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Chapter 1 — An Introduction to Commercial and Professional Liability Insurance - Chapter Summary
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I. [1.1] Identifying the Pertinent Coverage - [1.2] Identifying Whether a Client Has Standing To Seek Coverage Under the Policy
- [1.3] Identifying the Type of Coverage Implicated by the Damage, Loss, or Injury at Issue
- [1.4] Commercial General Liability Insurance
- [1.5] Professional Liability Insurance
- [1.6] Other Types of Potentially Relevant Insurance
- [1.7] Owners and Contractors Protective Liability Insurance
- [1.8] Directors and Officers Liability Insurance
- [1.9] Fiduciary Responsibility Liability Insurance
- [1.10] Media Insurance
- [1.11] Intellectual Property Insurance
- [1.12] Fidelity Bonds and Fidelity/Dishonesty Insurance
- [1.13] Employment Practices Liability Insurance
- [1.14] Commercial Crime Insurance
- [1.15] Cyber Liability Insurance
- [1.16] Commercial Automobile Insurance
- [1.17] Personal Lines Insurance (Homeowners/Automobile)
- [1.18] Property Insurance
- [1.19] Builders Risk Insurance
- Identifying the Basis on Which Coverage Is Provided
- [1.20] Claims-Made vs. Occurrence-Based Coverage
- Primary and Excess-Insurance Coverage
- [1.21] Primary Insurance
- [1.22] Excess Insurance and Umbrella Insurance
- [1.23] Fronting Policies
- [1.24] Retrospectively Rated Insurance
- Liability Limits, Self-Insured Retentions, and Deductibles
- [1.25] Liability Limits
- [1.26] Deductibles vs. Self-Insured Retentions
- [1.27] Number of Occurrences
- [1.28] Related/Interrelated Claims
- II. [1.29] Notice
- III. [1.30] Cooperation
- IV. Insurer’s Duty To Defend and Duty To Indemnify
- [1.31] Duty-To-Defend Standard
- [1.32] Duty-To-Indemnify Standard
- General Rules of Policy Interpretation
- [1.33] Rules Governing the Interpretation of Policy Language That Does Not Limit or Exclude Coverage
- [1.34] Rules Governing the Interpretation of Policy Language That Limits or Excludes Coverage
- [1.35] Parol Evidence
- [1.36] Contra Proferentem Doctrine
- [1.37] Sophisticated Policyholders
- [1.38] Reasonable Expectations
- Limits on the Insurer’s Duty to Defend and Consequences of Breach
- Limits on Insurer’s Duties
- [1.39] Settlements or Judgments That Exhaust the Policy’s Liability Limits
- [1.40] Pre-Tender Defense Costs
- [1.41] Selective Tender of Defense
- Consequences of a Breach
- [1.42] Estoppel of Defenses to Indemnity
- [1.43] Bad Faith
- [1.44] Reservation of Rights Letters, Nonwaiver Agreements, and Declination Letters
- [1.45] Reservation of Rights Letters
- [1.46] Nonwaiver Agreements
- [1.47] Declination Letters
- V. [1.48] Choice of Law
- VI. [1.49] Limitations Periods
- VII. Trigger and Allocation
- VIII. Potential Applicability of Other Parties’ Coverage — Other Parties’ Insurance Procurement and Maintenance Obligations
- XI. Documentation Problems
- X. [1.56] Conclusion
- Chapter 2 — Introduction to Professional Liability Coverages
- Chapter Summary
- I. [2.1] Scope of Chapter
- II. [2.2] I’m a Professional. Who Would Ever Sue Me?
