The policyholder-only practice also helped secure bad faith and damages claims exceeding $35 million on behalf of Bioenergy Development Group LLC following a fire at a Memphis plant. Other clients included the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and a committee of asbestos claimants in the Kaiser Gypsum Co. bankruptcy.
Robert M. Horkovich, a managing shareholder with the firm, told Law360 that the practice group wasn't beholden at all to the insurance industry. Its attorneys don't have to worry about other groups in the firm representing the industry's interests, he said, adding that the team draws expertise from attorneys all over Anderson Kill.
"We pride ourselves on being cutting edge and zealously advancing policyholder rights," Horkovich said. "This last year, we've hit a number of home runs."
Among those homers: representing Schleicher and Stebbins Hotels in a New Hampshire state suit against Axis Surplus Insurance Co. The judge in that suit bucked the trend of most federal courts and many state courts by finding in June that COVID-19 can cause physical alteration to property, a coverage requirement.
Marshall Gilinsky, an Anderson Kill attorney since 1996, represented Schleicher. Distinguishing the case, Gilinsky said, was a 2015 New Hampshire Supreme Court ruling that considered some of the same physical loss issues, but with respect to the odor of cat urine. Schleicher's victory in the suit depended on that decision, Gilinsky said.
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