On Dec. 3, Gordon & Rees San Francisco partner Arthur Schwartz was quoted in a Law360 article titled “Calif. High Court Arms Insurers In Fights Over Counsel.”
The article discusses the California Supreme Court decision rejecting MBL Inc.'s challenge to an appellate ruling that freed its insurers from paying for MBL’s independent counsel. MBL, a chemical supplier, had retained its own counsel to defend it against contamination claims. The appellate decision included several valuable holdings for insurers that will carry over to disputes outside the environmental realm.
Schwartz, who represented an insurer that was formerly involved in the MBL dispute, said the decision provides guidance on the independent counsel issue in the pollution context. “The takeaway from all of this is that … you really have to look at whether a particular issue in the case is within the control of defense counsel.”
Schwartz specializes in insurance coverage and claims advice, litigation of insurance policy and bad faith disputes, insurance agent broker errors and omissions claims, and contractual and related disputes between insurers and their agents. He provides additional expertise in policy drafting and non-coverage insurance litigation. Schwartz has expertise in all property and casualty coverage areas with particular emphasis in Commercial General Liability, additional insured, express indemnity, construction defect coverage disputes and Director & Officers coverage. He has also briefed and argued numerous appeals, primarily in the insurance area.
Click here to read the article on Law360 or here to read it on the Gordon & Rees website.