David A. Barrett

Mr. Barrett’s experience includes advising:

Coverage Claims Under Third-Party Liability Policies

• Multiple clients for claims under D&O, E&O/Professional Liability, Representations & Warranties, and Tax Liability policies
• The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on obtaining comprehensive general liability insurance coverage for class action and individual bodily injury lawsuits brought by and on behalf of millions of former student-athletes alleging long-tail concussion-related injuries; previously represented United States Soccer Federation, National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), and Illinois High School Athletic Association in connection with those entities’ concussion-related long-tail liability insurance claims
• Michigan State University on insurance coverage litigation arising from 500-plus claims alleging sexual molestation by Larry Nassar
• Other educational institutions in connection with alleged hazing, sexual misconduct, and discrimination claims 
• A defendant manufacturer on obtaining insurance coverage under long-tail comprehensive general liability policies with respect to 2,000-plus tort claims, remedial actions, and property damage claims arising from alleged PCB and solvent-related exposures
• Montrose Chemical Company on its long-tail environmental coverage claims and underlying liabilities; the Montrose litigation produced two California Supreme Court decisions of national prominence, including the adoption of the “continuous trigger” rule for environmental liability claims
• A utility on first- and third-party coverage matters and tort litigation arising out of a natural gas leak that resulted in the evacuation of local residents.
• Multiple clients and policyholders with respect to asbestos-related liabilities and associated long-tail comprehensive general liability insurance coverage claims
• Ford Motor Company on environmental coverage claims in multiple forums, including a Michigan state court action involving 100-plus sites believed to be the largest such environmental coverage action pending in the US at that time, in which Mr. Barrett led a large group of amici in several related cases before the Michigan Supreme Court, resulting in the court’s adopting the “injury-in-fact” trigger for environmental liability claims and rejecting the coverage-limiting “manifestation” theory

Coverage Claims Under First-Party Policies

• Ford Motor Company on coverage litigation regarding Ford’s first-party property and business interruption claims arising from an explosion at the Ford Rouge Powerhouse, as well as in related subrogation matters, which were tried in a private arbitration
• Multiple policyholders on major hurricane, earthquake, fire-related, and other property and business interruption claims
• A power company on a major property damage claim arising from damaged combustion turbines, which the insurer paid in full
• Numerous companies for their losses under crime, fidelity, and cyber policies
• Numerous companies on event cancellation and other business interruption insurance claims arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, including litigation on behalf of Endeavor, Amphenol, and Westbrook Partners

Counseling and Advice in the Risk Management, Transactional, and Other Strategic Contexts

• Multiple clients in connection with insurance renewals and placements, including the negotiation of bespoke insurance policies
• Multiple clients with respect to the insurance aspects of M&A transactions  
• The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) on insurance (and other strategic) matters, including in connection with the representation and labor negotiations between the NFLPA and team owners that threatened the 2011 season, in which Mr. Barrett developed and negotiated, from scratch, what is believed to be the first-ever union-side lockout insurance policy, which would have reimbursed players for income lost if games had been canceled as the result of an owner-imposed lockout; the media described the players’ disclosure of their insurance coverage during an 11th-hour impasse in negotiations with the NFL as a “game-changer” and “negotiating genius”  and the Financial Times 2012 US Innovative Lawyers Report praised Mr. Barrett’s precedent-setting lockout insurance strategy for “helping to prevent cancellation of the 2011 season” (See also, e.g., D. Combs, “Backfield in Motion: A Behind-The-Scenes Look At The Legal Wrangling That May have Helped Bring Last Year’s NFL Lockout To An End,” The American Lawyer, September 2012)