Recoveries from insurance carriers are typically the primary funding source in mass tort bankruptcy cases. Yet the Fourth Circuit recently held that an insurer lacked standing to challenge a plan of reorganization in an asbestos-related case because the plan was “insurance neutral.” The panel will discuss the basics of insurance neutrality and present a spirited debate about what are (and what should be) insurers’ rights to contest a plan in mass tort cases.
Chairs:
Margaret M. Anderson, Partner, Fox Swibel Levin & Carroll LLP, Chicago, IL
David Fournier, Partner, Troutman Pepper LLP, Wilmington, DE
Program Materials Coordinator:
Pierce Rigney, Associate, Troutman Pepper LLP, Atlanta, GA
Moderator
Margaret M. Anderson
Partner
Fox Swibel Levin & Carroll LLP
Chicago, IL
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Margaret (Peg) Anderson is a capital partner at Fox Swibel Levin and Carroll LLP and co-chairs Levin the Firm’s Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors’ Rights Group.
Peg has extensive experience advising insurance companies in bankruptcy cases. She has represented insurers in several mass tort bankruptcies cases, including in Boy Scouts of America. She frequently represents insurance companies in the collection of premium, deductibles, and other amounts owed to them by insolvent companies.
Peg received a B.A. in accounting, maxima cum laude, from Loras College and her J.D. from Yale Law School. She is admitted to practice in Illinois.
Panelists
Adrian C. Azer
Partner
Haynes Boone LLP
Washington, DC
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Adrian Azer exclusively represents corporate policyholders in a variety of complex insurance coverage matters. Clients seek Adrian’s representation in connection with disputes over general liability coverage for various toxic tort and environmental claims, and the intersection between insurance and bankruptcy. Having worked as a bankruptcy litigator for seven years, he has particular skill navigating insurance issues within the context of a bankruptcy proceeding.
Douglas Baird
Professor of Law
University of Chicago Law School
Chicago, IL
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Douglas Baird is the Harry A. Bigelow Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago and Chair, National Bankruptcy Conference. Baird received his undergraduate degree from Yale University summa cum laude and his J.D. from Stanford. He joined Chicago’s faculty in 1980 and served as its Dean from 1994 to 1999. His book on the history of the law of corporate reorganizations, The Unwritten Law of Corporate Reorganizations, appeared in 2022. His one-volume overview of U.S. bankruptcy law, Elements of Bankruptcy, is now in its seventh edition.
David C. Christian II
Principal
David Christian Attorneys LLC
Chicago, IL
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David Christian, a specialist in bankruptcy law, works on some of the most complex restructuring and liquidation proceedings around the country on behalf of debtors, creditors, insurers, and trustees. During his career, Mr. Christian developed expertise on matters involving mass, class, and collective actions, particularly with respect to indemnification and insurance. He also has extensive experience in bankruptcy appeals. A frequent author and presenter on bankruptcy topics, he most recently joined an expert panel addressing the intersection of bankruptcy and insurance law for the Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee of the ABA in Tucson.
CLE Program: Insurance Neutrality in Mass Tort Bankruptcy Cases
Type of Session
CLE Program
Description
This session is in-person only.
CLE Program Level: Mid-Level
Presented By: Business Bankruptcy
Co-sponsoring Committee(s): International Business Law, International Coordinating
