Insurance

Davis|Kuelthau’s Insurance Coverage Practice Team has helped businesses, municipalities, school districts and individuals collect millions of dollars from insurance companies and insurance brokers after their claims had initially been denied. We understand the types of insurance coverage available, counsel clients about types of coverage they need, make claims which will most likely obtain coverage and, if necessary, litigate to get the insurance dollars to which our clients are entitled.

We have experience in a wide variety of insurance coverage issues, including commercial general liability, stop-loss, aviation, property, construction, environmental, directors and officers, worker’s compensation, life, health and disability, and professional liability. Our innovative team has helped shape the ever-developing law regarding insurance coverage in Wisconsin, handling cases that have yielded precedent-setting decisions at the highest level of the Wisconsin court system.

Notable Representations

• When the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District was created to build Miller Park, the District turned to us to help it procure appropriate insurance coverage for the massive construction project. When the “Big Blue” crane collapsed, we worked closely with the District, the Brewers and the construction managers to ensure all parties were “made whole” under their builders’ risk policies. Additionally, when errors and omissions of the architectural team caused increased costs, we successfully sought recovery from the applicable professional liability policy. Worker’s compensation disputes also arose, and our attorneys helped the District save hundreds of thousands of dollars in retroactive premium charges. When the builder of the retractable roof made claims against the District for extra work performed, Davis|Kuelthau successfully negotiated for the District’s commercial general liability carriers to pay nearly all of the cost of the extra work as well as the legal costs of defense.
• When the insurer denied the claims of a school district that was self-insured for its employees’ health benefits, we successfully negotiated a favorable settlement for the client under its stop loss policies, without the need for a lengthy and costly trial.
• We represented the insured in a Wisconsin Supreme Court case that changed Wisconsin law for the benefit of insureds by requiring insurance companies to bear the burden when they fail to clearly communicate with their insureds. The decision also set the rules as to what constitutes a “tender of defense,” making it much easier for the insured to require the insurance company to cover the claim.
• When one of our clients was denied coverage after being sued for racial discrimination, we convinced the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that commercial general liability policies cover claims for emotional distress damages allegedly resulting from discrimination.
• When one of our clients was sued by the Wisconsin DNR in a previous environmental claim, we obtained a large settlement amount even though the tenders of defense by our client were made, and denied several years prior. We convinced multiple insurance companies involved that a recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision changed the law in Wisconsin enough so that their basis for denial of coverage several years ago should be re-evaluated and disregarded.

The attorneys who are members of the Insurance Coverage Practice Group possess not only critical analytical skills and substantive knowledge about the laws pertaining to insurance coverage, but are also talented creative litigators accustomed to presenting oftentimes complex and detailed information to judges and juries. We are routinely in court assertively seeking the positive outcomes our clients expect.