Blue Bell, PennsylvaniaPartner

Michael A. Hamilton chairs the firm's National Insurance Coverage Group.  He concentrates his practice in the areas of insurance coverage disputes, bad faith defense and commercial litigation. Mr. Hamilton has extensive trial and appellate practice experience in both state and federal courts. Mr. Hamilton represents insurers in all aspects of insurance coverage litigation, including claims involving construction defects, bankruptcy matters and complex property and business interruption losses. Mr. Hamilton's expertise includes litigation involving intellectual property, e-commerce and other technology-related insurance claims. Mr. Hamilton also represents clients in complex commercial disputes, with an emphasis on class action and appellate litigation.

As a complement to his extensive litigation experience, Mr. Hamilton frequently publishes articles and gives speeches on critical issues affecting the insurance industry. In addition, Mr. Hamilton has recently achieved the following favorable results for his clients:

• Served as trial and appellate co-counsel for a domestic insurer in the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit in the World Trade Center Property Insurance Litigation, which involved attempts by leaseholder of World Trade Center to recover insurance proceeds after September 11.
• Obtained a significant victory for the client and the insurance industry, when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that claims for faulty workmanship do not constitute an occurrence under commercial general liability policies.
• Represented his client before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, resulting in a ruling of first impression that self-insured commercial entities are not liable under Pennsylvania's bad faith statute.
• Won summary judgment for his clients in two cases: the first concerned a claim for extensive losses to computer equipment filed in Pennsylvania federal court; the second case was before the New Jersey trial and appellate courts and involved claims for code upgrade coverage following a fire at a commercial warehouse.

Professional Associations and Memberships:

• International Association of Defense Counsel
• Pennsylvania Bar Association
• New Jersey Bar Association, Insurance Law Section
• American Bar Association, Tort and Insurance Practice Sections
• Defense Research Institute, Insurance Law Committee
• Pennsylvania Defense Institute
• Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel

Classes/Seminars Taught:

• SIRs and DeductiblesEvolving Policies and Their Impact on Carrier Duties, DRI Insurance Coverage and Practice Symposium, 2009
• Bankruptcy 101 - Your Insured Has Filed Bankruptcy. Now What?, Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals, 2009
• Bankruptcy 201- Claims Handling and Litigation Under the Bankruptcy Cloud, Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals, 2009
• "Property Insurance Potpourri: Important Issues for Current Policies", Pennsylvania Bar Institute, April 30, 2009
• "Chinese Drywall & Insurance Impacts" Webinar, Nelson Levine de Luca & Horst, April 15, 2009
• "Coverage on Fire - Legal and Ethical Implications of Insurance Policies Containing "Burning Limits" or "Defense Within Limits" Provisions", Defense Research Institute, 2008
• "The Duty to Defend, Settle & Indemnify and Ethical Considerations", Defense Research Institute, June 5, 2007
• "Threshold General Liability Coverage Considerations in Copyright, Trademark and Trade Secret Litigation", Property Loss Research Bureau, 2006
• "Governmental Investigations into Contingent Commissions", Insurance Coverage and Practice Seminar, Defense Research Institute, New York, NY, 2004
• "Insurance Coverage for Media, Internet and Intellectual Property Claims", Intellectual Property Seminar, Defense Research Institute, San Diego, CA, 2004
• "Coverage Issues Under Employment Practices Liability Policies", Regional Adjusters Conference, Property Loss Research Bureau, Philadelphia, PA, 2004
• "Issues Involving Representation of Multiple Insureds", Insurance Coverage and Practice Seminar, Defense Research Institute, New York, NY, 2003
• "The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002", Insurance Coverage and Practice Seminar, Defense Research Institute, New York, NY, 2002

Published Works:

Insurance Law 2010, Top Lawyers on Trends and Key Strategies for the Upcoming Year, Aspatore Books, 2010

Do You Smell Something? (Impact of Chinese Drywall), Claims Advisor, Fall, 2009

Extra-Contractual Litigation Against Insurers, Law Journal Press/ALM, Released September, 2009

Reducing Liability for Insurers in Disaster Coverage Events, Inside the Minds, Strategies for Structuring Insurance Disaster Coverage, Aspatore Books, 2009

A Bad Omen: Erosion of Privilege in Bad-Faith Litigation, For the Defense, Defense Research Institute, May, 2009

Insurance Coverage Issues Rise With Mounting IP Lawsuits, The Legal Intelligencer, April, 2009

Recent Developments in Advertising Injury Coverage, For the Defense, Defense Research Institute, May, 2006

Curtailing Unwarranted Discovery Requests: Redefining the Scope of the Insured's Substantial Need in Bad Faith Litigation, For the Defense, Defense Research Institute, May, 2005

The Aftermath of 9/11: Courts Reject Policyholders' Attempts to Circumvent the Plain Meaning of Business Interruption Coverage, Insurance Coverage Law Bulletin, L. J. Newsletters, October, 2003

Traditional Rights in Modern Day Litigation: Upholding the Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Doctrine in Pennsylvania Bad Faith Actions, Pennsylvania Bar Quarterly, April, 2002

Liability Coverage for Bodily Injury Relating to the Resurgence of Cell Phone Litigation, Covered Events, Defense Research Institute, Winter, 2002