David V. Goodsir

David is a member of the firm’s Insurance Recovery and Global Commercial Disputes Groups. He has a wide variety of complex business litigation experience, in federal and state courts across the country and in arbitrations involving insurance coverage, health law, real estate transactions, contract disputes, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud claims, RICO claims, shareholder and partnership disputes, business torts, consumer class actions, director and officer liability, professional malpractice claims, and antitrust law.

David has represented corporate policyholders for 35 years in disputes with foreign and domestic insurers involving general liability, professional liability, errors and omissions liability, directors and officers liability, managed care liability, cyber insurance, fiduciary liability, employment practices liability, fidelity bond, product liability, product recall, property, business interruption, stop loss, provider excess loss and reinsurance coverages. He has represented policyholders (both large publicly held companies and smaller private companies) in the manufacturing, health care, transportation, mining, retail, and other industries. He has also represented creditors’ committees on insurance matters in Chapter 11 bankruptcies. David’s coverage work, includes numerous landmark decisions in cases of first impression.

In connection with complex insurance disputes, litigation and arbitrations, David has negotiated many high-dollar insurance settlements with domestic, London and Bermuda insurers and has helped secure over $1 billion in total recoveries for policyholder clients on insurance recovery matters, including a number of nine figure, full tower E&O, D&O and cyber insurance recoveries. David also advises clients in analyzing and negotiating the placement of insurance and on day-to-day claims-handling matters in virtually every line of corporate and management liability insurance.

David has deep managed care organization (MCO) and health care experience from representing clients in those industries for over 20 years. David has regularly represented MCOs and other health care companies in insurance recovery and insurance placement matters, including numerous Blue Cross Blue Shield entities, other MCOs, and health care companies. He has been lead insurance recovery counsel and co-coordinating counsel for coverage of numerous large MDL and class actions facing the health care industry in the last two decades.

David regularly speaks at professional/industry conferences, CLE webinars and presents to firm clients on insurance recovery, indemnity, reinsurance and professional responsibility matters. From 2014 to 2024, David served as the Chicago office’s partner representative on the Reed Smith’s Professional Review Committee, which handles ethics and professional responsibility issues as well as works with the firm’s Legal Department on legal matters for the firm.

Experience

Representative matters

Lead insurance coverage counsel for publicly held company in connection with SEC Investigation, two separate putative class actions and follow-on derivative actions under public company D&O coverage. Secured fully carrier funded mid-eight figure total recoveries for client in connection with underlying settlements with no carrier discounts.

Lead insurance coverage counsel for numerous defendants in connection with E&O and not-for-profit D&O coverage for large antitrust MDL in coverage litigation, arbitration and settlement negotiations. Secured favorable summary judgment and other rulings on coverage issues under E&O and D&O policies in complex coverage litigation. Served as co-national coordinating coverage counsel.

Lead insurance coverage counsel on E&O insurance coverage for quit tam action alleging False Claims Act violations asserted against a utilization review company. Secured favorable recovery of defense fees and indemnity of underlying settlement for client.

Representative Experience

Lead insurance coverage counsel for public company under fiduciary liability insurance tower for class action lawsuit challenging administrative costs of 401(k) programs. Secured payment of defense fees and 100%, no carrier discount reimbursement of underlying settlement.

Represent policyholder retail home improvement chain in “reverse bad faith” case brought by excess insurer under its general liability coverage. Secured dismissal at trial and federal court of appeal in a landmark decision of statewide and national importance because of the significance of “reverse bad faith” against policyholders, which was a case of first impression in the presiding courts.

Lead insurance coverage counsel on full tower nine figure recovery under cyber insurance policies in connection with large national data breach in healthcare industry with no carrier discounts.

Represent creditors’ committees on product liability and general liability insurance coverage matters in three separate asbestos bankruptcies, including a landmark, contested “pre-pack” asbestos bankruptcy case.

Represent numerous class I railroads on insurance recoveries under thirty years of comprehensive general liability coverage for hearing loss claims in coverage litigation and settlement negotiations with domestic and London insurers. Secured favorable summary judgment and appellate court rulings on coverage issues, including the first state supreme court “single occurrence” decision for a railroad in a hearing loss coverage case.

Represent manufacturing company policyholder in state court appeal of trial court judgment against carrier on business interruption coverage dispute under property policy involving 100-year rainstorm event.

Recognitions

Acritas Star (2018-2020) – named to annual list of standout lawyers independently nominated by clients as one of the most outstanding practitioners.