Hinkhouse Williams Walsh

Insurance and Reinsurance Litigation

Our lawyers have a long history of serving insurers and reinsurers in high-stakes litigation and arbitration matters in the United States, Canada, Bermuda and the United Kingdom.  The matters we handle often involve huge financial exposure to our clients, sophisticated legal issues, and complex jurisdictional battles.  Our experience spans coverage lines including property-casualty, marine and non-marine, and life and health direct insurance and reinsurance.  We represent clients in coverage, bad faith, punitive damages, and/or veil-piercing cases.  We also handle asbestos claims, energy-related claims, environmental pollution claims, first party, life insurance, product liability, public entity liability, technology and intellectual property.

We have obtained favorable judgments, awards or settlements in cases involving claims against our clients totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.  A representative sampling of some of our recent successful outcomes, many in confidential arbitrations, include the following:

  • Summary judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois finding no coverage for seventeen class actions involving anti-trust and consumer fraud allegations.  Case affirmed on appeal.

  • Jury Verdict in Hendricks County, Indiana, involving more than $5 million in alleged damages, and projected future losses exceeding $10 million.

  • Summary judgment and dismissal of bad faith and veil-piercing suit against five insurance and reinsurance clients in federal court in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

  • Favorable declaration of no coverage in a $100 million dispute under a Bermuda form policy, following final hearing in a Bermuda-situs arbitration.

  • Favorable trial court and appellate rulings in Indiana insurance coverage action against a major utility.  Case involved pollution sites throughout Indiana.

  • Favorable decision in a $25 million arbitration award following many months of intensive discovery and a week-long hearing in Florida.

  • Successful defense in a four-month Delaware jury trial on behalf of London Market Insurers, which led to a very favorable settlement.

  • Victory in a bench trial in the Southern District of New York on the issue of allocation.

  • Summary judgment on behalf of Equitas Limited on the issue of breach of contract in a Texas declaratory judgment action.

  • Successful appeal affirming no insurance coverage for sexual molestation of a minor in an Illinois lawsuit.

  • Secured dismissal of a reinsurer in a declaratory judgment involving property damage and Native American treaty issues in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho.