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Mr. Westlye’s insurance coverage expertise and litigation skills enable him to successfully litigate a broad range of cases. He has represented insurers in complex commercial litigation, acted as coverage and umbrella oversight counsel, defended bad-faith cases, prosecuted contribution and indemnity actions, participated in rescission actions for concealment of known claims, prosecuted recoupment actions involving disability insurance, and arbitrated reinsurance disputes.


Mr. Westlye draws from a wealth of litigation and commercial insurance experience to promote his clients’ interests. He has worked as coverage counsel for domestic and foreign insurers concerning their potential obligations on subjects ranging from third-party liabilities for contaminated mining products to class actions concerning employment torts.


Mr. Westlye defends breach of contract, bad-faith and subrogation actions.   He has litigated a broad range of insurance cases including actions involving insurance agency and cumulative retrospective premium disputes.  He has participated in declaratory judgment actions concerning the hierarchy of coverage obligations for asbestos liabilities, the violation of a trading warranty under a maritime policy, and the lack of advertising injury coverage under commercial general liabliity policies for antitrust violations.


Mr. Westlye's experience also includes successfully prosecuting and defending contribution and indemnity actions arising out of underlying cases concerning architects liability, construction defects, products liability, and trademark disputes.


Mr. Westlye has defended third-party tort actions involving automobile, construction defect, liquor liability, construction personal injury, innkeeper's liability and products liabilities.


Mr. Westlye has participated in resolving reinsurance arbitration disputes and allocation issues involving claims of shareholder actions, derivative actions, aggregated asbestos liabilities, pollution claims, architect’s errors for an industrial mining plant, bad-faith liabilities, and excess workers compensation. He has arbitrated a general agency premium dispute concerning a professional liability program.


Mr. Westlye has a significant understanding of the business of commercial insurance and reinsurance.  He is familiar with admitted carriers, excess lines insurers, surplus lines brokers and the London market.  His experience includes work as a commercial lines and reinsurance broker, and he has taught courses on insurance principles, commercial insurance, and courses for Charter Property and Casualty Underwriters. 


Mr. Westlye continues to represent American and foreign insurers in New York.  His successful insurance practice emphasizes obtaining favorable results at competitive rates.

   

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