Insurance

Charlie has represented policyholders in presenting insurance claims and in related litigation for recovery of damages ranging from several hundred thousand dollars to several hundred million dollars at all stages – from claim development and presentation, to negotiations with insurance companies, to litigation and arbitration, to appeals. His engagements include:

• Trial and appeal for owner in property insurance claim for flood damage to the Opry Mills shopping mall in Nashville, Tennessee. Charlie was co-lead trial counsel in a six-week jury trial that resulted in a $204 million jury verdict in the owner’s favor. The verdict included both covered losses and consequential damages in excess of the coverage limits. The jury also determined the client was entitled to additional consequential damages. Charlie also represented the owner in the insurers’ appeal of the award.
• Property insurance claim for owner of retail shopping center for partial collapse of a retaining wall
• Property insurance claim and arbitration against a contractor for owner of large Florida apartment complex for damages caused by water intrusion
• Liability insurance claim for contractor on a road construction project for damages caused by the partial failure of a bridge on the project
• Property insurance claim and lawsuit for owner of high-rise office building to recover costs of repairs to curtainwall caused by storm damage
• Charlie has advised several types of businesses in connection with business interruption, civil authority, communicable disease, and similar claims related to COVID-19
• Charlie has been engaged on several occasions by financial institutions to handle claims under those institutions’ bonds for misdirection of funds and other losses
• Charlie has been engaged by a number of policyholders over his career to manage and advise on the insurance aspects of litigation against those policyholders, often involving dozens or hundreds of underlying claims

Construction and Builders' Risk

• Builders risk insurance claim and negotiations with contractors for hospital arising out of foundation damage during construction of new patient tower
• Builders risk insurance claims and lawsuit against contractors for owner of a downtown mixed-use commercial and residential building for damages and delays caused by a concrete failure at the project. Charlie prosecuted the builders risk claim and brought a lawsuit against the subcontractors who allegedly caused the concrete failure for uninsured losses. The case settled after the court ruled on summary judgment that the owner could pursue its uninsured losses and was not limited to insured losses.
• Property insurance claim and negotiations with contractors for airport authority in connection with flood-related damages to a construction project on the authority’s property as part of a major expansion on the property
• Builders risk insurance claim for owner of a mixed use commercial and residential apartment complex in Ohio for flood damage during construction of the project
• Builders risk insurance claim for flood damage during construction of windfarm
  

Other Commercial Litigation

• Lawsuit on behalf of major chemical manufacturing client against joint venture partner for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and other claims related to joint development agreement and commercialization agreement over newly discovered compound
• Lawsuit on behalf of major health insurer against former executive and his joint venturers for misappropriation of trade secrets and other related claims
• Lawsuit on behalf of manufacturer against software vendor and consultant for breach of contract and other claims related to licensing and implementation of enterprise resource planning software
• Lawsuit on behalf of owner and manager of shopping mall in suit against national retail tenant for alleged violation of an “exclusive” clause in lease. Client obtained judgment interpreting lease provision, which the court upheld on appeal
• Lawsuit on behalf of owner and manager of shopping malls against national retail tenant for violation of operating covenant in tenant’s portfolio of leases
• Lawsuit on behalf of pesticide manufacturer against national pest control operator for millions of dollars in unpaid amounts under an agreement between the parties. Defeated motion to compel arbitration in trial court. The case resolved while on appeal from denial of defendant’s motion to compel arbitration
• Lawsuit on behalf of manufacturer of digital rights management technology against manufacturer of appliances incorporating client’s technology related to alleged breach of and issues related to termination of license agreements for client’s technology.
• Defended manufacturer of insulation products in proceedings brought by Enron trustee to collect millions of dollars in payments allegedly due under agreements between and among client, Enron and municipality for provision of electricity to client’s plan in California

• COVID-19 Town Hall: Insurance Recovery and Quantification of Loss, April 23, 2020
• Present and Future COVID Litigation Across Industries, April 22, 2020
• "Recovering Consequential Damages Under General Liability Policies," March 2019
• "How Secure is Your Business from Natural Disasters?," Aug. 30, 2018
• "Before You Break Ground: Risk, Reward and What You Need to Know About A&E," Legal and Insurance, March 15, 2018
• "Builders Risk," ABA Forum on Construction Law, Nov. 3, 2017
• "Attorney Ethics in Insurance Coverage Matters," Dec. 6, 2016
• "What Keeps You Up at Night or Can Help You Rest Easy: Compliance Programs, Internal Investigations, White Collar Defense … How They Can be Covered by Insurance," Aug. 23, 2016
• "Insurance Coverage in Mergers and Acquisitions," March 16, 2016
• "Year in Review: National Insurance Recovery," Jan. 27, 2015
  
   

• “Data Driven Case Valuation,”  www.themevision.com, May 11, 2020
• "An Appraisal Of The Appraisal Remedy In Property Insurance," Policyholder Protection Magazine, Nov. 26, 2019
• "The Legal Profession Doesn’t Have a Leadership Problem—It Has a Character Problem," ABA Journal, Your Voice, Nov. 7, 2019
• "The Negligent Breach of Contract Problem In Liability Insurance," www.btpolicyholderprotection.com, Sept. 30, 2019
• "Noise and the Decision to Settle Within Insurance Policy Limits," www.btpolicyholderprotection.com, May 16, 2019
• "Recovering Consequential Damages Under General Liability Policies," www.btpolicyholderprotection.com; ABA Construction Law Forum, Jan. 14, 2019 
• "The Noisy Business of the Law and Insurance Claims," www.btpolicyholderprotection.com, Jan. 2, 2019 
• "When Should an Accident be an Accident?” www.btpolicyholderprotection.com, Nov. 27, 2017
• "Preparing for and Responding to a Major Weather Event or Catastrophe," www.btpolicyholderprotection.com, Sept. 1, 2017 
• "New Justice Department Memo Highlights Need for Review of Side “A” D&O Coverage," www.btpolicyholderprotection.com, Sept. 10, 2015 
• "Georgia Supreme Court Sides with Insurer in Settlement Rights Fight," www.btpolicyholderprotection.com, April 21, 2015