- III. Attorney Malpractice Insurance
- [2.7] Professional Services
- [2.8] Services Rendered to Others
- [2.9] Wrongful Act
- [2.10] Related Claims
- [2.11] Fiduciary Acts Coverage
- [2.12] Dishonest Acts Exclusion
- [2.13] Business Enterprise Exclusion
- Miscellaneous Exclusions
- [2.14] Legal Fees Exclusion
- [2.15] Sanctions Exclusion
- [2.16] Exclusion for Violations of Statutes and Ordinances
- [2.17] Insured Versus Insured Exclusion
- [2.18] Innocent Insured Provision
- [2.19] Voluntary Payments Provision
- IV. Healthcare Malpractice Insurance
- V. Insurance Producer (Agent/Broker) Malpractice Insurance
- VI. Architect/Engineer Malpractice Insurance
- VII. Accountant Malpractice Insurance
- VIII. Directors and Officers Liability Insurance
- IX. [2.43] Miscellaneous Professional Liability Policies
- Chapter 3 — Professional Liability Claims-Made Issues
- Chapter Summary
- I. [3.1] Historical Overview
- II. [3.2] Claims-Made and Claims-Made-and-Reported Policies
- III. [3.3] What Is a Claim?
- IV. [3.4] When Is a Claim Made?
- V. [3.5] Prior Acts and Retroactive Date
- VI. [3.6] Application for Insurance
- VII. [3.7] Discovery Clause
- VIII. [3.8] Extended Reporting and Tail Coverage
- IX. [3.9] Notice Conditions in Claims-Made Policies
- Chapter 4 — Introduction to Commercial Liability Coverages — Overview of the Forms
- Chapter Summary
- I. [4.1] Introduction
- II. Coverage A — Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability
- III. Coverage B — Personal and Advertising Injury Liability
- IV. [4.12] Coverage C — Medical Payments Coverage
- V. [4.13] Supplementary Payments — Coverages A and B
- VI. [4.14] Who Is an Insured?
- VII. [4.15] Limits of Insurance
- VIII. [4.16] Commercial General Liability Conditions
- IX. [4.19] Definitions
- X. [4.20] Conclusion
- Chapter 5 — Commercial Liability/Occurrence Issues
- Chapter Summary
- I. [5.1] Scope of Chapter
- II. [5.2] Contemporary Definition of an “Occurrence”
- III. Historical Perspective
- IV. [5.6] What Is an Accident?
- [5.7] Expected or Intended Event
- [5.8] Sexual Assault or Abuse
- [5.9] Assault and Battery
- [5.10] Lack of Mental Capacity
- [5.11] Intoxication
- [5.12] Firefighter Injury from Intentional Fire
- [5.13] Civil Conspiracy and Intentional Acts
- [5.14] Respondeat Superior Liability
- [5.15] Defamation
- [5.16] Employment Practices Claims
- [5.17] Trespass and Intentional Noxious Emissions
- [5.18] Foreseeable Property Damage from Intentional Acts of Insured on Motorized Personal Property
- [5.19] Wrongful Tree Cutting
- [5.20] Business Decisions
- [5.21] Failure To Disclose or False Statements
- [5.22] Property Damage to Defective Construction Work
- [5.23] The Qest System — The Cost of Removing and Replacing Building Components That Have Not (Yet) Failed
- [5.24] Negligent Inspection of Construction
- [5.25] Negligent Labeling of Product Incorporated into Another Product
- Date of Occurrence
- [5.26] Toxic Materials: Multiple or Continuous Triggers of Coverage
- [5.27] Pollution Causing a Sudden Calamity
- [5.28] Food Service
- [5.29] Sexual Abuse
- [5.30] Coronavirus
- [5.31] Multiple Occurrences — Cause of Injury or Damage
- [5.32] Food Service
- [5.33] Motor Vehicle Accidents
- [5.34] Negligent Supervision
- [5.35] Professional Negligence
- [5.36] Employment Discrimination
- [5.37] Theft of Money Gathered from Multiple Locations
- [5.38] Multiple Deaths — The Time and Space Test
- [5.39] Coronavirus
- V. [5.40] Conclusion
- Chapter 6 — Understanding Fundamental Language of Commercial General Liability Policies
- Chapter Summary
- I. [6.1] Introduction
- II. Bodily Injury: Physical Harm Required
- III. Property Damage: Physical Injury to or Loss of Use of Tangible Property
- IV. Professional Services: A Matter of Context
- V. Personal and Advertising Injury
- [6.15] ISO CGL Policy Definition of “Personal and Advertising Injury”
- Caselaw Interpreting the Elements of the “Personal and Advertising Injury” Definition in the Context of Personal Injury
- [6.16] “False Arrest, Detention or Imprisonment”
- [6.17] “Malicious Prosecution”
