Michael Levine

Michael S. Levine has more than 20 years of experience litigating insurance disputes and advising clients on insurance coverage matters. Mike represents and counsels policyholders in insurance recovery and business disputes.

He also assists clients regarding claim evaluation and strategy, policy placement and endorsement and broker liability issues.

In recent years, Mike has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients in matters involving virtually every type of insurance policy, including property, directors and officers, errors/omissions, general liability, employment, environmental, and representations and warranties coverages.

Mike has extensive experience with property damage, business interruption and extra expense claims in the US and abroad, as well as reinsurance claims. He has drafted insurance policy forms and endorsements and has litigated or arbitrated against most major US and non-US insurers.

Mike frequently serves as a faculty member and lecturer on issues concerning maximizing insurance recovery, insurer bad faith and unfair claims practices and assessing new and emerging risks, such as cyber and disruptive technologies, to help clients ensure that proper insurance is in place before a loss occurs. Mike also serves as an editor of the ABA’s insurance coverage journal, Coverage as well as manager and editor of the firm’s insurance client alerts and the firm’s Insurance Recovery Blog.

Mike is admitted to practice in Virginia, New York, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, and before numerous federal district and appellate courts.

Experience:

• Coverage counsel to private equity firm and its portfolio companies, advising on directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance, professional liability insurance, and cyber insurance matters.
• Advising major petroleum pipeline company about insurance coverage issues arising out of recent accidents and environmental incidents. Also advising the client about potential recoveries from contractors’ insurers and additional insured coverage.
• Advising luxury resort concerning property damage, business interruption and extra expense loss resulting from 1000-year flood event.
• Advising major energy infrastructure company concerning third-party liability, property damage and business income losses arising out of peotrochemical plant explosion. Recovered more than $200 million from liability insurers.Litigating claims of insurer and broker negligence concerning fire loss and under-insurance of smoked meat producer.
• Advising clients on potential D&O and cyber insurance coverage for data breach claims.
  Litigated claim to recover defense costs and amounts paid to settle class claims concerning allegedly improper bank fees and assessments.
• Represented municipality to recover $13.7 million under commercial property policy for flood-related property damage and extra expense.
• Successfully resolved insurance dispute over the duty to defend a public entity’s tort liabilities and resulting $32 million dollar jury verdict.
• Successfully resolved dispute concerning claims of tortious interference and business conspiracy against a major auto manufacturer’s liability insurer.
• Successfully resolved dispute concerning availability of insurance for mass claims alleging civil rights violations, wrongful imprisonment and unlawful prosecution.
• Lead trial counsel in lawsuit by auto dealer involving claims for property damage, loss of business income and insurer bad faith; obtained favorable jury verdict on all claims.
  National coordinating counsel for welding fume exposure claims.
• Successfully litigated a lawsuit involving a major US airline’s 9/11-related business interruption claim.
• Trial and appellate counsel in the World Trade Center Properties property coverage litigation; obtained summary judgment and a favorable decision from the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit regarding the number of “occurrences” arising from the 9/11 terrorist attack.
• Appraisal counsel for the World Trade Center property valuation appraisal.
• Successfully litigated coverage dispute concerning third-party “bodily injury” and “property damage” claims arising out of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
• Successfully litigated individual and class claims involving property and liability coverage for claims involving toxic mold.
• Successfully litigated numerous coverage actions concerning the availability of liability coverage for lawsuits alleging industry-wide negligence and intentional conduct in the manufacturing, marketing and sale of handguns.

EDUCATION:

• JD, University of New Hampshire School of Law, 1994
• BA, Stony Brook University, State University of New York, 1988

BAR ADMISSIONS:

• District of Columbia
• Massachusetts
• New York
• Virginia

Memberships:

• Managing Editor, Coverage, American Bar Association Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, 2006-present
• Co-Chair, American Bar Association Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee’s Programming Subcommittee, 2005-2009
• Co-Chair, American Bar Association Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee’s Subcommittee on Emerging Coverage Issues, 2003-2005
• Vice Co-Chair, American Bar Association Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee’s Mid-Year Meeting, 2003