Joanna L Young

Joanna L Young

Partner New York, United States

T: +1 646 625 3973

F: +1 212 832 4920

E: Joanna.Young@kennedyslaw.com

Profile

Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • New York
  • US District Court, Colorado
  • US District Court, Northern District of Florida
  • US District Court, Massachusetts
  • US District Court, Eastern, Northern and Southern Districts of New York
  • First Circuit Court of Appeals

Education

  • Pace University School of Law, JD, 2001
  • City College of the City University of New York, BA (magna cum laude), 1994

Joanna is a Partner in the New York office where she maintains a nationwide practice and actively provides comprehensive legal advice to US and London market insurers. Joanna litigates insurance coverage issues related to high-exposure personal injury, mass tort, premises liability, property damage (first and third-party coverage), professional liability, directors’ & officers’, public liability, bad faith, rescission, and breach of contract and fiduciary duty claims in state and federal courts. She has extensive experience analyzing and litigating the nuances of New York’s Insurance Law and Labor Law.

In 2017, Joanna spent six months on secondment in London with a Lloyd’s syndicate enhancing her knowledge of the London market and providing US legal advice regarding a variety of issues to claims and underwriting groups for all lines of business, as well as operations.

Since 2005, Joanna has been the co-chair of the Diversity Committee, and a member of the Insurance Coverage Committee, for the Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law (TICL) Section of the New York State Bar Association.

Market recognition

  • Sheldon Hurwitz Young Lawyer Award from the New York State Bar Association’s Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law section (TICL) (2008)
  • TICL’s Chair of the Year Award (2012)

Work highlights

  • Successfully obtained summary judgment for insurer where issue was whether New York’s “unfortunate events” test applied to determine whether an employee’s thefts totaling almost $1.5 million constituted one occurrence or multiple occurrences. Pursuant to the policy language at issue, the trial court held that the “unfortunate events” test did not apply. The claimant’s motion for summary judgment was denied. The claimant did not appeal or seek reargument.
  • Secured a dismissal with prejudice for insurer after moving for summary judgment in a New York Labor Law case where the claimant sought to recover $20 million in damages. Instead of filing opposition, the insured agreed to dismiss all claims against the carrier with prejudice and without costs and is instead pursuing its broker.
  • Effectively defended insurer against claims to recover defense costs and reimbursement of a $2.2m settlement of a Qui Tam action alleging fraud and violations of Federal and State False Claims Acts under a general liability policy and professional liability policy. The trial court granted the insurer’s Motion to Dismiss in Lieu of Answer and the Appellate Division affirmed, granting costs.
  • Successfully defended insurer in action seeking additional payment from insurer to reimburse amounts that insured contributed toward settlement of underlying claim alleging lead paint exposure. Court awarded insurer summary judgment and denied insured’s dispositive motion and subsequent motion to reargue.
  • Obtained dismissal for insurer where the court initially wrongfully denied summary judgment based on alleged procedural deficiencies in motion papers that did not exist. Coverage was not owed due to a violation of the notice condition of the policy, as well as the employer’s liability exclusion. The expense of an appeal was avoided through effective reargument.
  • Defeated auto insurer’s dispositive motion and negotiated a nuisance value settlement and release for general liability insurer with respect to an underlying action involving a death where the sufficiency of client’s disclaimer was questionable and claimant sought to recover $6.5m.

Presentations and publications

  • “The Three-Cornered Mediation: How to Resolve Coverage and Liability at the Same Time”, presentation at the ABA Section of Litigation 2020 Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Seminar, Tuscon, AZ (March 6, 2020)
  • “Anatomy of a Coverage Position Letter”, internal seminar (Feb. 2020)
  • “Basics of Bad Faith”, internal seminar (Jan. 2019)
  • Speaker, “Awareness into Action: Courageous Conversations and Allyship,” at the Dive-In Festival, New York (September 25, 2018)
  • “Medical Devices and Mass Tort in the U.S.: An Overview,” presented at the Swiss Re Medical Devices Liability Workshop, Zurich (October 18, 2017)
  • “Legal Liability in the Age of the Drone,” presented at the Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Section and Trial Lawyers Section of the New York State Bar Association’s 2016 Annual Meeting (January 28, 2016)

 

Reported decisions

  • Ralex Services, Inc. v. Southwest Marine & General Ins. Co., 155 A.D.3d 800 (2d Dept. 2017)
  • Hermitage Ins. Co. v. 186-190 Lenox Road, LLC, 142 A.D.3d 422 (1st Dept. 2016)

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