Insurance Coverage/Risk Management
Kotz Sangster Wysocki P.C.’s experience in defending its insurer and business clients in connection with insurance/risk management extends to virtually all areas of insurance law impacting each of the Firm’s Practice Areas and its clients.
The firm’s insurance and risk management experience encompasses Property, Casualty, Environmental, Professional Errors & Omissions, Directors & Officers, Products/Completed Operations, Builders Risk, Construction Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Excess and Reinsurance, Life Health and Accident coverage, No-Fault Auto,, Insurer Insolvency and State Guaranty Fund matters, as well as the formation and management of Captives and use of Self-Insured Retentions (“SIR’s”).
Protecting our clients’ interests neither begins nor ends in the courtroom. The Firm’s first priority is to prevent problems from ever occurring and to avoid unnecessary litigation.
Insurance and Reinsurance Coverage and Defense
Kotz Sangster attorneys are skilled practitioners in the areas of insurance and reinsurance coverage and defense and serve as defense and coverage counsel for primary and excess insurers, reinsurers and surplus lines clients and their insureds.
Firm attorneys have represented insurers and their insureds across the country in complex property losses, including fires, explosions, water intrusions, construction disputes and business interruption and inventory losses involving commercial properties, boiler and machinery losses, and in complex multi-state product liability and environmental contamination and groundwater claims and litigation.
The firm is experienced in defending insurers and insureds under the coverage provided by commercial and personal policies. Our representation in third-party liability actions includes products liability, no-fault auto/commercial vehicle/hazardous materials transportation as well as warehouseman legal liability, employment practices liability, general liability, construction, builders risk, products/completed operations, among others.
Firm attorneys have represented insurers, reinsurers and Bermuda captives in litigation and arbitration disputes with cede companies under facultative and treaty reinsurance contracts in complex product liability, environmental, mass tort and asbestos liability disputes. They have undertaken claim program audits and participated in policy runoff and buyback programs.
Professional Errors and Omissions
The defense of professional errors omissions claims offer a wide range of professionals including accountants, architects, insurance agents and brokers, physicians, medical technicians, environmental professionals, attorneys and third-party health plan administrators and forms an important part of the firm’s practice. The firm has also been particularly effective in defending tort claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and claims for treble damages under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”).
Directors and Officers Liability
Kotz Sangster Wysocki P.C. attorneys are experienced in the defense of Firm clients in litigation and administrative proceedings alleging violations of duties of Officers and Directors. In this era of subprime mortgage crisis, Directors and Officers are frequently scrutinized and targeted by investors and others claiming entitlement to compensation for alleged wrongdoing or violation of state and federal securities laws. Kotz Sangster’s extensive experience counseling and defending its corporate and business clients and its insurer - appointed defense counsel has enabled the Firm to successfully defend its clients’ Directors and Officers in connection with:
- Alleged Breaches of Fiduciary Duty
- Shareholder Direct and Derivative Claims
- Shareholder and Member Oppression Claims
- Control Share Acquisitions
- Alleged Lending Acts Liability
- Alleged Errors, Misstatements, Misleading Statements
- Alleged Acts, Omissions, Neglect and Breach of Duty
- Alleged State and Federal Securities Law Violations
- Alleged Failure to Disclose
- Alleged Mismanagement
and other Directors And Officers Liability and Professional Errors and Omissions issues.
Banking and Finance Industry Insurance
The Firm’s unique combination of Commercial Lending, Finance Industry, Insurance Underwriting, Claims, Coverage and Litigation experience enables the firm to innovatively defend its clients in time of loss under Directors and Officers and Professional Errors and Omissions liability policies, and as Mortgagees and Loss-Payees under property insurance policies and as insureds under Commercial General Liability policies and Fidelity Bonds, among others.
Kotz Sangster Attorneys have extensive experience in concerning Loan Documentation and Review, Construction Loans, Acquisitions and Dispositions, Workout, Foreclosure and Collection, Bankruptcy Lender Liability defense, which translates as an invaluable resource in the defense of Commercial Lending and Finance industry clients under Directors and Officers Liability and Professional Errors and Omissions policies. Firm attorneys also defend the Firm’s Financial Services clients in connection with alleged Environmental Lender Liability issues.
Construction Risks and Insurance
Kotz Sangster Wysocki P.C.’s experience in defending its clients in connection with construction claims and litigation on behalf of owners, developers, construction managers, general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, enables the firm to effectively defend its construction industry clients under Builders Risk, Products/Completed Operations, General Liability and Professional Errors and Omissions liability policies, among others.
