Insurance Coverage
& Bad Faith
Resolving disputes Between businesses in or outside of the courtroom
We represent insurance carriers at the trial and appellate levels in complex declaratory judgment actions, bad faith litigation, excess judgment cases, long-tail/environmental cases, and institutional bad faith claims. We have represented a number of insurers in class action litigation involving issues ranging from claims handling practices to sales practices.
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Our lawyers work closely with our clients from the inception of the claim to resolve issues efficiently and in a way that serves our clients’ business goals. Often, our thoughtful and creative negotiation techniques can achieve a negotiated resolution. If not, we are ready to try, and win your case.
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For decades, our attorneys have served as lead trial counsel in complex coverage litigation, been appointed national coordinating counsel and trial counsel on long-tail coverage matters, and handled mass actions following national disasters.
The team includes a fellow in the International Society of Barristers, lawyers recognized as top litigators by Louisiana Super Lawyers, Chambers, and Best Lawyers, and a member of the Louisiana Law Institute’s Insurance and Torts Committee.
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Our attorneys also have served as lead counsel for major insurers in hundreds of bad faith and compliance cases, as well as hundreds of coverage cases throughout Louisiana and in neighboring states.
Attorneys
H. Minor Pipes, III.
Stephen Miles
Kristin Beckman
Catherine "Cassie" Giarrusso
Christopher Teske
Alexis Joachim
Sara Lynn Braslow
Katie Caswell Cambre
Jeffrey Clayman
Michael Danon
Sarah Day
Deandra de Napoli
Luke Donovan
Lisa Fitzpatrick
Ari de Goede
Laura Gravener
Ryan Hall
Elizabeth Higdon
Elizabeth Houts
Mary Elizabeth Ingram
Rachel Kellogg
Patrick Lorio
Kelsey Meeks
Simon Penning
Theresa Phillips
Katie Roth
Alease Scott
Chris Smith
Chris Swanson
Katherine Swartout
Josh Yeager
Representative Matters
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In re: Chinese Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation (E.D. La. MDL No. 2017). Minor Pipes was the lead negotiator for defendants in the global settlements of a national class action involving eight hundred settling defendants.
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Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Fluor Enterprises, Inc., 587 Fed. App’x 470 (5th Cir. 2014). Our attorneys successfully defended an insurer, and recovered millions of dollars of payments on its behalf, in a coverage litigation trial involving claims in excess of $12 million arising from a FEMA trailer explosion.
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RSUI Indemnity Co. v. American States Insurance Company, 667 Fed. App’x 475 (5th Cir. 2016). Our attorneys prevailed at trial and on appeal, obtaining a ruling that a primary insurer whose defense of the insured resulted in a settlement within the excess insurer’s limits did not damage the excess carrier.
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Safeco Ins. Co. of America v. Hood, No. 2017-01554, 2019 WL 3955084 (Miss. 2019). In a case of first impression, our attorneys along with Mississippi counsel obtained a ruling in the Mississippi Supreme Court reversing a trial judge’s non-random re-allotment of a case and appointment of special master. The detailed opinion will provide guidance to litigants in Mississippi on issues concerning re-allotment and special master appointments that had been underdeveloped.
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Bridgefield Casualty Insurance Co. v. River Oaks Mgmt., Inc., 680 Fed. App’x 348 (5th Cir. 2017). In 2017, our attorneys prevailed on behalf of an insurer in a declaratory judgment action that sought a ruling of no coverage for a 2012 accident. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed.
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Crosstex Energy Services, L.P. v. Texas Brine Co., No. 15-0600 (La. App. 1 Cir. 3/3/16). In this multi-million dollar coverage dispute, Stephen Miles prepared the briefs and argued the appeal that led to the reversal by the appellate court of the trial court’s judgment nullifying a manuscript pollution endorsement.
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Agilus Health v. Accor Lodging, 52 So. 3d 68 (La. 2010). In the first of approximately 15,000 cases involving whether preferred provider organizations could contract for medical reimbursement rates below the workers’ compensation statutory fee schedule to reach the Louisiana Supreme Court, our attorneys convinced the Court to reverse the lower court and validate such contracts.
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Wisznia Co. v. General Star Indem. Co., 759 F.3d 446 (5th Cir. 2014). Our attorneys obtained a ruling that a professional liability exclusion applied to an architect’s use of skills to design a building and coordinate its construction.