Daniel E. Chefitz

As a leader of Morgan Lewis’s captive insurance practice, Daniel advises clients on the creation and use of captives as a strategic risk management tool to supplement commercially available insurance. Daniel guides companies through the life cycle of captives, including creation, expansion, and sale or runoff. Daniel’s insurance recovery practice has achieved significant policyholder recoveries for product liability, asbestos, environmental, directors and officers, cyber liability, and first party losses.

Representative Matters

• Created captive insurer funded ring fence structure to manage Disc Op environmental claims for an energy company 
• Designed captive insurance structure for a real estate development company to ring fence environmental liabilities 
• Implemented a ring fence structure for a multinational conglomerate to address hundreds of thousands of asbestos product claims arising from discontinued operations
• Represented a former industry-leading automotive and railroad parts manufacturer in multiple coverage litigation concerning asbestos, environmental, and toxic tort liabilities
• Advised on creation of a captive ring fence structure to facilitate the asset sale of a family-owned business facing asbestos-related claims
• Recovered full coverage limits from a general liability insurance tower to fund over a billion dollars of third-party liability arising from a pipeline accident
• Represents a major food and beverage company for discontinued operations and captive insurance matters 
• Recovered hundreds of millions of dollars from Bermuda form insurers for a major medical device company facing significant product liability claims 
• Devised innovative captive insurance solutions for an industry-leading pharmaceutical company facing a hard insurance market 
• Helped a major North American retailer create its first captive insurance programs to address risk management goals. 
• Advised oil-related business on use of captive insurance to insurer legacy liabilities.
• Successfully represented major objector to Federal Mogul reorganization plan, litigating novel issues under Section 524(g), and thereby preserving extensive nondebtor insurance assets.

Decisions

• Federal Mogul Global Inc., T&N Limited, et al., Debtors, No. 01-10578, 2008 WL 4493519 (Bankr. D. Del. Sept. 30, 2008)
• Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, et al. v. Pneumo Abex Corporation, et al. 36 A.D. 3d 441, 829 N.Y.S. 2d 29 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2007)
• Pneumo Abex Corp, v. Maryland Cas. Co., C.A. No. 82-2098 (PLF) (D.D.C. Sept. 27, 2006)
• Pneumo Abex Corp, v. Maryland Cas. Co., C.A. No. 82-2098 (PLF) (D.D.C. Aug. 31, 2004)
• Rutgerswerke AG v. Abex Corp., 2002 WL 1203836, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9965 (S.D.N.Y. June 4, 2002)