Blue Bell, PennsylvaniaPartner

William O. Krekstein represents insurance companies in a wide range of insurance coverage matters, including all aspects of property and casualty coverage and bad faith litigation. He has successfully tried cases involving complex coverage disputes and arson, and has secured judgments on behalf of insurers for damages pursuant to Pennsylvania's Insurance Fraud Act. Mr. Krekstein has obtained summary judgment for insurers on fraudulent misrepresentation grounds, through enforcement of various insurance policy exclusions, application of UM/UIM stacking waivers, claims under Pennsylvania's bad faith statute and in numerous other complex coverage matters. He has litigated cases in state and federal courts throughout Pennsylvania, New York, and in other states where he was admitted pro hac vice.

Formerly, Mr. Krekstein practiced in the areas of commercial litigation and construction litigation. Since joining NLdH, Mr. Krekstein has presented seminars across the country for organizations on various insurance-related topics, including construction defect coverage issues, insurance claims handling, property insurance issues, causation, direct physical loss, appraisal, business income losses, application of exclusionary language in both personal and commercial policies, insurance fraud, and bad faith. He frequently lectures to insurance companies on a variety of coverage and bad faith issues.

Professional Associations and Memberships:

• Pennsylvania Defense Institute, Member
• New York State Bar Association, Member

Representative Cases:

• Haines v. State Auto Property & Cas. Ins. Co., 2010 WL 1257982 (E.D. Pa. March 25, 2010)
• Everett Cash Mut. Ins. Co. v. Insurance Corp. of Hanover, 2008 WL 4453113 (M.D. Pa. Sept 30, 2008)
• Moss Signs, Inc. v. State Auto. Mut. Ins. Co., 2008 WL 892032 (W.D. Pa. April 2, 2008)
• Celebrations Caterers, Inc., et al. v. The Netherlands Ins. Co., et al, 2008 WL 282203 (E.D. Pa. February 1, 2008)
• Budtel Associates, L. P. et al. v. Continental Casualty Company, et al., 915 A.2d 640 (Pa. Super. 2006)
• Millard v. Shelby Casualty Insurance Company, 2005 WL 2035860 (M.D. Pa. August 24, 2005)

Classes/Seminars Taught:

• Appraisal Options / Strategies with Property Claims, Property Loss Research Bureau Regional Adjusters Conferences 2010
• The Reality of the Appraisal Process, Philadelphia Loss Conference, February 16, 2010
• "Progressive Losses in Property Claims", Property Loss Research Bureau Regional Adjusters Conferences, 2009
• "Ethics and the Insurance Professional", IASIU - Delaware Valley Chapter, June 11, 2009
• "Managing Pandemic Risks" Audio Conference, Nelson Levine de Luca & Horst, May 13, 2009
• "The Realities of the Appraisal Process", Pennsylvania Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters (PAIIA) Fall Seminar, November 7, 2008
• "Potential Bad Faith Implications from Catastrophes", Property Claims Service (PCS) Catastrophe Conference, May 6, 2008
• "Bad Faith Insurance Claims in Pennsylvania Seminar", National Business Institute, April 23, 2008
• "Causation Issues with Property Claims", Property Loss Research Bureau Regional Adjusters Conferences, 2007
• "Pennsylvania Property Law Update", Pennsylvania Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters (PAIIA) Fall Seminar, October 26, 2007
• "Litigating Bad Faith and Punitive Damages Conference", American Conference Institute (ACI), April 25, 2007 - April 26, 2007
• "Bad Faith and Punitive Damages Conference", American Conference Institute (ACI), November 9, 2006 - November 10, 2006
• "Discovery in Bad Faith Insurance Claims Teleconference Seminar", Strafford Publications, September 19, 2006
• "Ethics For Investigators.", IASIU, September 10, 2006 - September 13, 2006
• "Property Case Law Update", Philadelphia Loss Conference, May 16, 2006
• "Direct Physical Loss--What Are the Implications?", Property Loss Research Bureau Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee, April 2, 2006 - April 5, 2006

Published Works:

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

Short Circuited: 3rd Circuit Reduces Punitive Damage Award to Bad Faith Plaintiffs, The Legal Intelligencer, March 9, 2009

Courts Missing The Point on Pennsylvania Insurance Bad Faith, The Legal Intelligencer, January 28, 2008

PA's Bad Faith Law Still in Flux - Recent Decisions Bring Both Confusion and Clarity, Pennsylvania Law Weekly, September 24, 2007