K. Clark Schirle

Clark has comprehensive experience and expertise in litigating large, complex, multi-million dollar first-party property disputes across the country, including builder’s risk claims, significant business interruption cases, equipment breakdown disputes, and COVID-19 claims. He has worked on claims involving concrete caissons, ports, underground tunnels, warehouse and distribution facilities, stadiums, synfuel plants, coal mines, carpet mills, casinos, industrial furnaces, airports, hotels, dairy farms, highway construction projects, condominium and apartment buildings, churches, high schools, and commercial buildings. Clark is involved in all aspects of these claims, from providing initial advice on coverage to litigating the case to its conclusion via settlement, mediation, arbitration, trial, and appeal.

Clark has extensive international experience and counsels European insurers on claims involving significant liability exposures in the United States. He has also been involved in claims where foreign entities have been sued in the United States, including defending those actions on jurisdictional grounds.

Clark has comprehensive commercial litigation experience. He has litigated cases of all size and complexity, both for plaintiffs and defendants in federal and state courts and bankruptcy courts representing trustees. Substantive areas include products, banking, securities and commodities, employment, environmental, contracts, and defamation.

Clark is a past Chair of the Property Insurance Law Committee, Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section, of the American Bar Association . He is also a member of the International and Insurance Coverage Litigation Committees of the Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section of the ABA, the DRI, and the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance . Clark is a frequent lecturer and author in the area of first-party property insurance. He has spoken at PLRB Large Loss conferences, the Loss Executives Association conferences, and the Property Insurance Law Committee’s CLE meetings.

Clark received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois in 1985 (Phi Beta Kappa) and his law degree from the U.C.L.A. School of Law in 1988. He is a member of the Illinois Bar.

Clark maintains an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell .

Media

Ensuing Loss Under Property Policies

Join Partner Clark Schirle and co-presenter Alex Furrukh (Core Specialty Insurance) as they present 'Ensuing Loss Under Property Policies' at the PLRB Claims Conference & Insurance Services Expo on March 19-22, 2023 in Orlando, FL. The program description is as follows:Identify policy language and elements for ensuing and resulting loss casesEvaluate key cases over the decades to under...

Property Case Law Update 2023

Join Partner Clark Schirle, Rich Gable and Jamie Combee Novaes as they present for the Loss Executives Association (LEA) 2023 Annual Meeting on January 26, 2023. Read the program description below:Courts around the country have issued significant first-party property opinions in 2022. We will lead a discussion regarding some of these cases. This course will not be a lecture. Led by first-party a...

Seventh Circuit Affirms Judgment on the Pleadings for Insurer in Covid-19 Business Interruption Claim by Shopping Mall Food Court Restaurant

Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP attorneys Clark Schirle and Jon Barger obtained a victory for their client in the case of Melcorp, Inc. v. West American Ins. Co., No. 21-2448 (7th Cir. June 8, 2022). The Seventh Circuit affirmed yet another trial court decision in favor of an insurer on a Covid-19 business interruption claim. In Melcorp, the insured was a restaurant in a shopping mall food cou...

Partners Clark Schirle and Jonathan Barger Admitted to Texas Bar

Partners Clark Schirle and Jon Barger are newly admitted to the Texas Bar. They are assisting clients with first-party property claim coverage issues and litigation in Texas. Clark and Jon are also admitted in Illinois, and will continue to handle first-party property claims in the Midwest. Jon is also licensed in Wisconsin and Indiana. Clark and Jon will work with their teams in both the ...

PLRB Claims Conference 2022 - Civil Authority Coverage

Join Partner Clark Schirle as he presents for the 2022 PLRB Claims Conference in San Antonio, TX on April 5-6, 2022. This presentation will:Identify various coverage elements including civil authority, ingress, and egressAnalyze key cases involving riots, September 11, hurricanes, and COVID-19Manage, investigate, respond to, and litigate civil authority claims and lawsuits...

Fifth Circuit Seeks Guidance From The Texas Supreme Court On When The Concurrent Cause Doctrine Applies

Hail damage is so typical in Texas that Chapter 542A of the Texas Insurance Code is known as the 'Hail Bill.'Texas follows the concurrent cause doctrine. As the Texas Supreme Court held in Lyons v. Millers Casualty Insurance Co. of Texas, 866 S.W.2d 597, 601 (Tex. 1993), when a loss is caused by both covered and non-covered perils, the insured must present 'some evidence' affording the jury a re...

Civil Authority Coverage

Partner Clark Schirle presented 'Civil Authority Coverage' for the PLRB Claims Conference Webinar Series on July 6, 2021. Mr. Schirle discussed civil authority coverage elements, as well as key cases involving riots, September 11, hurricanes and storms, and COVID-19....

