Our insurance specialists are accomplished trial and appellate lawyers who have litigated matters to successful conclusion throughout the world. Recent examples include the representation of insurers in international arbitrations involving claims of hundreds of millions of dollars, as well as in litigation involving the potentially cutting edge aspects of claims resulting from Hurricane Katrina. Practice group members are active in most of the firm's offices, including New York, the Los Angeles area, London, Washington, D.C., Dallas, and Denver. The Insurance and Reinsurance Practice Group of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher includes many veteran trial and appellate lawyers as well as Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Gibson Dunn's extensive experience with insurance matters involves all types of insurance claims, such as environmental and toxic tort coverage claims (including extensive experience in pharmaceutical liability matters), directors and officers liability insurance matters, property insurance matters, Comprehensive General Liability Insurance claims, and catastrophe coverage claims.
Gibson Dunn also plays a central role in efforts to limit, both legislatively and judicially, punitive damage awards. In addition to lobbying and educational campaigns, these efforts have been pursued by the Insurance and Reinsurance Practice Group in numerous state and federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court. In addition to its trial and appellate capabilities, Gibson Dunn counsels clients on coverage and claim handling issues. Our goal is to form a partnership with our clients to address issues as they arise and to properly assess novel questions and future exposures.
Although historically Gibson Dunn has concentrated on insurers and reinsurers, lawyers in the practice group also represent insured clients in selected cases where no conflict exists.
Coverage Litigation
Gibson Dunn has been involved in the litigation of many major latent injury/damage coverage disputes, beginning with California's Coordinated Asbestos Insurance Coverage Cases. Since then, we have assisted our clients in the litigation of scores of coverage disputes, many of which involve demands for coverage of liabilities related to pharmaceuticals, natural disasters or alleged environmental damage. In addition, we have represented clients in relation to other latent injury exposures, including construction defect claims and products claims involving, among other things, breast implants and claimed mold infestation. Of course, we have also handled a variety of other coverage matters addressing exposures under general liability policies as well as those presented under directors and officers liability policies, professional liability policies, health policies, managed care programs, and many other coverage categories. Gibson Dunn has represented clients in cases which have involved dozens of other carriers, including nationwide class actions, as well as disputes between a single insurer and its insured, and has litigated these matters in a variety of jurisdictions throughout the world.
Bad Faith Defense
Gibson Dunn has a long history of success in defending against bad faith claims. We are proud of our expertise in the defense of punitive damage claims and have successfully tried many of these claims to defense verdicts. We have acted as regional bad faith defense counsel for insurers, handling and coordinating all bad faith suits against our clients within multi-state territories. In this role, we have been able to establish an efficient procedure for the early evaluation and cost-effective resolution of these matters, whether through a carefully considered settlement, a dispositive motion, or a successful jury verdict. Gibson Dunn stands ready to bring this expertise to clients in a coordinating counsel role or on a case-by-case basis.
Reinsurance Disputes
Gibson Dunn's Insurance and Reinsurance Practice Group has represented insurers and reinsurers, including many of the world's largest, in arbitration and litigation of virtually all the principal issues in reinsurance. These have included the allocation and aggregation of complex environmental and other long-tail losses; coverage of defense and declaratory-judgment expenses; rescission for non-disclosure in underwriting; arbitrability of disputes in insolvency; late notice of claim; pre-answer security; and the statute of limitations.
Liquidation/Insolvency
Our lawyers have been involved in numerous aspects of insurance company liquidations, including representation of claimants and reinsurers of insolvent insurance companies. We also have worked with state regulators and counsel representing those regulators in connection with negotiations leading to the settlement and/or commutation of millions of dollars of reinsurance recoveries.
Appellate Practice
Gibson Dunn's appellate practice is firm-wide, and our lawyers have sought out and addressed many issues directly relevant to the insurance industry. For example, the firm represents defendants challenging the propriety, amount and constitutionality of civil damage awards, especially punitive damage awards. Gibson Dunn pioneered the federal constitutional challenges to punitive damages under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment, and the Contracts Clause, handling the first two cases to present such questions in the Supreme Court of the United States. Gibson Dunn also participated through amicus curiae briefs on behalf of major companies and business organizations in each of the other cases the Supreme Court has considered involving punitive damages. In addition to advancing the interests of the insurance industry on global issues, Gibson Dunn's appellate group is a great asset in the handling and opposition of appeals of any insurance litigation handled by the firm.
Further Information
To learn more about our Insurance and Reinsurance Practice Group, please contact the Practice Group chair, Gary L. Justice, in our Los Angeles office, at (213) 229-7446.