In Brief

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP's Insurance Litigation and Counseling practice covers a wide spectrum of issues of importance to insurance companies and their insureds.  We act as coverage counsel for two major insurance carriers, for whom we also litigate complex coverage disputes. We also act as defense counsel for insureds of major carriers on complex directors’ and officers’ liability, professional liability, errors and omissions, and product liability matters.  Drawing upon this expertise, the firm regularly counsels corporate clients and directors with respect to the adequacy and suitability of directors' and officers' liability insurance and related coverage -- in the normal course of the clients' business, in connection with going public and corporate control transactions, in bankruptcies, and as part of our representation of companies and their boards in securities fraud and other proceedings that implicate such coverage. In addition, we act on behalf of our clients in pursuing claims under fidelity bonds and related insurance, particularly where the matters are complex or involve coverage issues, and we litigate managed health care disputes, claims of policy sales malpractice, claims relating to investment activities of insurance companies, and claims arising under disability, life insurance, and annuity policies.

Representative Clients/Cases

Major insurance litigation and coverage matters that the firm has handled in recent years include:

• Dismissal on summary judgment of claims brought against Great American Insurance Company by Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. to recover, under commercial liability policies, some $2 billion that MetLife paid in settlements and judgments in sales practices cases filed against MetLife by its own policyholders
• Dismissal on summary judgment of breach of fiduciary duty and malpractice claims asserted by a group of pension and welfare funds against a prominent Long Island law firm
• Successful defense at trial of malpractice claims against John DeLorean's former counsel
• Representation of a major carrier in the Health South insurance coverage litigation
• Representation of a major life insurance company pursuing substantial fidelity bond claims
• Representation of a large brokerage firm in recovering significant sums on a fidelity bond claim
• Representation of a number of insurance companies as defendants in RICO and fraud suits