- [6.18] “Oral or Written Publication . . . of Material That Slanders or Libels a Person or Organization or Disparages a Person’s or Organization’s Goods, Products or Services”
- [6.19] “Oral or Written Publication . . . of Material That Violates a Person’s Right of Privacy”
- [6.20] “Wrongful Eviction . . . Wrongful Entry . . . or Invasion of the Right of Private Occupancy”
- Advertising Injury
- [6.21] Advertising Injury Coverage and the ISO CGL Policy Definition of “Advertisement”
- [6.22] Caselaw Definitions of “Advertisement”
- Caselaw Interpreting the Elements of the “Personal and Advertising Injury” Definition in the Context of Advertising Injury
- [6.23] “Oral or Written Publication . . . of Material That Slanders or Libels a Person or Organization or Disparages a Person’s or Organization’s Goods, Products or Services”
- [6.24] “Oral or Written Publication . . . of Material That Violates a Person’s Right of Privacy”
- [6.25] Unfair Competition and Piracy
- [6.26] “Misappropriation of Advertising Ideas or Style of Doing Business”
- [6.27] “Infringing upon Another’s Copyright . . . or Slogan in Your ‘Advertisement’ ”
- [6.28] “Infringing upon Another’s . . . Trade Dress . . . in Your ‘Advertisement’ ”
- Chapter 7 — Intentional Act Exclusion
- Chapter Summary
- I. [7.1] Introduction
- II. [7.2] Application of Intentional Act Exclusion
- [7.3] Assault and Battery
- [7.4] Effect of Underlying Criminal Prosecution Against the Insured
- [7.5] Negligent Supervision of a Tortfeasor Who Assaults the Claimant
- [7.6] Self-Defense Exception to the Intentional Act Exclusion
- [7.7] Law Enforcement Exception to the Intentional Act Exclusion
- [7.8] Attempts To Plead Around an Intentional Act Exclusion
- [7.9] Arson
- [7.10] Intoxication Negating Intent
- [7.11] Insanity/Diminished Capacity Negating Intent
- [7.12] Sexual Abuse/Molestation — Presumed Intent
- [7.13] Products Liability
- [7.14] Trespass
- [7.15] Racketeering or Conspiracy
- [7.16] Junk Faxes and Telemarketing
- [7.17] Fraud, Misrepresentation, and Defamation
- [7.18] Criminal Act Exclusion
- [7.19] Malicious Prosecution
- III. [7.20] Professional Services
- Chapter 8 — Exclusion by Risk
- Chapter Summary
- I. [8.1] Scope of Chapter
- II. [8.2] Workers’ Compensation Exclusion and Employee Exclusion
- III. [8.6] Sistership Exclusion
- IV. [8.9] Aircraft, Auto, or Watercraft Exclusion
- V. [8.15] Liquor Liability Exclusion
- VI. [8.16] Care, Custody, or Control Exclusion
- VII. [8.19] Vendor’s Endorsement
- VIII. [8.20] Contractual Liability Exclusion
- IX. [8.24] Damage-to-Product and Damage-to-Work Exclusions
- Chapter 9 — Other Insurance
- Chapter Summary
- I. [9.1] Scope of Chapter
- II. [9.2] Types of Other-Insurance Clauses
- III. [9.6] Reconciling Other-Insurance Clauses
- [9.7] Parties’ Intent in Construing Other-Insurance Clauses
- [9.8] Rules in Establishing Priority Between Competing Other-Insurance Clauses: Illinois Follows the Majority Rule
- [9.9] When Neither Policy Contains an Other-Insurance Clause
- [9.10] When Only One Policy Contains an Other-Insurance Clause
- [9.11] Pro Rata Clause vs. Pro Rata Clause
- [9.12] Excess Clause vs. Excess Clause
- [9.13] Escape Clause vs. Escape Clause
- [9.14] Pro Rata Clause vs. Excess Clause
- [9.15] Pro Rata Clause vs. Escape Clause
- [9.16] Excess Clause vs. Escape Clause
- [9.17] Self-Insurance as “Other Insurance”
- IV. [9.18] Allocating Losses Among or Between Consecutive Insurers
- V. [9.25] Contribution Between Insurers
- [9.26] Insurer Whose Coverage Is Triggered Cannot Seek Equitable Contribution from Another Carrier Whose Coverage the Insured Has Refused To Invoke
- [9.27] Relationship to the Illinois Joint Tortfeasor Contribution Act
- [9.28] Identity of Parties, Interests, and Risks
- [9.29] Implied Waiver of Coinsurer’s Right To Contest Reasonableness of Settlement
- [9.30] Allocating Defense Costs
- VI. [9.31] Issues Unique to Claims-Made Policies
- VII. [9.35] Conclusion
- Chapter 10 — Notice and Cooperation
- Chapter Summary
- I. [10.1] Scope of Chapter
- II. Duties of the Insured — Notice of Occurrence or Claim
- [10.2] Policy Language
- [10.3] Requirement for Coverage
- [10.4] What Constitutes an Occurrence or Claim?
