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Robert (Bob) D. Chesler, Chair of the Insurance Practice Group, is known to his colleagues as "the insurance guru." He represents policyholders in a broad variety of coverage claims against their insurers and advises companies with respect to their insurance programs; he has never represented an insurance company. He is a relentless advocate for his clients in their efforts to obtain coverage from their insurers. Few can match Bob's total immersion in insurance coverage law. He was a leading participant in the birth of modern insurance law in the early 1980s, when environmental and asbestos liability unleashed a new world of strict, joint and several, and retroactive liabilities on corporate America. Bob continues to successfully navigate the firestorms of coverage litigation that inevitably ensue when corporations try to pass covered liabilities to their insurance companies. He has also emerged as a leader in such new areas of insurance coverage as cyber-insurance, D&O, IP, privacy and "green" insurance.
Bob's greatest assets are his knowledge and experience. He has spent his entire career obtaining settlements from insurance companies. He can speak "insurancese" as well as the insurers, and knows how to approach insurance companies, when to talk to them and when to litigate. His depth of experience enables him to distinguish a bad insurance claim from a good one, and understand and implement best strategies for obtaining money for his clients quickly and cost-effectively.
Bob prides himself on his encyclopedic knowledge of insurance law, which is not surprising, perhaps, for a two-time law school trivia champion. He has served as the attorney of record in more than 30 reported insurance decisions. He has published dozens of articles and is a frequent speaker on insurance issues. Bob has received numerous professional accolades, including listing among The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business and Super Lawyers.
Bob comes from an academic background. He has a Ph.D. in history from Princeton University, and taught history at the college level. In addition to litigating against insurance companies and counseling clients, Bob maintains a scholarly interest in insurance. He is co-author of the seminal article Patterns of Judicial Interpretation of Insurance Coverage for Hazardous Waste Site Liability, 18 Rutgers L.J. 9 (1986), which has been cited by numerous courts, including seven state supreme courts and the Second Circuit. He co-authored Insurance Coverage for Intellectual Property and Cyber Insurance Claims, published by Thomson West, and is co-editor in chief of the Environmental Claims Journal. He has chaired seminars on the new cyber-policies for the ABA and NJSBA, and is currently Vice-Chair of the Insurance Sub-Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. Bob will teach a class on insurance law at Rutgers-Newark Law School in spring 2010.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS:
I. Construction
We currently represent:
- a builder in a $1.2 million claim for water damage resulting from a frozen pipe.
- a builder to determine whether certain damages resulted from construction defect (covered by general liability policy) or design defect (covered by professional liability policy).
- the owner of a condo community against claims involving Chinese drywall, which allegedly causes health problems.
II. Toxic tort
- We represent companies that are seeking coverage for asbestos, silica and benzene exposures.
- We successfully represented a company seeking coverage for claims that a wood preservative it manufactured allegedly leached arsenic, resulting in bodily injury and property damage.
III. Environmental
We have successfully represented dozens of companies in many different industries, including multinational corporations such as AT&T, Union Carbide and Chrysler, and smaller businesses such as dry cleaners and gas stations, seeking insurance coverage for environmental contamination claims.
IV. Product disparagement
We currently represent companies that allegedly libeled competitors' products.
V. Copyright
We currently represent a company accused of copyright infringement. The key disputed issue is whether settlement costs are covered 'damages' or, as alleged by the insurer, uncovered restitution.
VI. D&O litigation
- We recently successfully resolved a case that raised the issue of whether governmental subpoenas constitute covered claims.
- We have advised dozens of companies with respect to D&O coverage issues.
VII. Cyber
- After hackers disabled a retail client's Web site, we successfully resolved a dispute over coverage under a Web site business interruption policy.
- We have also advised a retail chain concerning the purchase of privacy insurance.
VIII. Employment
We currently represent a company regarding the issue of whether a notice of charges from the EEOC constitutes a claim that requires notice to the employment insurance carrier.
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Robert Chesler discusses lawyers' and law firms' need for cyber insurance policies, which provides coverage for intangibles such as identity theft and IP infringement--claims that general policies do not cover.,
Lawyers USA, July 21, 2010
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The article "Does a Subpoena Constitute a Claim for Purposes of D&O Insurance Coverage," written by Robert Chesler and Cindy Sonenblick, is highlighted.,
The D&O Diary, January 21, 2009
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Robert Chesler discusses the growth of cyber insurance, a new form of coverage for intangible Internet-based property loss.,
Lawyers USA, April 21, 2008
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Harvard Law School
(J.D., 1982),
cum laude
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Princeton University
(Ph.D., 1979)
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Princeton University
(M.A., 1976)
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Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
(B.A., 1973),
summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
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New York
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New Jersey
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- Professor, State University of New York at Purchase (1978-1979)
- Vice-Chair, Intellectual Property Insurance Sub-Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association
- Legal Methods Instructor, Harvard University (1981)
- American Bar Association
- Environmental Insurance Subcommittee
- Litigation Section
- Torts Section
- Insurance Practice Section
- New Jersey State Bar Association
- Co-Chair, Environmental Insurance
- Committee of the Environmental Section
- Essex County Bar Association
- Former Co-Chair, Insurance Committee
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