John is a nationally renowned insurance litigator and appellate attorney. Recognized in Legal 500 as a lawyer who is hailed by his clients and peers as the “consummate litigator” of insurance coverage disputes, John is ranked as “outstanding” among recommended attorneys. In his 34-year career, John has won precedent-setting decisions on behalf of insurance policyholders in state and federal jurisdictions across the United States, at the bankruptcy court, trial court and appellate court levels. John’s success derives from what Legal 500 refers to as his unique ability “to marry his mastery of the law with the facts, circumstances and business concepts."
A focus of John's practice is insurance coverage in the private equity and M&A setting. In August 2017, following a 4-week trial in federal court, John won a high-profile coverage case for a private equity firm and its portfolio company; his clients were awarded $87 million, one of the largest coverage wins on record. The win landed him a spot among Law360's 2017 Insurance MVPs. In 2016, on behalf of a portfolio company of a different PE firm, John won a finding of coverage "on the pleadings," avoiding the expense of discovery.
John's success for one of his Fortune 500 clients was chronicled in October 2013 in a nationally televised investigative report on the Scripps-Howard network of stations respecting insurer bad faith.
For many years, John also has represented former NFL players in their efforts to recover from their disability insurers for career-ending injuries -- including representing a former professional athlete in what The New York Times described as "a litmus test" case for players disabled from head-trauma-related injury.
He also has prosecuted the rights of policyholders and beneficiaries of private indemnity agreements in connection with virtually every kind of coverage dispute. He has handled coverage cases for claims involving employment liability practices, mergers and acquisitions, trademark infringement, CERCLA liability, breach of corporate fiduciary duty, violations of securities laws, Ponzi-scheme conversion, predatory subprime mortgage lending, forgery, defective building construction, race discrimination, and products liability.
