Client Successes

Georgia-Pacific Corporation

Secured a district court judgment holding on behalf of our client Georgia-Pacific Corporation. The holding stated that, contrary to the insurer’s contention, the cancellation of an umbrella liability policy after three months did not reduce the aggregate limit of liability of the policy from $10 million to $2.5 million. Rather, the full $10 million limit was left intact.

Setting Important Precedent in Commercial Liability Insurance

We were retained by our client to appeal a summary judgment granted to an insurer because of an “owned property” exclusion, which precluded liability insurance coverage for the costs of cleaning up a heating oil spill. The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the decision, agreeing that costs incurred to abate contamination of third-party property are covered, even if remedial work is performed on the policyholder’s property. The case is now widely cited to defeat the “owned property” defense under commercial liability insurance.

Smith & Nephew, Inc.

On behalf of our client, Smith & Nephew, Inc., we secured a reversal by the Sixth Circuit of a district court opinion granting an insurer summary judgment. The Court of Appeals held that the insurer had a duty to defend our client, the policyholder, under the “personal injury” provisions of a general liability policy for an underlying action alleging the policyholder’s participation in a conspiracy to defame a self-styled “whistle-blower.”
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