Daisy Khambatta
Daisy.Khambatta@kennedyslaw.com
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Profile
Education
- South Texas College of Law, JD, 2000
- University of Texas – Austin, BS, 1996
Daisy is a partner in the Austin office and has spent the last 20 years representing insurers and reinsurers in every aspect of their business, including claims counseling, litigation and arbitration, premium disputes and policy drafting. She is adept at handling coverage disputes involving commercial, primary, umbrella, excess and surplus lines policies, including providing clients with guidance on litigating bad faith, fraud and other extra-contractual claims. Daisy has extensive experience litigating long tail environmental claims, construction defect claims and professional liability claims.
Daisy also devotes a substantial portion of her practice to defending clients in commercial, product liability and toxic tort litigation. She has a successful track record representing both Fortune 500 Companies and small business in Illinois and Texas against a variety of mass tort claims including asbestos, silica, benzene, and coal workers pneumoconiosis suits. As national coordinating counsel for both a heat processing equipment manufacturer and a textile manufacturer, Daisy manages local counsel throughout the United States and implements the national litigation and trial strategy on behalf of defendants sued in asbestos cases.
She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas-Austin in December 1996 and law degree from South Texas College of Law in December 2000.
Daisy is affiliated with the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel, the Texas Bar Association, the Austin Bar Association and the South Asian Bar Association.
Qualifications and admissions
- Illinois
- Texas
- US District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Illinois
- US District Court, Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas
- US District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
- US Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Work highlights
- Secured Motion to Dismiss with Prejudice under Rule 91a for insurer in a property damage coverage dispute.
- Secured summary judgment in favour of excess carrier facing alleged claims of bad faith in construction defect litigation.
- Serves as national coordinating counsel for large equipment manufacturer, including overseeing and implementing defense and trial strategy for asbestos litigation throughout the country.
- Serves as national coordinating counsel for national textile manufacturer, including overseeing and implementing defense and trial strategy for asbestos litigation across the United States.
- Secured numerous summary judgment rulings in favor of primary insurers involving claims of bad faith denial of the duty to defend.
- Favorable settlements in favor of primary insurers involving claims of bad faith denial of the duty to defend in construction defect litigation pending in Travis County and Harris County, Texas.
Presentations and publications
- “Claims inflation – A growing challenge in the United States,” presented for AIRROC London Education Day (September 2024)
- “Conquering coverage concerns,” In-House Client Training (January 2024)
- Co-author, “The Illinois Prejudgment Interest Statute is called into question,” published for Kennedys (June 2022)
- “Protecting Privilege in the Insurance Setting: Best Practices,” In-House Client Training (May 2022)
- Co-author, “Mending the Gap (in Pleadings): Texas Supreme Court allows for consideration of entrinsic evidence in evaluating an insurer's duty to defend,” published for Kennedys (February 2022)
- Co-author, “New Illinois law imposes 6% prejudgment interest on personal injury and wrongful death claims,” published for Kennedys (June 2021)
- “UK and US Future of Occupational Disease Claims,” In-House Client Training (March 2021)
- Co-author, “ Snap removal in Texas practice,” published for Kennedys (March 2021)
- Co-author, “The Eight Corners Rule in Texas,” published for Kennedys (February 2021)
- “Construction Defect Coverage,” In-House Client Training (September 2019)
Insurance and reinsurance