Christian A. Cavallo

Chris Cavallo is a leader of the Global Insurance Services New Jersey team and of the firm’s Transportation Coverage team. Chris focuses his practice on representing and counseling insurers and other commercial clients in complex, high-exposure matters involving both first- and third-party insurance products, including extracontractual claims and claims arising under consumer protection statutes. Chris regularly writes and presents on emergent insurance industry topics, and he is involved in leadership roles for the firm’s GIS Webinar series and the firm’s insurance blog, The Insurance & Reinsurance Report .

While at Georgetown University Law Center, Chris was a law clerk at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Experience Highlights

Insurance Coverage and Litigation

Chris’s litigation experience includes handling a broad range of matters involving claims presented under both first-party products, such as personal and commercial property and automobile policies, and under third-party insurance products, such as personal, commercial, and professional liability policies.

Chris has successfully defended insurers in matters involving claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, extra-contractual or “bad faith” claims, and alleged violations of consumer protection and consumer fraud statutes, and he has also represented insurers who have filed lawsuits to obtain a declaration of their rights and obligations under their policies.

Representative matters include:

•Obtained dismissal on behalf of liability insurer of a complaint seeking damages in excess of $172 million for alleged violations of state consumer fraud statute and multiple common law causes of action involving a supposed “gap” in policyholder’s insurance coverage program; dismissal affirmed by Third Circuit on appeal
•Negotiated favorable settlement on behalf of commercial auto insurer of a pre-suit wrongful death claim brought by the estate of the deceased driver of the insured’s rental vehicle
•Obtained summary judgment on behalf of commercial property insurer of a lawsuit arising out of Superstorm Sandy claim, based on the policyholder’s failure to present competent evidence to support its claims against the insurer
•Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an excess liability insurer in a matter involving underlying personal injury claims based on the insured’s failure to provide timely notice of the underlying accident and related lawsuit
•Obtained dismissal with prejudice on behalf of a commercial auto insurer of underinsured motorist claims arising from an auto accident involving the insured’s limousine
•Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an auto liability insurer in a declaratory judgment action brought by a general liability insurer arising out of a multi-million dollar tort liability lawsuit involving damage to a Garden State Parkway overpass
•Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a general liability insurer in a declaratory judgment action brought by a putative additional insured arising from a multi-million dollar tort liability lawsuit involving the collapse of a commercial pier
•Defeated an order to show cause filed by an insured to compel an auto insurer to participate in the appraisal process permitted by the insurer’s policy, where the first-party dispute between the parties exceeded the scope of the appraisal process
•Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a general liability insurer in a declaratory judgment action brought against an auto liability insurer arising from a high-value personal injury lawsuit
•Obtained dismissal on behalf of an auto liability insurer of a lawsuit seeking uninsured and underinsured motorist benefits as a result of a motor vehicle accident
•Obtained a favorable settlement on behalf of a property insurer of litigation involving a multi-million dollar water damage claim asserted by the owner of a high-end fashion boutique
•Obtained summary judgment on behalf of liability insurer in complex coverage and extra-contractual lawsuit brought by major financial institution to recover substantial consent judgment against insured in underlying litigation involving alleged mortgage fraud

Insurance Counseling and Corporate Services

Chris’s practice also includes providing his clients with general insurance counseling, including drafting coverage opinions and memoranda analyzing insurers’ rights and obligations under complex insurance contracts, assisting with internal investigations, and providing advice concerning regulatory issues, underwriting, and policy drafting.

Honors & Awards

Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent

New Jersey Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 2015-20

Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s Thurgood Marshall Award For Representation of a Prisoner Under Sentence of Death

View peer-review methodologies at superlawyers.com . No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Training and Certifications

•American Board of Trial Advocates, Trial College, Yale Law School, 2018

Community Involvement

•Volunteer Lawyers For Justice
•New Jersey Law Student Mentorship Program
•AmeriCorps National Civil Community Corps: Team Leader

Publications & Events

Publications

•Editor, Goldberg Segalla’s The Insurance & Reinsurance blog: read Christian’s blog posts here
•“Key Policy Rescission Considerations For Insurers, ” (Co-Author), Law360, August 23, 2019
•“Liability Insurers Should Beware Time-Limited Demands ” (Co-Author), Law360, February 25, 2019
•“Surprise! ‘Soft’ Insurance Fraud Is Punishable by Prison ” (Co-Author), Law360, March 16, 2016

Presentations

•“Keeping The Policy Closed: Recognizing and Avoiding Bad Faith Set-Ups Arising From Auto Claims,” DRI Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute, Chicago, IL, April 13, 2019
•“Ride and House Sharing: Liability Coverage,” PLRB Regional Adjusters Conference, St. Louis, MO, September 2016
•“Interplay of Allocation Issues in the D&O Space” (Co-Presenter), ACI’s National Forum on Insurance Allocation, June 23, 2016
•“Disputes Between Primary And Excess Insurers,” Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, May 2016
•“Insurance Bad Faith Claims: Expanding Scope of Insurers Liability From Policyholder and Insurer Perspectives,” February 2, 2016

Webinars

•“MCS-90 Endorsement: 2020 Refresher and Update” (Co-Presenter) GIS Webinar Series, March 24, 2020
•“Potential Coverage Issues Arising From the New Jersey Child Victims Act” (Co-Presenter), GIS Webinar, February 25, 2020
•“Mobile Equipment vs. Auto Coverage Issues” (Co-Presenter), GIS Webinar, May 14, 2019
•“Suit Limitations Provisions” (Co-Presenter) GIS Webinar, September 11, 2018
•“GIS Webinar: Understanding the Implications of the New Jersey Insurance Fair Conduct Act (S2144)” (Co-Presenter) GIS Webinar, August 16, 2018
•“Issues Arising Under Claims-Made Policies,” Webinar, November 21, 2017
•“Additional Insured Coverage: Navigating Scope, AI Rights, Insurer Duties, AI Status vs. Contractual Indemnification,” Strafford CLE Webinar, October 2016

Podcasts

•Contributor, “ Child’s Victims Act: New Jersey, ” Timely Notice, January 14, 2020

Recent Insights

Class Actions Continue to Drive COVID-19 Insurance Coverage Litigation While Manufacturer, Insurer Bring New Suits

April 28, 2020

New COVID-19 Coverage Claims Indicate Expanding Scope of Coming Litigation

April 17, 2020

Louisiana Considers Coronavirus Legislation on Business Loss Coverage, New Requirements on Future Policies and Exclusions, and Bad Faith Immunity

April 3, 2020

COVID-19 Coverage Litigation Heats Up: Two New Lawsuits Filed In Oklahoma

March 25, 2020

Update: New Jersey Legislature To Vote On Bill Requiring Insurers to Cover COVID-19 Business Interruption Losses (A-3844)

March 24, 2020

First COVID-19 Insurance Coverage Lawsuit Filed in Louisiana: Harbinger of First-Party Claims to Come

March 20, 2020