Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna LLP, which opened its doors in New York in January 2021, is built on the reputations and experience of nationally recognized lawyers who have worked together and represented policyholders as a unified team for more than 20 years, recovering billions of dollars for their clients and securing landmark judicial rulings. The group has earned a national reputation as fierce advocates for policyholders in high-profile, high-dollar disputes against insurance companies and for obtaining precedent-setting decisions. The team represents a client base of Fortune 500 companies, hedge funds, and private equity firms.
Clients rely on Cohen Ziffer’s adept, formidable advocacy team to maximize their insurance coverage, reduce their risk, and guide them safely through their liability disputes and bet-the-company challenges.
Among other victories, the team has:
- Won a landmark decision from the New York Court of Appeals and a trial worth more than $500 million in coverage for Warren Pumps LLC that changed the law on the critical question of how loss may be allocated among primary and excess insurers.
- Earned a first-of-its-kind decision from the New Jersey Supreme Court on flood limit clauses that allowed the New Jersey Transit Corporation to access up to $400 million in coverage after Superstorm Sandy.
- Won a precedent-setting ruling in Delaware Superior Court on “Securities Claim” coverage for a fraudulent conveyance lawsuit that allows Verizon Communications to collect $24 million in defense costs and to pursue coverage for an additional $95 million paid in settlement.
- Secured a precedent-setting ruling for TIAA that a settlement of a civil claim for disgorgement is an insurable loss under New York law.
- In one of the first federal decisions involving coverage for email “spoofing,” secured a summary judgment ruling from the Southern District of New York allowing Medidata Solutions Inc. to access coverage under a commercial crime insurance policy for a loss suffered as a result of computer fraud.
- Won the first decisions from the New York Appellate Division and the Delaware Superior Court that the costs of responding to government subpoenas and civil investigatory demands are covered by management liability policies.
- Won, on behalf of Thor Equities, the owner of retail sites in Manhattan, the first ruling in New York (and perhaps the country) holding that the contamination exclusion in the insurance policy at issue did not bar coverage for COVID-related losses. The case has already been cited in jurisdictions outside New York.
With decades of insurance recovery and advisory experience, Cohen Ziffer also assists clients with their insurance counseling needs, guiding organizations through complex insurance issues and advising on the insurance coverage that is right for them. The firm’s attorneys work with clients and their insurance brokers to identify the most likely liability risks and to review their insurance policies and advise on whether they are likely to cover those risks. When incidents do occur, they also guide their clients through the insurance claims process.
The firm’s commercial litigators are first-rate trial lawyers who also have experience tackling a host of complex commercial insurance disputes on behalf of organizations across the country, and have handled a spectrum of very large, complex, high-stakes, and cutting-edge cases. The team litigates these high-stakes coverage suits in a variety of state and federal courts and tribunals and jurisdictions around the world, and represents organizations in a diverse array of economic sectors, including financial services, manufacturing, professional services, and real estate.
Throughout 2020 and beyond, Cohen Ziffer’s work has expanded to handle a wave of COVID-related business interruption claims from policyholders around the country. The team has advised more than 100 clients on pandemic-related insurance matters to date. In one notable business interruption case, the firm secured a ruling for construction management company JDS Construction Group LLC, which found that the coronavirus’ presence was enough to allege “physical loss or damage” to property.
Practice Areas and Industries:
- Insurance Recovery
- Insurance Advisory Services
- Commercial Litigation
Updated Sep 2021