- [10.5] Occurrence and Claims-Made Policies
- [10.6] Immediate Notice
- [10.7] Delay in Giving Notice
- [10.8] Excuses for Failure To Give Notice
- [10.9] Difference Between Primary and Excess Coverage
- [10.10] Claims-Made Coverage
- [10.11] Content of Notice
- [10.12] Sufficiency of Notice for Multiple Claims
- [10.13] Failure To Give Notice/Late Notice
- [10.14] Environmental Coverage
- [10.15] Prejudice to the Insurer
- [10.16] Estoppel
- III. Duties of the Insured — Notice of Suit
- IV. Duties of the Insured — Cooperation
- [10.25] Policy Language
- [10.26] Named Insureds and Others
- [10.27] Submission to Service of Process
- [10.28] Providing Information About the Claim
- [10.29] False Statements Resulting in No Coverage
- [10.30] Maintaining Coverage After False Statements
- [10.31] Attendance at Trial and Deposition
- [10.32] Insurer’s Duty To Seek Cooperation
- [10.33] Insured’s Failure To Seek Other Coverage
- [10.34] Creating an Uninsured Motorist Claim
- [10.35] Colluding with Claimant
- [10.36] Prejudice to Insurer
- Chapter 11 — Number of Occurrences or Claims
- Chapter 12 — Coverage Issues Raised by Email and the Internet
- Chapter Summary
- I. [12.1] Introduction to Cyberclaim Risks
- II. [12.2] Third-Party Cyberclaim Risks
- III. [12.8] First-Party Cyberclaim Risks
- IV. [12.14] Third-Party Coverage Issues
- Coverage for Cyberclaims Under Advertising Injury Coverage Grant
- [12.15] Is Internet Use an Advertising Activity?
- [12.16] Copyright Coverage Questions
- [12.17] Trademark Coverage Questions
- [12.18] Patent Coverage Questions
- [12.19] Invasion of Privacy Coverage Questions
- [12.20] Defamation Coverage Questions
- [12.21] Coverage for Cyberclaims Under Property Damage Coverage Grant
- [12.22] Internet- and Technology-Related Coverage Limitations
- [12.23] Worldwide Coverage Territory Provisions
- [12.24] Examples of Worldwide Claims
- [12.25] Coverage Interpretation
- V. First-Party Coverage Issues
- Chapter 13 — Pollution Exclusion
- Chapter Summary
- I. [13.1] Introduction
- II. Sudden and Accidental Pollution Exclusion
- [13.2] History
- [13.3] Insurance Services Office Form
- [13.4] Other Variants
- [13.5] London Pollution Exclusion
- [13.6] Travelers Pollution Exclusion
- Representative Cases
- [13.7] Pre-Outboard Marine Illinois Decisions
- [13.8] Outboard Marine
- [13.9] Post-Outboard Marine Illinois Decisions
- [13.10] Brief Sampling of Rulings from Other Jurisdictions
- [13.11] Issues
- [13.12] “Sudden” Means Unexpected and Unintended
- [13.13] No Intent To Damage Argument
- [13.14] Secondary Discharge Argument
- [13.15] No Knowledge of Pollution Argument
- [13.16] Inside vs. Outside Pollution Argument
- [13.17] Regulatory Estoppel
- III. Absolute Pollution Exclusion
- [13.18] History
- [13.19] Insurance Services Office Form
- [13.20] Hostile Fire Exception
- [13.21] Other Variants
- [13.22] Representative Cases
- [13.23] Pre-Koloms Illinois Decisions
- [13.24] Koloms
- [13.25] Post-Koloms Illinois Decisions
- [13.26] Brief Sampling of Rulings from Other Jurisdictions
- [13.27] Hostile Fire Exception Decisions
- IV. Issues Relating to Both Sudden and Accidental and Absolute Pollution Exclusions
- V. [13.30] Conclusion
