Insurance Coverage & Litigation

Armstrong Teasdale’s Insurance Coverage and Litigation group represents insurance companies and policyholders in a wide variety of coverage and insurance disputes arising under virtually every type of policy form. We represent clients at every stage of complex coverage and claims litigation—from initial policy interpretation and tender of defense through appeal. We frequently act as counsel in coverage disputes, including but not limited to claims involving:

Armstrong Teasdale has a wealth of experience providing opinions relating to coverage issues, as well as representing insurers and insureds in bad faith litigation, declaratory relief actions, vexatious refusal claims, contribution actions and other disputes between carriers. We regularly handle interpleader claims, administrative and regulatory proceedings, premium fraud litigation, sales practices and market conduct cases, including class actions and RICO cases, subrogation and extra contractual claims. 

Our attorneys include seasoned trial lawyers and lawyers experienced in reinsurance arbitration. We are routinely engaged by insurers and reinsurers to take over and try cases that other firms initially handled, and to manage the appeals of cases other firms litigated in trial courts. We pride ourselves on prompt and efficient results for underwriters, brokers, agents, claims adjusters, corporate risk managers, and individual insureds.

With respect to insurance issues, we can evaluate a client’s insurance needs before a loss occurs or litigation is initiated.  In doing so, we provide a thorough assessment of carrier obligations under all applicable policies, endorsements and exclusions. We counsel clients concerning the purchase and renewal of insurance, advise on specific policy forms, conduct risk management audits, analyze whether coverage exists for a particular claim and, when appropriate, negotiate coverage disputes.

Several of the members of our group have extensive experience in claims relating to life, health and disability insurance and employee benefit plans relating to same.  Our Insurance Coverage and Litigation practice group represents four out of the top five life insurance companies operating in Missouri, and two of the top life insurance companies operating in California. We are proud to represent a significant number of A.M. Best’s Top 50 life/health insurance companies.  For more information regarding our Life, Health and Disability practice, please visit http://www.armstrongteasdale.com/PracticeAreas/LifeHealth-Disability.

In addition to representation in benefits litigation, we also advise clients on strategies for dealing with Department of Insurance matters.  Among the group’s members is a former attorney with the Missouri Department of Insurance, whose experience provides additional value to our representation on regulatory and compliance issues.

Practice Highlights

• Of the 63 Armstrong Teasdale attorneys named to the most recent edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, four were named top Insurance Coverage & Litigation lawyers. This gives Armstrong Teasdale the most Best Lawyers in the field of Insurance Coverage & Litigation in Missouri.
• Successfully tried bad faith, vexatious refusal to pay, and declaratory judgment coverage actions to verdict.
• Successfully defended insurers in class action litigation involving allegations of "red-lining" in the sale of liability insurance policies in predominantly minority neighborhoods.
• Successfully represented a consortium of property and casualty insurers in a state Supreme Court case involving the allocation of a continuing loss across multiple policy periods, including questions of horizontal versus vertical exhaustion, and the corporate insured's obligation to exhaust its self-insured retentions as part of any allocation scheme. 
• Successfully represented an excess insurer on an appeal, obtaining the reversal of a $10 million verdict in an insurance and contractual liability dispute involving indemnification of a company for a catastrophic injury claim. 
• Successfully obtained numerous summary judgments on behalf of life, health and disability insurers in a wide variety of lawsuits. 
• Successfully represented a primary insurance carrier in a $500 million California class action.
• Argued on behalf of an excess insurer that a fronting policy was not a form of self-insurance, such that an excess carrier could not be obligated to drop down.  After the client won at trial, the case was affirmed on appeal.
• Obtained a $1 million jury verdict in a UCC subrogation claim by an insurance client against a local bank.
• Represented an insurance client in federal proceedings involving more than 5,000 asbestos personal injury claims and numerous asbestos property damage claims.

Our trial and appellate skills, comprehensive knowledge of insurance and reinsurance law, and experienced lawyers, make Armstrong Teasdale the logical choice for insurance and reinsurance coverage and litigation needs.

Members of the Insurance Coverage & Litigation Practice Group

Calvert, Winston	Ochs, Megan
Clinkinbeard, Karrie	Sakaguchi, Daniel
Cole, Clark	Shorey, Matthew
Doctorian, Sherry	Stockberger, Jim
Greene, Dione	Summerville, Jay
Jones, Corbyn	Tomlinson, Wil
Kenny, Patrick	Turner, Matt
King, Jerry	Weaver, Tom
Melly, Sara	Wendler Modde, Deanna
Moore, Katie