Zacarias Chacon is a partner in the Chicago office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Insurance Law, Bad Faith Litigation, Insurance Coverage, and First Party Property Practices. Mr. Chacon’s practice has concentrated on first party coverage for over 30 years.
During that time, he has handled cases involving every aspect of first party property coverage and has opined on coverage under ISO forms, AAIS forms and proprietary and manuscript policies. Mr. Chacon has opined on and litigated questions involving :
- The fortuity requirement
- Governmental action exclusions
- The exclusions for dampness, continuous or repeated seepage or leakage
- The exclusion for dishonest or criminal acts
- Compliance with the policy conditions of notice, cooperation, production of documents and submission to examinations under oath.
- Time element coverages including loss of business income, contingent business income, soft costs and extra expense coverage
Mr. Chacon has investigated, litigated and resolved first party coverage cases throughout the country, including Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky and North Carolina, as far south as Florida and Louisiana, in the western states of Texas, Nevada, Arizona, California and Oregon and in the Midwestern States of Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas, Minnesota and South Dakota.
Of all of the issues raised under first party property policies, Mr. Chacon has devoted most of his practice to the investigation and litigation of cases involving arson and fraud. In this regard, he has taken hundreds of examinations under oath and litigated an equal number of cases involving a variety of fraudulent schemes.
Mr. Chacon has always approached fraud on offense, attempting not only to defeat the fraudulent claim under the Concealment, Misrepresentation or Fraud provision, but also to recover, in the form of penalties, investigative costs and attorney’s fees, or even prior claim payments, directly against the insured.
Mr. Chacon also has extensive appellate experience, having handled appeals before the Illinois appellate districts, the Illinois Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Education :
- University of Texas at Austin, Juris Doctor, 1981
- University of Texas at Austin, Bachelor of Arts, 1978
Admissions : State Bar Admissions, Illinois
Associations :
- Chicago Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Defense Research Institute
Representative Cases :
- Horton v. Allstate Ins. Co upholding the obligation of an insured to produce documents
- American Casualty Co. v. B. Cianciolo, Inc. affirming trial court’s fraud judgment for insurer notwithstanding jury verdict
- Lorenz v. Valley Forge reversing bad faith punitive damage award because of judge’s introduction of attorney client communications into evidence
- In re: Schneck Farms – judgment against fraudulent insured, award of attorneys fees and incarceration of insured’s principal
- Valley Forge v. REC Entertainment – $3.25 million judgment against insured for violation of Illinois Insurance Fraud Act and incarceration of insured’s principle
Cost
Rate : $$$