

• Medicos v The Hartford et al.

  Defended an insurance company and its insureds against five bellwether breach of contract lawsuits that arose out of the insurer’s alleged failure to properly pay fees and interest to a medical provider for services it rendered to employees of the insureds.

• Budget Truck Rental, LLC v. Latoya et al.

  Prosecuted a hard fraud lawsuit against individuals involved in organized crime ring who filed fraudulent personal injury and property damage claims which arose out of orchestrated “crash for cash” motor vehicle accidents. Worked with the Chicago Police Department and the FBI to investigate the members of the crime ring and show the connections between the illegal and the legal aspects of the conspiracy to defraud insurers. Once subpoenas for depositions were issued to the leaders of the conspiracy, the personal injury lawsuits were voluntarily dismissed.

• Crothers v. Wells Fargo Bank. et. al.

  Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill.: Protracted dispute between multiple parties regarding insurance coverage dispute of a house fire alleging breach of contract, bad faith and fraud.  Aggressively litigated case to obtain full recovery of insurance proceeds for client.

• American Southern Insurance Co v. Hayslett

  U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri. Obtained dismissal for Progressive Insurance Company on personal jurisdiction grounds in consolidated cases arising out of multiple injuries suffered in a charter bus accident. The court issued a summary judgment ruling that mooted the liability issues against the insured, Abdias Christian Fellowship Church; successfully obtained a ruling from the court denying the plaintiff’s motions for fees and costs as to Progressive Insurance Company.

• Crawford v. Infinity Ins. Co.

  U.S. District Court, District of Wyoming.  Defended a bad faith case for failure to settle within policy limits. Case resulted in hung jury (5-1 for defendant); on retrial the jury awarded plaintiff one-half of the consent judgment entered into with the underlying insured.

• Hartford Insurance Company v. LaBodega Ltd.,et al

  Cook County, Illinois. Declaratory judgment/insurance coverage. Clients: LaBodega Ltd., a wholesale grocery company, and one of its employees, Pedro Macias. The court held that Hartford was obligated to defend and indemnify the defendants, LaBodega and Macias, up to the $2.5 million policy limits of two Hartford policies for a wrongful death claim. Hartford had refused to defend LaBodega and Macias in the wrongful death case and sought a declaration that they owed no coverage on the basis of late notice and their assertion that Macias was not an employee of LaBodega.

• In the Matter of the Cancellation of Progressive Northern Insurance Co. Policy Issued to John Smolinski.

  Represented insurer in hearing before the Illinois Insurance Commissioner seeking reinstatement of cancelled insurance policy and penalties. Judgment in favor of Progressive Northern Insurance Company.

• J.P. Morgan v. Chase Home Financial

  Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill.: Represented plaintiff in insurance coverage dispute alleging breach of contract, bad faith and breach of warranty.  Brought protracted three year litigation to a conclusion with client based result and monetary settlement.

• On Air v. National Indemnity

  U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  Directed verdict entered in favor of the defendant, a Berkshire-Hathaway company, in a bad faith case seeking punitive damages for wrongful refusal to defend, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Decision affirmed on appeal.

• Progressive Premiere Insurance Company of Illinois v. Fairfield Motor Services and SCA Tissue North America, LLC

  U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois.  Successfully prosecuted a declaratory judgment action asking the court to declare that commercial auto insurer did not have an obligation to defend or indemnify additional insured against suit filed by delivery driver who slipped and fell on cardboard spilling from the alleged insured’s trailer.

• Reznikoff v. Indiana Insurance Co.

  Circuit Court of Cook County, IL.  Obtained judgment for defendant insurer in bad faith lawsuit arising from defendant's denial of coverage for water damage claim.

• Village of Crestwood v. Ironshore Specialty Insurance

  Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division:  On February 22, 2013 the Illinois Appellate Court, affirmed a summary judgment order of the Cook County Circuit Court, in favor of Lipe Lyons client United National Insurance Company and two other insurers. The case arises from insurance coverage litigation spawned by 30+ individual and class action water contamination lawsuits brought against the Village of Crestwood, Illinois. In the underlying cases the plaintiffs alleged that the village knowingly and routinely mixed water from a well polluted by perchloroethylene, with Lake Michigan water and distributed it to village residents through the village’s tap water supply. The village sought defense and indemnity from several insurers who had provided General Liability, primary and excess policies over the period of the alleged pollution. The carriers denied coverage based on the Absolute Pollution Exclusions contained in the policies. The village argued on appeal that: (1) it was alleged to have been merely the distributor of a defective product (drinking water); (2) it was not the initial cause of the pollution; (3) its policies should provide coverage for claims arising from one of its “central business activities” (water distribution); and (4) the pollution exclusion was intended only to apply to parties who were potentially liable for clean-up costs under CERCLA. The Court rejected these arguments and held that the exclusions were effective to allow denial of coverage.  2013 Ill.app. (1st) 120112, 986 N.E.2d 678 (1st Dist. 2013).

• Faraone v. Popeyes

  Circuit Court of Cook County, IL:  Obtained dismissal of product liability-personal injury claims based upon plaintiff’s previously filed bankruptcy case where plaintiff failed to disclose personal injury claims to the bankruptcy court.

• Mauro v. Road Ranger

  Winnebago County, IL: Obtained voluntary dismissal of premises liability claims against defendant. Though its aggressive efforts in discovery, defendant obtained information that plaintiff had failed to disclose pre-existing right knee injuries during discovery and filed motion for a sanction of dismissal for discovery violations. 

• Carter v. (Defendant Confidential)

  Successfully resolved wrongful death claims in tort and pending before the Illinois Industrial Commission on behalf of plaintiff’’s decedent’s employer.  No money paid with respect to wrongful death claim and facilitated reasonable settlement of worker’s compensation case.