Insurance Litigation

For our litigation practice, insurance lawsuits comprise a significant portion of our work. We represent insurance and annuity companies in agent cases, class actions, rating cases, contract disputes, bad faith actions, fraud and other policyholder disputes, professional liability matters, directors’ and officers’ liability matters, as well as in coverage and duty to defend disputes. We are also retained by insurance companies to defend their insureds in all types of litigation including personal injury, product liability, professional liability, labor and employment, environmental contamination, construction disputes, malpractice, agents errors and omissions and asbestos claims.

Burr & Forman’s attorneys practice in state and federal courts from Texas to North Carolina and beyond, including the United States Supreme Court, various U.S. Courts of Appeals and numerous state Supreme Courts. A number of our attorneys also concentrate their skills on the unique requirements of appellate work. In short, no matter how complex the issue, at Burr & Forman, we have the experience and the skills to defend our clients’ interests effectively.

Specific examples of our attorneys’ experience in insurance include:

• developing all ERISA plans for a major health insurance provider;
• representing the ACLI and AHIP;
• defeating claims of punitive damages in actions relating to allegations of agent fraud and theft in Florida state court actions;
• defeating nationwide class actions in numerous state and federal courts, including dismissal of the entire action;
• winning summary judgment on a variety of insurance matters;
• managing the passage of legislation relating to a particular state’s insurance regulations;
• drafting of document retention policies;
• organizing de novo insurance companies;
• converting a mutual company to a stock company in one of the first “demutualizations” of a mutual insurance company;
• representing insurers in acquisitions of other companies and/or blocks of business;
• defending insurers in matters before departments of insurance, including in relation to “cease and desist” orders;
• representing insurers in hundreds of lawsuits; and,
• advising insurers on coverage issues and validity and effect of particular policy provisions and policy language.

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