Butler Presents COVID-19 Insurance Litigation Update / Forensic Investigation of Subrogation Claims During COVID-19

Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig, LLP, presented a 1-hour webinar on Covid-19 and property insurance policies. Butler partner Clark Schirle discussed coverage issues. He provided an overview of cases filed to date, discussing and analyzing specific allegations and common themes he is seeing in the complaints. He will also address court opinions that have been highlighted by policyh...

Delay In Completion Coverage And The Coronavirus

This article was republished in the National Association of Surety Bond Producers website.States, counties and municipalities have issued “stay at home,” “shelter-in-place,” and other orders relating to COVID-19. Many orders require the suspension of non-essential construction projects. The orders typically have exemptions for projects like critical or essential infrastructure, public wo...

Delay in Completion Coverage and the Coronavirus

States, counties and municipalities have issued “stay at home,” “shelter-in-place,” and other orders relating to COVID-19. Many orders require the suspension of non-essential construction projects. The orders typically have exemptions for projects like critical or essential infrastructure, public works, and housing. [1] In light of these orders, construction projects around the country...

Coronavirus and Property Insurance Policies

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease that can result in serious illness or death. The virus has spread to every state in the United States prompting a variety of responses by federal, state and local governments. Those actions have included orders mandating or recommending social distancing, limiting the number of people who can be in a public venue, closure of restaurants and...

Civil Authority Coverage and the Coronavirus

WILL ORDERS ISSUED BY GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES TO DEAL WITH THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS TRIGGER CIVIL AUTHORITY COVERAGE?Governmental authorities across the United States have issued orders relating to the coronavirus (COVID-19). In my home state of Illinois, the Governor has issued executive orders prohibiting all public and private gatherings of 50 people or more, [1] closing public and private...

Civil Authority and Ingress/Egress Coverage

2020. Published in GPSolo, January/February 2020, by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association or the copyright holder.The following ...

Property Insurance Litigation Handbook, 2007

Property Insurance Litigation Handbook, 2007. Chapter 9, Motions to Dismiss. (ABA, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section) For the full version of the article, please contact the Clark Schirle....

Measuring Damage In A Megaloss If “Like Kind And Quality” Does Not Exist

Measuring Damage in a Megaloss If 'Like Kind and Quality' Does Not Exist. The Brief, Fall 2006 (ABA, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section)For the full version of the article, please contact Clark Schirle....

White Paper: The “Bomb Cyclone” And Flooding In The Great Plains: Flood And Surface Water In Property Insurance Policies

To request a copy of Clark Schirle's 'THE 'BOMB CYCLONE' AND FLOODING IN THE GREAT PLAINS: FLOOD AND SURFACE WATER IN PROPERTY INSURANCE POLICIES', please

I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet: Handling Claims Involving Geotechnical Issues And Earth Movement

Clark Schirle presented 'I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet: Handling Claims Involving Geotechnical Issues and Earth Movement' at the LEA 88th Annual Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, FL on January 30, 2019. This presentation discussed earth movement coverage issues that arise from commercial claims involving geotechnical issues....

Clark Schirle Spoke At An Event In Paris On October 25, 2018 On Personal Jurisdiction By American Courts Over Foreign Entities

Clark Schirle, a partner in our Chicago office, spoke at an event on October 25, 2018 in Paris at the Cercle National des Armees. Clark’s topic was on Personal Jurisdiction by American Courts over Foreign Entities. The event was sponsored by Butler Weihmuller, Cabinet Adrien & Associates, a Paris law firm, and Deborah Nilson & Associates, a New York law firm.ProgrammeS’implante...

Hurricane Florence: Civil Authority and Ingress/Egress Coverage

The hurricane may trigger civil authority or ingress/egress coverage for businesses that are not directly damaged but lose income because they cannot access their operations for a period of time due to a governmental evacuation order. Clark Schirle provides an overview of these coverages and discusses key hurricane cases in this publication in The Brief: Civil Authority and Ingress/Egress Covera...

CTRL Your Future 2018 Laptop

For the third year in a row, Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig has spread some end of the school year cheer to seniors in eight different locations. Butler’s annual CTRL Your Future essay contest was created by the Firm’s Community Service Committee to recognize deserving high school seniors who have exhibited a commitment to their academics. The winners in each city received a brand-new laptop wit...

Plrb Large Loss Conference - A Loss Trifecta - Bytes, Bankruptcy & Business Interruption

Clark Schirle from Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig presented in Ft. Worth, Texas at the PLRB Large Loss Conference on the topic of 'A Loss Trifecta - Bytes, Bankruptcy & Business Interruption'....

