Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna LLP

Firm Details: 

Website: www.cohenziffer.com

Tel: 212.584.1890

Fax: 212.584.1891

Chairman: Robin Cohen

Managing Partners: Kenneth Frenchman

Number of partners: 12

Number of lawyers: 29 [17 non-partners]

Languages: English 

Firm Overview: 

Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna LLP, which opened its doors in January 2021 in New York, is built on the reputations and experience of nationally recognized lawyers who have worked together and represented policyholders as a unified team for more than 20 years, recovering billions of dollars for their clients and securing landmark judicial rulings. The group has earned a national reputation as fierce advocates for policyholders in high-profile, high-dollar disputes against insurance companies and for obtaining precedent-setting decisions. The team represents a client base of Fortune 500 companies, hedge funds, and private equity firms.

Main Areas of Practice: 

Insurance Recovery 

Clients rely on Cohen Ziffer’s adept team and formidable advocacy to maximize their insurance coverage, reduce their risk, and guide them safely through their liability disputes and bet-the-company challenges. Among other victories, the team has:

• Secured a rare jury verdict reversal for Conduent State Healthcare in its pursuit of insurance coverage from AIG and other insurers for defense costs relating to a $236 million Medicaid fraud settlement. It was the first jury verdict that Delaware Superior Court Judge Mary Johnston reversed in her nearly 20 years on the bench.
• Secured a Delaware court ruling that directors and officers of Clover Health Investments Corp. count as “insured persons” under a D&O policy issued to Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp., a SPAC that took Clover Health public. In one of the first decisions addressing coverage for a SPAC, the court ruled that the SPAC’s D&O insurers must pay defense costs for not only the SPAC itself, but also for its future officers and directors.
• Secured a first-of-its-kind ruling for Thor Equities, a landlord that owns retail locations in global cities, holding that exclusionary language common to many insurance policies did not bar coverage for COVID-related business interruption losses.
• Won a precedent-setting ruling in Delaware Superior Court on “Securities Claim” coverage for a fraudulent conveyance lawsuit that allows Verizon Communications to collect $24 million in defense costs and to pursue coverage for an additional $95 million paid in settlement.
• Won a landmark decision from the New York Court of Appeals and a trial worth more than $500 million in coverage for Warren Pumps LLC that changed the law on the critical question of how loss may be allocated among primary and excess insurers.
• Secured favorable summary judgment rulings for PES Holdings in a dispute againstover 30 carriers in Delaware Bankruptcy Court, where PES was seeking $300 million in coverage resulting from the explosion at the Girard Point Refinery near Philadelphia in June 2019. The carriers settled PES’s claim three days into the scheduled two-week trial.
• Earned a first-of-its-kind decision from the New Jersey Supreme Court on flood limit clauses that allowed the New Jersey Transit Corporation to access up to $400 million in coverage after Superstorm Sandy.
• Secured a precedent-setting ruling for TIAA that a settlement of a civil claim for disgorgement is an insurable loss under New York law.
• In a case of first impression, secured a New York Supreme Court ruling that established a new category of cases where the doctrine of “pro rata allocation”—a tool used by insurers to limit their liability in asbestos cases—does not apply.
• Secured favorable summary judgment rulings in a Pella Corporation lawsuit for $50 million in costs associated with litigation for alleged water damage.These rulings were some of the first in the country to address what events trigger defense obligations when windows or other construction products cause water damage that do not manifest for years.
• In one of the first federal decisions involving coverage for email “spoofing,” secured a summary judgment ruling from the Southern District of New York allowing Medidata Solutions Inc. to access coverage under a commercial crime insurance policy for a loss suffered as a result of computer fraud.
• Won the first decisions from the New York Appellate Division and the Delaware Superior Court that the costs of responding to government subpoenas and civil investigatory demands are covered by management liability policies.

Insurance Advisory Services 

With decades of insurance recovery and advisory experience, Cohen Ziffer assists clients with all of their insurance counseling needs. The team guides organizations through the complex maze of insurance issues and assists in auditing and considering the insurance coverage that is right for each business. The firm’s attorneys work with clients and their insurance brokers to identify the most likely liability risks and to review their insurance policies and advise on whether they are likely to cover those risks.When incidents do occur, they also guide their clients through the insurance claims process.

Commercial Litigation 

With a highly regarded reputation for vigorous, effective advocacy, Cohen Ziffer’s commercial litigators tackle a host of complex commercial disputes on behalf of organizations across the country. Drawing on years of experience handling a spectrum of very large, complex, high-stakes, and cutting-edge cases, the team litigates on both the plaintiffs’ and defendants’ sides in a variety of state and federal courts and tribunals and jurisdictions around the world. The group represents organizations in a diverse array of economic sectors, including financial services, manufacturing, professional services, and real estate. The firm has also earned a reputation for gaining precedent-setting rulings and shifting the landscape of D&O and E&O coverage in favor of policyholders.

PRACTICE AREAS 

Insurance Recovery

Insurance Advisory Services

Commercial Litigation

OFFICES 

1325 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10019

USA

Tel: 212.584.1890

Fax: 212.584.1891