Kip Dwyer is a member of our Litigation Section and focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation. Admitted to practice in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Washington, Mr. Dwyer has a geographically expansive practice, maintaining a presence in both our firm's New York City and Hartford offices.
Mr. Dwyer primarily represents insurance and financial services companies in significant litigation involving various insurance-related activities and products, ranging from marketing of flood insurance to the scope and availability of business interruption coverage for the terrorist attacks on September 11. He is currently representing major carriers in the litigation concerning Hurricane Katrina losses in Louisiana and Mississippi. Mr. Dwyer serves as national coordinating counsel for a major Connecticut-based insurer in Hartford on Chinese drywall claims. In addition to his insurance-related practice, Mr. Dwyer also represents clients in other commercial disputes, including securities fraud, unfair trade practices, construction defect, and products liability matters.
Mr. Dwyer also has extensive experience in the increasingly important area of electronic discovery, including the pitfalls involved in litigation holds and document preservation generally; the reasonable retrieval of archived, damaged, or fragmented data; and the effective use of current discovery rules to obtain an adversary's electronically stored information.
Mr. Dwyer frequently writes and lectures on matters of concern to the insurance industry. He is an adjunct professor in the Insurance LL.M. program of the University of Connecticut School of Law. Mr. Dwyer has been named to the Metro New York Super Lawyers® list in the area of Insurance Coverage since 2006 (Super Lawyers is a registered trademark of Key Professional Media, Inc.). In addition, Mr. Dwyer previously chaired Robinson & Cole's in-house litigation and trial skills program.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Dwyer practiced in the law department of a prominent Hartford-based insurer. In that position, he managed coverage and claims-handling litigation against the carrier pending in courts throughout the country.
Professional Associations
- American Bar Association, Tort and Insurance Practice Section, Property Insurance Committee, 2001 to present, Vice Chair; Newsletter Editor, 2001 to 2005
- Connecticut Bar Association, 1998 to present, International Law Section of Young Lawyers Division, 1999, Cochair; Insurance Committee, 2007 to 2009, Presenter and Moderator
- New York State Bar Association
Community Involvement
- Connecticut Children's Medical Center, 2009 to present, Member of Quality Subcommittee to the Board of Directors
- Travelers Claim University, Instructor
- University of Connecticut, Adjunct Professor
Honors and Awards
- Listed in Metro New York Super Lawyers® in the area of Insurance Coverage since 2006 (Super Lawyers is a registered trademark of Key Professional Media, Inc.)
Experience
- Won summary judgment on the ground that the insured could not recover $3 million in consequential damages allegedly caused by the insurer's delay in paying fire and business interruption claim.
- Won summary judgment in $700,000 collapse case arising from the deterioration of a parking garage.
- Prosecuted $13 million claim against national fire alarm company arising from delayed detection of a fire at a large manufacturing facility.
- Won summary judgment on the ground that a life insurance applicant could not create coverage through the doctrine of estoppel.
- Representation of an insurer involving electronic fraud in which an e-commerce business, which processes payments and money transfers over the Internet, received access to many insureds' checking accounts. The money for state and federal taxes was taken out by the e-commerce business, but many insureds received notice from the taxing authorities that payment had not been made.
- Representation of an insurer in a claim by an international engineering firm in Maryland, which had its phone system hacked and hundreds of thousands of dollars of phone usage was stolen, principally in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Won summary judgment in case where insured was seeking coverage for loss he allegedly sustained when the city demolished his property on the grounds that such damage was excluded under the ordinance or law provision of the policy.
- Representation of a major Hartford, Connecticut-based insurer as national coordinating counsel for first-party property claims related to Chinese drywall.
Complex Litigation
- Defended insurer in $30 million bad faith and breach of contract action arising from the denial of a national ice cream producer's extra expense claim.
Publications & Presentations
Articles
- "Homeowners Build Cases Against Chinese Drywall," coauthored with Christopher R. Perry and John P. Malloy (11/23/2009), published in Connecticut Law Tribune
Presentations
- "Ordinance and Law Coverage," copresented with Dan Sullivan (3/12/2002), presented to the New England Claims Executives Association
News
1.03.12, Robinson & Cole Announces Mentor of the Year Award Recipients
12.29.09, Robinson & Cole Attorneys Author Article for Connecticut Law Tribune on Chinese Drywall