Harvey and Irma: Coverage and Meteorological Perspectives

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have struck the United States, causing widespread damage. Dr. Jason Webster, a meteorologist, and Mr. Clark Schirle, a Partner in Butler's Chicago office, provided an informative presentation regarding these storms. Dr. Webster discussed the flooding, storm surge, rainfall and other phenomena associated with the Hurricanes. Mr. Schirle discussed policy coverages, exclu...

Ransomware is taking the world by storm; does insurance respond?

On June 27, 2017, the world had its second major ransomware attack in two months, and experts are predicting more to come. The first, named WannaCry, began May 12, and quickly spread to over 400,000 machines, the vast majority of which were using outdated Windows operating systems. Within one day the virus was in 150 countries. Within four days the damages were estimated at over a billion dollars....

Earth Movement: “Any” Means Any; Home-Owners Insurance Company v. Dominic F. Andriacchi (Michigan Court of Appeals)

Property policies typically include an exclusion for loss caused by or resulting from earth movement. Some insurers will provide coverage for the earth movement, but that coverage will usually have a sub-limit. For years, courts across the country have considered whether an earth movement exclusion in a policy applies only when the earth movement losses are caused by or stem from natural causes or...

CTRL Your Future

For the second year in a row, Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig has spread some end of the school year cheer to seniors in eight different locations. Butler’s annual CTRL Your Future essay contest was created by the Firm’s Community Service Committee to recognize deserving high school seniors who have exhibited a commitment to their academics. The winners in each city received a brand-new laptop wi...

Lea’s 86th Spring & Education Conference

Clark Schirle from Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig along with co-presenters John O’Leary and Thomas Tesoriero presented in Newport, RI at LEA's 86th Spring & Education Conference on the topic of 'Investigating and Managing Major Marine Structure Claims' on June 7, 2017.Claims involving marine structures, such as docks, present unique challenges. The presentation provided an overview of th...

Builder’s Risk Claims

K. Clark Schirle presented a Continuing Education Credit presentation to Swiss Re on May 25, 2016. Clark’s topic was “Builder’s Risk Claims.”...

Annual Conference Of The Claims And Litigation Management Alliance (Clm)

Clark Schirle presented at the 2016 Annual Conference of The Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), April 6-8, 2016.Clark presented, “Complex Builder’s Risk Claims.”...

Historic South Carolina Flooding and Coverage Issues

The recent historic flooding in South Carolina has caused extensive property damage. As a result, property insurers will face a myriad of coverage issues including the applicability of water exclusions and the enforceability of anti-concurrent cause provisions. Clark Schirle, a partner in Butler's Chicago office, has extensive experience with these types of claims. His White Paper addresses key co...

Business Interruption Losses: The Interruption Must Be Caused By The Insured Physical Damage

Business interruption insurance is designed to compensate an insured for its actual business interruption losses resulting directly from physical damage by an insured peril to the insured’s covered property. An insured has the burden to establish certain elements: (1) physical damage; (2) caused by a covered peril; (3) to covered property; (4) an actual and necessary interruption of the insureda...

Time Element Coverages In Business Interruption Insurance

Generally, business interruption insurance is designed to compensate an insured for its actual business interruption losses resulting directly from physical damage by a peril insured against to the insured's covered property. Business interruption insurance is tied directly to a first-party property policy's coverage for physical damage to the insured's property. It is not standalone coverage and ...

Plrb 2014 Large Loss Conference

Clark Schirle spoke at the PLRB 2014 Large Loss Conference on October 29-31, 2014. He presented, 'Major Contingent Business Interruption Claims in a Global Environment.'...

Lea 2014 Spring Meeting & Educational Conference

Clark Schirle spoke at the LEA's Spring Meeting & Educational Conference in Boston, MA. Clark's topic was, 'Builder's Risk Claims.'...

Personal Jurisdiction And The Stream-Of-Commerce Theory: The Illinois Supreme Court Holds That Illinois Has Jurisdiction Over A French Company

In April 2013, the Illinois Supreme Court, in the case of Russell v. SNFA, 987 N.E.2d 778, held that Illinois had personal jurisdiction over SNFA, a French company, that supplied tail-rotor bearings custom made for helicopters manufactured by an Italian company.PERSONAL JURISDICTION AND THE STREAM-OF-COMMERCE THEORY...

Loss Executive Association’s 82nd Annual Meeting

Clark Schirle spoke at the Loss Executives Association’s Annual Meeting in Tampa on January 24 and 25, 2013. Clark's topic was 'Rule School 2013-Adjuster Ethics in Property Claims.'...

Recent Developments In Property Insurance Law

For the full version of the article, please contact the author....