Dan Sullivan is cochair of the firm's Litigation Section and practices in our Providence and Hartford offices. He has nearly 25 years of experience litigating and trying a variety of cases for corporate and institutional clients. Mr. Sullivan represents insurance companies in complex insurance coverage, subrogation, and extra-contractual claims litigation. He has been counsel for insurers in significant cases arising from the September 11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and catastrophic fires and explosions. He has litigated cases involving losses to residences and businesses arising from mold contamination and construction defects as well as claims under boiler and machinery and builders risk policies. He is representing a commercial property insurer in litigation involving a $100 million property insurance claim by a publicly traded company for claimed losses from an arson fire. He is also advising and coordinating coverage advice and litigation regarding claims for damages associated with Chinese-made drywall for a major insurer. He was cocounsel in a multimillion-dollar Hurricane Katrina coverage and bad faith case tried to verdict in federal court in New Orleans and represented an insurance carrier in coverage litigation initiated by a major Roman Catholic archdiocese seeking coverage for a multimillion-dollar settlement with alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse. In addition to his insurance-related matters, Mr. Sullivan has represented clients in a variety of litigation, including fire cases, business disputes, criminal enforcement matters, and state and federal tax litigation. His fire litigation cases include acting as lead litigation and trial counsel for an international pharmaceutical company in its initial response to, investigation of, and litigation from an explosion involving storage of raw materials that resulted in serious personal injuries and significant property damage. His other cases range from the trial and appeal of dissolution and shareholder derivative actions that established the scope of the business judgment rule in Connecticut to a murder case that served as a case study on the issue of time of death in Dr. Henry Lee's book Cracking Cases: The Science of Solving Crime. Mr. Sullivan has tried over 20 cases to verdict, final judgment, or final arbitration decision. Of the cases he has taken to trial and tried to conclusion, over half involved fire losses. Mr. Sullivan was a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Connecticut School of Law for 10 years, where he developed and taught a course in property insurance law. He frequently speaks on insurance-related issues to bar and insurance industry organizations and provides in-house training sessions to insurance company personnel on coverage issues and trial tactics. Professional Associations - University of Connecticut School of Law, Insurance Law Center, 1998 to 2008, Adjunct Faculty - American Bar Association, Tort and Insurance Practice Section, Property Insurance Law Committee, Vice Chair, 1999 to 2004 - Defense Research Institute, 1995 to present Community Involvement - University of Connecticut School of Law, Adjunct Faculty Honors and Awards - Listed in Connecticut Super Lawyers® in the area of Insurance Coverage since 2007 (Super Lawyers is a registered trademark of Key Professional Media, Inc.) - Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Insurance Law since 2006 (Copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, SC) Experience - Representing commercial property insurers in coverage actions involving claims arising from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. - Representing commercial property insurer in litigation involving $100 million property insurance claim by publicly traded company for claimed losses arising from arson fire and in related bankruptcy, criminal, and civil enforcement actions. - Represented commercial property insurers in several multimillion-dollar cases and claims involving business interruption losses in lower Manhattan arising from September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. - Represented insurance carrier in coverage litigation initiated by major Roman Catholic archdiocese seeking coverage for multimillion-dollar settlement with alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse. - Represented an affiliate of a national insurance company in a declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration that there is no coverage under property insurance policies for the cost of replacing and remediating the effects of Chinese drywall. After oral argument before the federal district court for the Eastern District of Virginia, summary judgment was entered in favor of our client in the first federal court case in the country deciding coverage issues for Chinese drywall under homeowners' policies. - Member of trial team for $100 million Hurricane Katrina commercial property case. First Hurricane Katrina case the client insurance company allowed before a New Orleans jury. Tried to verdict and settled on appeal for less than 2% of the claim. - Represented insurer in claim brought by a seller of Christian-based inspirational gift items, such as T-shirts and Bible covers, to recover business interruption losses and expenses in excess of $10 million and bad faith damages following a fire that damaged the insured's warehouse and inventory. Robinson & Cole prepared the insurer's motion for partial summary judgment on several significant issues to the