Elizabeth Leong is a member of the firm's Litigation Section, where she focuses her practice on business and insurance litigation.
Ms. Leong's experience in business litigation includes both prosecuting and defending numerous actions involving breach of contract, business tort, and tax claims. She has represented numerous corporate clients in matters involving contractual rights, business torts, unfair and deceptive trade practices, fraud, and misrepresentation claims. Her experience includes handling various aspects of proceedings in complex commercial matters, from inception through trial, in state, federal, and appellate courts. She also has experience handling class actions and cases involving civil rights and intellectual property claims.
Ms. Leong's experience in insurance litigation includes representing and advising insurance companies in property insurance coverage and extracontractual claims litigation. She has defended a number of insurance companies against property insurance coverage, business interruption, and extracontractual claims arising out of the events of September 11, 2001, and is currently handling cases involving similar claims arising out of Hurricane Katrina.
Prior to joining Robinson & Cole, Ms. Leong was an associate at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in the firm's New York office. While at Morgan Lewis, she was a member of the litigation team representing an institutional lender in a series of cases concerning insurance-backed motion picture financing transactions.
Professional Associations
- American Bar Association
- Connecticut Bar Association
Experience
- Won summary judgment for insurer under professional liability policy in action where insured sought coverage for assault committed by its employee against its customer. The court granted summary judgment in insurer's favor, holding that the assault was not a "professional service" within the meaning of the policy and that the policy's criminal acts exclusion barred coverage.
- Represented plaintiff class of managerial employees and retirees of Fortune 100 company in action brought under ERISA seeking to recover approximately $4 billion of lost value in company stock held in 401(k) plan. A favorable settlement was obtained for the class.
- Represented commercial property insurers in several multimillion-dollar cases involving business interruption and property damage losses sustained due to Hurricane Katrina. Successfully briefed Daubert motion to exclude bad faith expert (654 F.Supp.2d 518) and motion for partial summary judgment as to the limit of civil authority coverage (2010 WL 4273086).
- Won motion to dismiss plaintiff's complaint for failure to adequately allege the factual basis for plaintiff's claims under Iqbal (2010 WL 1688578) and subsequently negotiated a complete dismissal of all of plaintiff's claims without any payment made to the plaintiff.
- Obtained summary judgment for commercial property insurer on the grounds that the policy's suit limitation provision barred plaintiff's claims.
- Using Catalyst, worked with client's preferred E-Discovery vendor to collect and review materials for production in connection with a putative class action alleging antitrust violations, fraud, and unfair trade practices.
- 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.
Publications & Presentations
Articles
- "Ballot Initiatives & Identifiable Minorities: A Textual Call to Congress" 28 Rutgers L.J. 677 (1997)
News
3.14.12, Robinson & Cole Attorneys Successfully Move to Strike Class Action Count