- Chapter 14 — Additional Insured Endorsements and Certificates of Insurance Under Commercial Liability Policies
- Chapter 15 — Duty To Settle — Exhaustion
- Chapter Summary
- I. [15.1] Scope of Chapter
- II. [15.2] Public Policy Considerations
- III. [15.3] Significant Factors
- IV. The Duties To Defend and To Indemnify
- V. [15.14] Multiple Claims
- VI. [15.15] When the Duty To Settle Is Triggered
- VII. [15.16] The Fiduciary Implications of Brinkmanship
- VIII. [15.17] The Fiduciary Implications of an Exposure Beyond Coverage — Apart from a Policy Limits Demand
- IX. [15.18] Withdrawal of Policy Limits Demand
- X. [15.19] Insurer’s Duties After Exhaustion of Policy Limits
- XI. [15.22] All That Glitters Is Not Gold
- XII. Practice Tips
- Chapter 16 — Declaratory Judgment Litigation
- Chapter Summary
- I. [16.1] Introduction
- II. [16.2] The Purposes of a Declaratory Judgment Action
- III. When a Declaratory Judgment Action Is Appropriate
- IV. Where To File a Declaratory Judgment Action
- V. Necessary Parties to a Declaratory Judgment Action
- VI. Litigating a Declaratory Judgment Action
- [16.14] Pleadings
- [16.15] Pleadings in Illinois State Court
- [16.16] Pleadings in Federal Court
- [16.17] Discovery
- [16.18] The Insurer’s Claim File
- [16.19] The Insurer’s Claims Handling History
- [16.20] The Insurer’s Underwriting File
- [16.21] Defense Counsel’s File and Communications with the Insured
- [16.22] Motions
- [16.23] Burden of Proof
- [16.24] Trial
- VII. [16.25] Conclusion
- Chapter 17 — Extra-Contractual Damages
- Chapter Summary
- I. [17.1] Scope of Chapter
- II. [17.2] Extra-Contractual Damages: Statutory Rights of Action
- III. Extra-Contractual Damages: Tort Actions
- IV. [17.7] Insurers’ Liability for Extra-Contractual Damages
- Failure To Defend
- [17.8] Illinois Insurance Code §155 — Unreasonable and Vexatious Failure To Defend
- [17.9] Common-Law Bad-Faith Failure To Defend
- [17.10] Damages Resulting from Failure To Defend
- [17.11] Failure To Settle Within Policy Limits
- [17.12] Parties Entitled To Bring an Action for Bad-Faith Failure To Settle
- The Insurer’s Duty To Settle
- [17.13] Acts Constituting a Breach of the Duty To Settle
- [17.14] When the Insurer’s Duty To Settle Arises
- [17.15] Damages Arising from the Insurer’s Failure To Settle
- [17.16] Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act
- [17.17] Common-Law Fraud
- V. [17.18] Insurers’ Defenses
- List of Forms by Chapter
- Anthony N. Balice
Anthony N. Balice
Anthony N. Balice is Counsel to Emerson & Elder, P.C., in Chicago. He focuses his practice on insurance coverage. He is a member of the Chicago Bar Association. Balice received his JD from the DePaul University College of Law.
- Patrick D. Cloud
Patrick D. Cloud
Patrick D. Cloud is a Shareholder at Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen, P.C., in Edwardsville. He focuses his practice on insurance coverage litigation, mass torts, and class action litigation. He is a member of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel and the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel.Cloud received his BA summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame and his JD Order of the Coif from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.
