Greg Ligelis is an experienced litigation lawyer who focuses on insurance and commercial litigation. His practice consists largely of advising clients with respect to marine and inland marine insurance and property coverage issues and litigation as well as on subrogation of marine and property insurance matters. Mr. Ligelis also represents finance companies and banks with regard to enforcing their Uniform Commercial Code rights as secured creditors in bankruptcy and litigation and defending unfair trade practice and lender liability claims.
Mr. Ligelis also has extensive experience in commercial arbitrations and dispute resolution involving insurance claims. These disputes have included international sales and commodity contracts as well as property and marine insurance subrogation and casualty losses. He is also a member of Robinson & Cole's Coastal Management Center.
Mr. Ligelis has taught admiralty and marine insurance at the University of Connecticut School of Law and is a director of the American Boat Builders & Repairers Association. He is a member of the Robinson & Cole Pro Bono Committee as well.
Professional Associations
- National Association of Subrogation Professionals, 2002, Professional Member
- American Bar Association, Tort and Insurance Practice Section Committee
- Maritime Law Association, Maritime Finance Committee, Recreational Boating Committee, and Arbitration Committee
- Connecticut Bar Association
- Connecticut Maritime Association
- Defense Research Institute, Member
- International Bar Association, Maritime and Transport Law Committee
- New York County Lawyers Association
Experience
- Retained by Parsons Brinckerhoff and the City of New York to prepare a regulatory analysis of the city's proposal to upgrade and convert various existing movable bridges to fixed bridges. Part of this regulatory analysis was assessing the applicability of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to the proposed project actions. Robinson & Cole critically reviewed project components to determine SEQRA and NEPA applicability.
- Successfully defended a yacht owner and its marine liability carrier in connection to damage of several other yachts caused when the insured yacht broke loose from its mooring in a storm.
- Successfully defended a tug and barge company, and its marine insurance liability carrier, from liability in connection with a large oil spill and the total loss of an oil barge.
- Representation of banks and financial institutions in defending lender liability claims and unfair trade practice claims, which are normally asserted by debtors when the banks seek to foreclose on the loans and the commercial property.
- Representation of a financial institution in defending a $20 million lender liability claim concerning a commercial loan application, which the bank declined to make. The case was litigated to the point of picking a jury but settled before trial.
- Representation of CIT Small Business Lending Corporation in New York and New England in workouts and foreclosure of its SBA guaranteed commercial loans, including foreclosures on hotels, manufacturing facilities, and small businesses. Handled replevin of commercial assets, negotiation with landlords over collateral to be replevied, eviction of commercial tenants, and defending lender liability claims brought by borrowers.
- Defended a terminal facility against a claim for pier damage when a barge broke from its mooring during a storm. The claim was settled for nuisance value.
- Defended the owner of a fishing vessel from a $4 million dollar damage claim asserted by Connecticut Light & Power against fishing vessel owner when its fishing gear severed a power line in the Long Island Sound, resulting in power outages. The claim was settled on very favorable terms.
- Succssfully defended a marina on behalf of its insurance company from a riparian rights action by a neighboring marina seeking to have floating docks removed, which would have cost the client millions of dollars in lost revenue.
- Representing a marine insured in settling a personal injury claim against the insured when a water skier on the boat severed several tendons in her leg, leaving her scarred and with a permanent partial disability.
- Represented a maritime lender in foreclosing on a ship mortgage on a tugboat and defeating the competing lien claims of other creditors.
- Represented a large insurance company and its insured, a national seller of athletic shoes, in successful subrogations of inland marine claims against a number of truckers to recover over several million dollars in payments made for hijacked goods.
- Successfully defended an insurance company in its denial of a $350,000 yacht claim under a marine insurance policy on the grounds that the yacht was not within the care, custody, and control of the yacht dealer at the time of the loss.
Trial
- Defended at trial one of the insurers of the World Trade Center complex that litigated the issue of whether the attack on the World Trade Center was one or two occurrences.
Publications & Presentations
Articles
- "Bailing Out Marinas from Liabilities for Stored Boats" (2/1997), published in IMI paper
- "Maritime Lien Law Arresting Boats" (9/1996), published in ABBRA's Boating Industry Magazine
Books
- American Boat Builders and Repairers Association Marina Operator's Manual (9/1996), second edition
Presentations
- "Avoiding Lender Liability Claims in SBA Loans," copresented with Robin P. Keller (3/21/2011), Webinar
- "Outside Contractors" (2/7/2001) presented at International Boat Builders' Exhibition
- "Outside Contractors at Boat Yard" (9/19 to 9/22/2000) presented at ABBRA
- "Restraints of Trade" (1/13 to 1/15/2000) presented at ABBRA
- "Summary of 1998 Maritime Cases Affecting ABBRA Members" (1/13 to 1/15/1999) presented at ABBRA
- "Inland Marine Coverage vs. Property Coverage: 'To Be in Transit or Not To Be in Transit'" (4/30/1998)
- "Licensing Joint Venture and Protecting Trade Secrets in the International Market Place" (4/29/1998) presented at International Trade Seminar of the Connecticut District Export Counsel, Shelton, Connecticut
- "Check It Out . . . To Be Paid or Not To Be Paid: Collecting Maritime Debts" (3/3 to 3/4/1998) presented at American Boat Builders and Repairers Association, Annapolis, Maryland
- "Maximizing Subrogation Recovery" (7/1997) presented at in-house training, Travelers Property Casualty
- "Subcontractors: Asset or Liability" (2/1997) presented at International Boat Builders' Exhibition
- "Buying and Appraising Marinas and Bailing Out Marinas from Liabilities for Stored Boats" (5/1996) presented at International Marina Institute
- "Construction Workouts and Collections in the Marina Industry" (12/1990) presented at IMI
News
4.05.11, Gregory Ligelis Delivers Webinar on Avoiding Lender Liability in Small Business Administration Loans
12.02.09, Robinson & Cole's Subrogation Team Attends Annual Conference