Kathleen is an experienced litigator who provides advice to insurers and litigates coverage issues relating to various types of insurance policies, including comprehensive general liability, directors and officers (D&O), errors and omissions (E&O), employment practices liability (EPL), professional liability, commercial property and casualty, and public entity and public officials.
Her practice consists of managing coverage cases and representing the interests of insurers in a variety of areas, including environmental contamination, asbestos exposure, toxic tort, construction defect, commercial matters, public entity, public officials, and professional liability. Kathleen has successfully addressed coverage issues and disputes through coverage opinions, arbitration, mediation, and declaratory judgment actions.
In addition to insurance coverage, Kathleen has considerable experience defending legal malpractice actions and handling appellate cases. Further, she has litigated complex civil matters, including toxic tort and mass tort litigation, such as the Mahwah Toxic Dump Mass Tort Litigation, asbestos, arsenic, lead, and benzene exposure cases. Additionally, she handles First Amendment and library law matters.
Kathleen is an active member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, and she has been appointed to several leadership positions. She currently serves as Malpractice Insurance Special Committee Chair, is a member of the Ethics Diversionary Program Committee, a member of the Insurance Benefits Committee, and a member of the Lawyer Well Being Committee for the New Jersey State Bar Association. Kathleen is also a Trustee for the Women in the Profession Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Previously, Kathleen served in the Insurance Law Section as the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Legislative Chair, and CLE Chair. From 2017-2022, she was the Vice Chair of the Malpractice Insurance Special Committee. Additionally, she was appointed to serve on the District XA Ethics Committee.
After law school, Kathleen served as a judicial law clerk with the Honorable Robert T. Quackenboss and the Honorable Joseph C. Messina for the 1993-1994 Court Term in the Superior Court of New Jersey.
Obtained summary judgment in two pharmacy malpractice cases.
Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an insurer based on the intentional act and crime exclusions.
Obtained summary judgment on behalf of insurer based on Assault and Battery Exclusion.
Obtained summary judgment on behalf of insurer on basis that policyholder made a knowingly false denial of his awareness of a possible claim on his application for insurance; insurer could rescind the policy.
Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an insurance carrier on appeal on basis that allocation of defense costs between covered and non-covered claims was required.
Obtained a favorable result for an insurer in a case of first impression in Connecticut; the court affirmed the exhaustion of insurance policies under a cost share agreement that was entered into between two carriers prior to the Connecticut Supreme Court’s decision adopting pro rata allocation for long-tail claims.
Experience in toxic tort and mass tort litigation including the Mahwah Toxic Dump Mass Tort Litigation, asbestos, arsenic, lead, and benzene exposure cases.
Experience with First Amendment and library law matters.
Prior results cannot and do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter that we or any lawyer may be retained to handle.
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