- C.J. Compher
C.J. Compher
C.J. Compher is Counsel to Emerson & Elder, P.C., in Chicago. He focuses his practice on corporate counsel. Compher received his BA from Northern Illinois University and his JD from Wake Forest University School of Law.
- Donald E. Elder
Donald E. Elder
Donald E. Elder is an Owner of Emerson & Elder, P.C., in Chicago. He focuses his practice on insurance coverage and disputes. Elder received his JD cum laude from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School and his BA from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
- Eric J. Emerson
Eric J. Emerson
Eric J. Emerson is an Owner of Emerson & Elder, P.C., in Chicago. He concentrates his practice in commercial matters, transportation, and insurance coverage. He is a member of the Chicago and Illinois State Bar Associations and the National Tank Truck Carriers Association. Emerson received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and his JD the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.
- Gregory C. Flatt
Gregory C. Flatt
Gregory C. Flatt is a Partner at Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen, P.C., in Edwardsville. He focuses his practice on insurance coverage and toxic torts. He is a member of the Illinois State and Madison County Bar Associations. He has been recognized as an Emerging Lawyer (2018 – 2021). Flatt received his BA from the University of Iowa and his JD from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.
- Daniel I. Graham, Jr.
Daniel I. Graham, Jr.
Daniel I. Graham, Jr., a Founding Partner of Nicolaides Fink Thorpe Michaelides Sullivan LLP in Chicago, concentrates his practice in insurance coverage issues involving intellectual property infringement, media liability, unfair business practice, and privacy-related claims. He has been recognized by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers, and Super Lawyers. He is a member of the American College of Coverage Counsel and the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel. Graham received his BA from Barat College and his JD from The John Marshall School of Law.
- John P. Heil, Jr.
John P. Heil, Jr.
John P. Heil, Jr., is a Shareholder at Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen, P.C., in Peoria, where he focuses his practice in business and commercial litigation, civil rights litigation, and insurance coverage. He is a member of the Peoria County and Illinois State Bar Associations and the Board of Directors of the Illinois Defense Counsel. Heil received his BS magna cum laude from Bradley University and his JD with honors from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.
- Evan M. Kanz
Evan M. Kanz
Evan M. Kanz is an associate at Nicolaides Fink Thorpe Michaelides Sullivan LLP in Chicago, where he focuses his practice on insurance coverage. He is a member of the Defense Research Institute. Kanz received his BS and MA from Eastern Illinois University and his JD from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.
- Nicholas E. Kelly
Nicholas E. Kelly
Nicholas E. Kelly is an associate at Nicolaides Fink Thorpe Michaelides Sullivan LLP in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice in insurance coverage. He is a member of the Chicago and Hellenic Bar Associations. Kelly received his BA from the University of Chicago and his JD cum laude from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
- I.A.N. Lindsay
I.A.N. Lindsay
I.A.N. Lindsay is an associate at Clyde & Co US LLP in Chicago, where he focuses his practice on complex insurance matters and litigating in defense of insurers. He is also an adjunct faculty member at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he coaches students to compete in mock trial competitions across the country. Lindsay received his BA from the University of Virginia and his JD from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he served as Senior Editor of the Consumer Law Review, Captain of the Corboy Fellowship in Trial Advocacy, and Executive Director of the Mock Trial Executive Board.
- Alex B. Mahler
Alex B. Mahler
Alex B. Mahler is a Partner at Nicolaides Fink Thorpe Michaelides Sullivan LLP, in Chicago, and concentrates his practice in insurance coverage. Mahler is a member of the Defense Research Institute, the Professional Liability Underwriting Society, and the American Bar Association. He received his B.S. magna cum laude from Arizona State University and his J.D. from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
- Larry D. Mason
Larry D. Mason
Larry D. Mason is a Partner at Goldberg Segalla in Chicago, where he practices in a variety of areas, including insurance coverage; reinsurance; commercial litigation; environmental and toxic torts; professional liability for clients in insurance, environmental, construction, and related industries; and products liability. He is a member of the Federal Trial Bar, the Defense Research Institute, and the Loss Executives Association. Mason received his BA from the University of Illinois and his JD from the University of Illinois College of Law.
