Profile

Education

  • St. John's University School of Law, JD, 2005
  • Columbia University, MS, 1999
  • The Johns Hopkins University, BA, 1998

Doug is a partner in the New York office who has successfully represented insurers in numerous actions in state and federal courts across the United States as well as in a variety of arbitrations. He also counsels carriers in cross-border matters and claim disputes outside the United States. Doug has extensive experience handling and resolving insurance coverage disputes involving environmental, toxic tort, asbestos, construction, bad faith, products, professional liability, fraud, commercial property, business interruption, cyber, and technology claims.

Doug has briefed and argued motions and appeals in multiple jurisdictions and has handled a wide array of notable insurance coverage disputes involving high-dollar amounts. He has experience with many different lines of coverage, including commercial general liability, commercial property, umbrella, excess and surplus lines, ocean and inland marine, political violence and political risk, professional liability (errors and omissions), pollution liability (environmental liability), and cyber risk. Clients have entrusted Doug to handle many different complex insurance issues including trigger and allocation, exhaustion, the duty to defend, the duty to indemnify, settlement obligations, late notice, rescission, reformation, the applicability of policy conditions and exclusions, bad faith, and extra-contractual liability. He regularly represents insurers in first-party commercial property disputes and in connection with COVID-19 and pandemic-related claims.

Doug’s practice includes counseling (re)insurers regarding large losses, risk analysis, policy drafting, and other business matters. In addition, Doug has represented (re)insurers in disputes regarding quota share and excess of loss treaties, facultative certificates, and retrocession agreements.

Qualifications and admissions

  • New York
  • US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
  • US District Court, Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Districts of New York
  • US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
  • US Supreme Court

Market recognition

  • Doug has been named to the Insurance Authority Property Editorial Advisory Board by Law360 (2022)

Work highlights

  • Briefed summary judgment motion and obtained favorable settlement in an action in which a California hospital system sought coverage under a cyber liability insurance policy for losses sustained as a result of a data breach.
  • Briefed summary judgment motion in declaratory judgment action involving thousands of underlying asbestos bodily injury claims that resulted in a favorable settlement on behalf of client.
  • Obtained dismissal of breach of contract and bad faith claims asserted against insurance company client in case involving Superstorm Sandy property damage claim.
  • Won dismissal of a lawsuit seeking insurance coverage for reputational damages allegedly sustained by certain supermodels.
  • Reached favorable settlement on behalf of client in $10M construction accident dispute.
  • Prevailed on summary judgment motion made on behalf of insurer resulting from policyholder’s failure to comply with policy conditions.
  • Successfully represented an insurer at the Phase I trial in a $300 million insurance coverage action involving an industrial talc manufacturer.
  • Briefed, argued, and defeated policyholder’s motion seeking a temporary injunction to restrain insurance company client from reducing its contribution of defense costs.
  • Briefed, argued and won appeal in which the appellate court held that insurance company client was not estopped from disclaiming coverage despite defending its policyholder for nearly four years.
  • Obtained dismissal of a lawsuit seeking coverage for a business interruption claim in which the policyholder sought reformation of the policy and other relief.
  • Briefed, argued and won motion for summary judgment on the ground that policy exclusions barred coverage for a loss tendered under a commercial property policy.

Presentations and publications

  • “Cyber Attacks” presented for The Institutes® CPCU Society All-Industry Day (October 2019)
  • “Recent Coverage Issues Related to Cyber Risks” presented for NJSBA Annual Meeting and Convention (May 2019)