We defend clients on compliance matters, including code issues, hazardous materials management and transportation issues, OSHA/MIOSHA safety and compliance requirements, and in litigation and arbitration proceedings in state and federal courts and before federal and state agencies nationwide.
Environmental and Toxic Tort Liability Defense
Environmental and Toxic Tort liability exposures can be catastrophic, of unlimited amount and extend for undefined or unexpected time periods. Insurance coverage for property damage and liability exposures arising from environmental conditions continues to evolve in this time of regulatory-driven change focusing upon sustainability, alternative energy and climate change.
Kotz Sangster attorneys have extensive experience representing insurers and their insureds in connection with environmental and toxic tort liabilities, having served as national Coordinating Counsel for the largest program of Environmental Impairment Liability Insurance ever written in North America, and having defended numerous clients in environmental compliance and permitting matters, and in litigation involving generator, transporter and treatment, storage and disposal facility owners and operators under federal and state law, including toxic tort and leaking underground storage tank remediation in Michigan and other states.
The extensive experience of Kotz Sangster attorneys in environmental compliance, litigation and administrative regulatory proceedings with USEPA and MDEQ and arbitration proceedings in state and federal courts uniquely enables Kotz Sangster to advocate for and defend its clients.
Employment Practices Liability Defense
Kotz Sangster has decades of experience defending employers in Employment and Labor Law disputes and as EPLI appointed counsel.
Firm attorneys have successfully handled a multitude of employment –related matters for Firm clients in Federal and State Courts and administrative tribunals including defense of employment discrimination and harassment, wrongful discharge, breach of employment contract charges and suits, as well as controversies involving ERISA, retirement, employee benefits and compensation, employment agreements, non-compete and confidentiality agreements, wage and salary administration, ADA and FMLA compliance, and workplace violence, employee substance testing, affirmative action and related matters on behalf of Firm clients.
This experience uniquely positions the Firm to furnish its aggressive but practical defense skills in litigation and administrative proceedings on behalf of Insureds under Employment Practices Liability Policies.
Complex Litigation
Representation of clients in complex litigation such as environmental contamination, toxic tort and mass disaster and multi-state/jurisdictional litigation requires imagination, the intelligent and efficient use of human and technical resources, and a systems capability which can store, index and retrieve the thousands of documents and depositions typically generated by such cases. The combined use of our experienced attorneys, imaginative legal analyses, and sophisticated data systems enables us to successfully and most efficiently represent our clients in all types of complex litigation.
Coordinating Counsel
Firm members are experienced in the role of coordinating counsel, and have been retained to act as national coordinating counsel for the largest pool of Environmental Impairment Liability coverage ever issued in North America, and for a number of years directed, supervised and trained lead and local counsel and coordinated their activities in complex multi-state environmental coverage litigation in both state and federal courts, resulting in significant cost control through monitoring, auditing and pre-authorizing all lead and local counsel activities. This unique experience which Kotz Sangster Wysocki P.C. can provide to its clients has enabled it to streamline litigation, control costs, and resolve disputed matters fairly and expeditiously.
Mold and Mycotoxin Litigation
Kotz Sangster attorneys have been recognized as authorities in the defense of progressive-damage claims including claims for personal injury and property damage arising from mold and mycotoxin exposure. The firm’s technical capabilities regarding state and federal air quality regulations, OSHA compliance, “sick building” causation and control factors and remediation techniques, together with our experience in the investigation, testing, documentation, sampling, analysis and interpretation of exposure data uniquely positions the firm to defend our clients in connection with mold claims. The firm has developed through its academic and national technical associations a network of industrial hygienists, toxicologists, remediation experts and an array of technical experts to assist us in evaluating and handling these matters for our clients.
Products Liability
Our attorneys, specially skilled in the defense of product liability actions, defend manufacturers, distributors, installers and their insurers in cases involving both property damage and personal injury. Our products liability practice ranges from minor industrial accidents to losses involving multiple deaths, catastrophic property losses and mass tort and exposure cases.
As part of our work product in these cases, we have developed an up-to-date comprehensive library and database of materials on insurance and technical issues relating to insurance.
We provide legal advice and work with law firms around the country so our clients can maintain a fair, consistent approach toward claims resolution, the defense of lawsuits, liability allocation and recovery of funds from responsible parties.