litigation and in opposition to plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment. The firm also assisted local counsel in preparing the joint pretrial order and provided guidance regarding settlement negotiations and drafting the settlement agreement. The case settled shortly before trial with a settlement favorable to insurer. - Represented party in reinsurance dispute concerning payment by reinsurer of share of settlement of coverage dispute related to underlying asbestos-related claims; issues included dispute over appointment of umpire for arbitration. - Represented party in reinsurance dispute and litigated issue about whether arbitrations relating to 12 different reinsurance agreements could be consolidated into a single arbitration. Publications & Presentations Articles - "Property Insurance Litigation in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: The Early Results," coauthored with Gregory P. Varga and Christopher F. Girard (11/2006), published in CPCU Society Claims Quarterly - "Insurance Coverage Litigation in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina" (12/2005), published in CPCU Society Claims Quarterly, coauthor - "Recent Developments in Property Insurance Law" (2000), published in Tort and Insurance Law Journal, contributing author - "Applying the Efficient Proximate Cause Doctrine in First-Party Coverage Disputes" (1999), published in CGL Reporter, § 950, p. 29, coauthor - "The Standard Mortgage Clause in Property Insurance Policies" (1997), published in Tort and Insurance Law Journal, coauthor - "Explore Hartford: Twenty Terrific Tours" Project of Leadership Greater Hartford Class of 1996, contributing author Presentations - "Property Coverage Legal Update 2006: Hurricane Katrina and Beyond," copresented with Gregory P. Varga (11/14/2006) at New England Claims Executives Association - "Weathering the Storm: An Update on First-Party Coverage Litigation Arising from Hurricane Katrina," copresented with Gregory P. Varga (11/9/2006) at CPCU Society, Connecticut Chapter - "Hurricane Katrina: New Challenges Facing the Insurance Industry" (11/8/2005) presented at New England Claims Executives Association - "Recent Developments in Discovery in Insurance Coverage Cases" (5/18/2005) presented at Connecticut Bar Association Insurance Law Section - "Overview of Recent Bad Faith Cases Impacting Trials" (4/12/2002) presented at TIPS Property Insurance Law Committee program "Partnering With Counsel From Claim to Verdict: Bad Faith Trial of a Mold Claim" - "Ordinance and Law Coverage," copresented with Kip Dwyer (3/12/2002), presented to the New England Claims Executives Association - "The Economic Loss Doctrine" (4/15/2000) presented at program for mid-winter meeting of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section's Property Insurance Law Committee of the American Bar Association, "Subrogation - Investigation Through Litigation," Pebble Beach, California - "Appraisal for the New Millennium" (4/13/1999) presented at half-day seminar for New England Claims Executives Association - "Recent Developments in Property Insurance Law" (3/9/1999) presented at New England Claims Executives Association - "Bad Faith Litigation in Connecticut" (1/20 to 1/21/1999) presented at National Business Institute (NBI) seminars - "Collapse Coverage" (12/14/1998) presented at program at regional meeting of the TIPS' Property Insurance Law Committee of the ABA, "What Claims Professionals and Attorneys Should Know About Concurrent Causation, Ensuing Loss, and Collapse," New York, New York - "What Is Efficient Proximate Cause" (8/1/1998) presented at ABA's Annual Meeting program of the TIPS, "Hot Button Topics in Property Insurance Coverage: Concurrent Causation, Ensuing Loss, and Collapse," Toronto, Ontario - "Collapses Not Covered: Excluded Property and Settling, Cracking, Shrinkage, Bulging, or Expansion" (6/11/1998) presented at regional meeting of the TIPS' Property Insurance Law Committee of the ABA, "Collapse Coverage," Chicago, Illinois - "Recent Developments in Civil and Criminal Fire Cases" (3/18/1998) presented at IAAI, Connecticut chapter - "Meeting the Obligations of Good Faith and Fair Dealing" (3/6/1998) presented at Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency (CIRMA) - "Recent Developments in Property Insurance Law" (1/13/1998) presented at New England Claims Executives Association - "Maximizing Subrogation Recovery" (6/1997) presented at Blue Ridge Insurance Company, June 10, 1997; Travelers Property Casualty, June 20, 1997 - "Contractual Period of Limitations, Fraud, and Concealment" (5/1997) presented at regional meeting of the TIPS' Property Insurance Law Committee of the ABA, "The First-Party Property Policy: Policy Conditions & Policy Defenses," Chicago, Illinois - "Insuring to Value" (4/1997) presented at Connecticut Insurance Day - "Bad Faith Litigation in Connecticut" (1/1997) presented at NBI seminars - "Recent Developments in Civil and Criminal Arson Cases" (6/1996) presented at Connecticut chapter of International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) - "Recent Developments in Property Insurance Law" (3/1996) presented at New England Claims Executives Association - "Emerging Issues in Insurance Claims Litigation, 'Practical Aspects of Litigating of Concurrent Causation and Pollution Cases Under First-Party Policies'" (4/1995) presented at Lorman Education Services seminar - "Bad Faith Litigation in Connecticut" (2/1995) presented at NBI seminars (Also at Providence, Rhode Island Office) |