PRACTICE FOCUS
Warren A. Koshofer is a principal in the firm’s Commercial Litigation, Environmental, and Insurance practice groups. Warren focuses his practice on business, commercial, environmental, insurance, intra-company, real estate, and toxic tort litigation matters, as well as on due diligence, indemnification, and risk management relating to commercial or industrial real estate transactions or company mergers and acquisitions involving such real estate assets and/or potential environmental liabilities.
Warren represents clients at the state, federal, trial, and appellate court levels, including Fortune 100 companies, partnerships, and high-profile individuals. He also handles matters before administrative law courts, regulatory agencies, and alternative dispute resolution forums nationwide. Warren clients expand across many industries, including chemical, finance, hospitality, insurance, manufacturing, and real estate.
Warren has long been involved with various civil, charitable, and community organizations, including the United Way, March of Dimes, and local youth football, baseball, and softball leagues. He has consistently been recognized by Martindale Hubbell as an AV (preeminent) peer-rated attorney and by Super Lawyers and Who’s Who in Law.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
- Business Litigation: Represented a cannabis-related business in wresting control of its dispensary operations back from minority partners and obtaining favorable decisions on the client’s super-majority ownership rights.
- CERCLA Defense: Successfully represented a metal plating operation in defense of CERCLA contribution claims brought by a neighboring property owner who, after aggressive litigation and receipt of counterclaims filed on the client’s behalf, settled with the client for a “walk-away” dismissal of all claims.
- Consumer Litigation (Insurance): Represented a large international insurance company sued by a public company policyholder contending that an insurance product was illusory, illegal and evidenced a pattern and practice justifying over $100M in damages. Devised a defense strategy that included filing suit against the policyholder for failing to pay certain policy premiums. Through litigation, secured a dismissal of the plaintiff’s lawsuit and recovered approximately $5M on the client’s behalf.
- Corporate Dispute: Successfully represented a managing member of an LLC by defeating all claims brought by other members of the LLC, which alleged that the managing member misappropriated corporate opportunities and violated fiduciary duties. The client was completely vindicated in defense of all claims.
- Due Diligence: Conducted due diligence on behalf of banks and other financial investors associated with contemplated new investments or loans, particularly with respect to environmental and litigation risks.
- Environmental Defense: Successfully defended a client against action by the USEPA, which filed a complaint seeking millions of dollars in penalties for alleged regulatory violations. The USEPA alleged that the client operated a plant that leaked a hazardous substance into the air before being shut down by USEPA. Choosing to push back against the proposed penalties versus a merit-based challenge, the dispute was favorably resolved for $5,000.
- Insurance Coverage (Bad Faith Defense): Represented a prominent insurance company in the defense of an arbitration proceeding where the insured, under CGL insurance policies issued by the client, sought the return of several million dollars paid by the insured for, among other things, deductible obligations. After an aggressive defense, the case ultimately settled at mediation with the insured paying the insurer several million dollars.
- Insurance Coverage (Policyholder): Represented product manufacturers in lawsuits with their liability insurers arising out of environmental and toxic tort claims. Overcame numerous challenges by the insurers, including claims that underlying layers of coverage were not exhausted, and occurrences did not take place in particular policy years, to drive the insurers to the settlement table to fund environmental cleanup and defend toxic tort actions.
- Proposition 65: Represented product manufacturers in California Proposition 65 cases relating to various products, including a bicycle manufacturer defending claims that the cables on its bicycles were subject to Prop 65 disclosures.
- Securities Fraud Defense: Represented an investment banking firm in defense of a securities fraud case alleging hundreds of millions of dollars of losses stemming from an alleged pump-and-dump stock scheme.
- Toxic Tort Defense: Represented a chemical manufacturer in the defense of more than 80 separate toxic tort cases filed by teachers and students at an elementary school which neighbored a plating operation site where the client’s chemicals were allegedly used; led the defense to a very favorable settlement on the client’s behalf.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
- Listed, AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
- Listed, Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers Magazine (2005)
- Listed, Who’s Who in Law, Marquis
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