- David B. Mueller
David B. Mueller
David B. Mueller is Of Counsel to Miller, Hall & Triggs, LLC, in Peoria. He concentrates his practice in civil trial and appellate litigation, including liability insurance coverage. He has served as Chair of the Illinois Supreme Court committee to draft and revise the Rules of Discovery and on the Illinois Supreme Court committee on jury instructions in civil cases. Mueller has published extensively, including articles for the Illinois Bar Journal and the IDC Quarterly, and has lectured frequently, including participation in IICLE®, IDC, and ISBA seminars. He received his undergraduate degree with honors from the University of Oklahoma and his JD from the University of Michigan Law School.
- Michael H. Passman
Michael H. Passman
Michael H. Passman is a Senior Counsel at Clyde & Co US LLP. He concentrates his practice in insurance law and related litigation. Passman earned his BA from the University of Chicago and his JD from Brooklyn Law School.
- Michael L. Resis
Michael L. Resis
Michael L. Resis is a Partner at Amundsen Davis LLC in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice in the areas of insurance coverage and appeals. He is a member of the Appellate Lawyers Association (Board of Directors 2017 – 2018) and the Illinois Association of Defense Counsel (President 2017 – 2018). He has received an Exceptional Performance Citation (2017 – 2018) from the Defense Research Institute. Resis received his BA magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his JD from the University of Illinois College of Law.
- Regina A. Ripley
Regina A. Ripley
Regina A. Ripley is a Partner at Nicolaides Fink Thorpe Michaelides Sullivan LLP in Chicago, where she focuses her practice on insurance coverage. She is a member of the Defense Research Institute and has been recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as among Chicago’s Notable Women Lawyers (2018) and by Illinois Super Lawyers (2023 – 2026). Ripley received her BS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, her MA from Indiana University, and her JD cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law.
- Eric L. Routman
Eric L. Routman
Eric L. Routman is the Principal of the Law Offices of Eric L. Routman in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He focuses on insurance law. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters. Mr. Routman received his undergraduate degree from the George Washington University and his JD from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.
- Kevin A. Titus
Kevin A. Titus
Kevin A. Titus is a Partner at Litchfield Cavo LLP in Chicago. He focuses on insurance coverage, general litigation, and asbestos matters. Titus received his BS summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his JD from the University of Michigan Law School.
- Brett L. Warning
Brett L. Warning
Brett L. Warning is Counsel to Emerson & Elder, P.C., in Chicago. He focuses his practice on insurance coverage. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Insurance Law Section Council and has been recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer (2023 – 2026). Warning received his BA from Augustana College and his JD from Valparaiso University School of Law, where he was the Articles Editor for the Law Review.
- T.J. Wright
T.J. Wright
T.J. Wright is an associate at Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP, in Chicago, where his practice encompasses a variety of areas, including commercial litigation and business disputes, product liability, intellectual property litigation and transactional service, employment litigation and counseling, construction litigation, and insurance coverage. He is a member of the American and Chicago Bar Association. Wright received his BA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and his JD from the University of St. Thomas School of Law.
- Lauren B. Wynne
Lauren B. Wynne
Lauren B. Wynne is an associate at Nicolaides Fink Thorpe Michaelides Sullivan LLP in Chicago, counseling insurers regarding coverage issues and representing insurers. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and an adjunct professor of Legal Writing at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Prior to joining Nicolaides, she served as a judicial law clerk for Presiding Judge Grace Dickler in the Domestic Relations Division of the Cook County Circuit Court. Wynne received her BA from Boston University and her JD from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
- John E. Zulkey
John E. Zulkey
John E. Zulkey is Assistant Vice President of Complex Public Liability Claims at Westfield Specialty Insurance, where he focuses his practice on errors and omissions/cyber claims. He is a member of the Armadillo Club and a Past Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Civil Practice Committee. Mr. Zulkey is the author of Related Acts Provisions: Patterns Amidst the Chaos, 50 Val.U.L.Rev. 633 (2016). He received his JD magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law.
Commercial and Professional Liability Insurance 2026 Edition
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