David is a member of the firm's Professional Liability Department and devotes his practice largely to insurance coverage, bad faith litigation, and the defense of insurance agents/brokers. His experience with insurance coverage matters include all lines of business including first party property, commercial liability and specialty lines policies. David provides consultation services to insurers and self-insured clients covering all aspects of New Jersey claims handling practices. Prior to joining Marshall Dennehey, David was assistant solicitor for the City of Pleasantville, New Jersey, City of Absecon, New Jersey, Northfield, New Jersey and special counsel to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA), as well as assistant planning board attorney for Galloway Township, New Jersey.
David is a 1990 graduate of Rutgers University (NCAS) and received his juris doctor from Claude W. Pettit College of Law at Ohio Northern University in 1994. While in law school, David received the American Jurisprudence Awards for Excellence in the study of Insurance Law, Trusts & Estates and Secured Transactions as well as making the Dean’s List.
Honors & awards
The Best Lawyers in America , Litigation - Insurance
2023-2026
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Year joined
2009
Results
Successfully Overturned $1.8 Million Judgment on Appeal in New Jersey
Appellate Advocacy & Post-Trial Practice
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
July 11, 2025
We successfully overturned a $1.8 million judgment on appeal in a case that involved the Laidlow exclusion in a workers’ compensation/employers liability policy. The decedent succumbed to heat exhaustion while at work, and the plaintiff alleged the death was due to working conditions the employer knew were substantially certain to lead to injury. Our client, the insurer, offered to defend the employer, but only to the extent of obtaining dismissal of the workers’ compensation claim, which was filed in the wrong forum.
Defense Verdict Secured in Contentious Fire Loss Case
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
March 22, 2024
We obtained a hard fought defense verdict in a contentious case involving a total fire loss at a duplex owned by a single mother. The investigation revealed that the named insured did not reside in the home and, instead, rented the two units. The claim denial included application misrepresentations and issues related to the fact that the insured property did not meet the policy’s definition of a “residence premises.” Ultimately, the court decided that the property did meet the “residence premises” definition.
Thought Leadership
98 Marshall Dennehey Attorneys Recognized in the 2026 Editions of The Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America
August 20, 2025
Marshall Dennehey is proud to highlight the firm’s 98 attorneys who have been recognized in the 2026 editions of The Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America. Less than 6% of all practicing lawyers in the U.S.
Supreme Court of New Jersey Rules That Insurers Do Not Have a Duty to Defend or Indemnify for ‘Laidlow’ Claims-as Long as the Policy Includes the Correct Exclusionary Language
Mount Laurel
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
Workers' Compensation
April 7, 2025
New Jersey Supreme Court Decides Laidlow Exclusion Is Valid
Mount Laurel
Workers' Compensation
Employment Law
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
December 20, 2024
Rodriguez v. Shelbourne Spring, LLC, A-2079-22, December 12, 2024 New Jersey Legal Update - December 20, 2024,
New Jersey Legislature Passes Bad Faith - What’s Next
Mount Laurel
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
January 14, 2022
New Jersey is on the brink of its first insurance bad faith statute after clearing both the Senate and Assembly by vote on January 10, 2022. Legal Updates for Insurance Services - January 14, 2022, has been prepared for our readers by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin.
New Jersey Auto Insurers, Get Ready for First-Party Bad Faith!!!
Mount Laurel
Insurance Services - Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation
Automobile Liability
February 1, 2021
New Jersey is poised to pass its first-party bad faith statute. After passing the Senate on Friday 21-9, it only needs to pass the Assembly. Legal Update for Insurance Services - February 1, 2021, has been prepared for our readers by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin.
Presentations
Bad Faith and Fair Dealing in New Jersey, client seminar, May 26, 2021
AV Preeminent®: The highest peer rating standard. This rating signifies a large number of the lawyer’s peers rank him
or her at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards.
Distinguished: An excellent rating for a lawyer with some experience. This rating indicates the attorney is widely
respected by their peers for high professional achievement and ethical standards.
Notable: This rating indicates that the lawyer has been recognized by a large number of their peers for strong ethical standards.
