Directors & Officers Liability Lawyers

Dedicated Directors & Officers Liability Attorney Serving California

Corporations are lightning rods for lawsuits. There are always constituencies that disagree with a corporate decision and will file a lawsuit against the company and its directors and officers. Our directors & officers liability lawyers can help you understand these lawsuits and disagreements to be able to navigate them properly.

Companies purchase directors & officers liability insurance (D&O insurance) to protect the personal assets of their leadership. Without D&O insurance, many companies would have difficulty attracting top talent because members of the board of directors or corporate officers could be sued and exposed to substantial risk to their personal assets.

In a recent case, a D&O insurer refused to provide a defense to directors who were sued for failure to procure the appropriate insurance following a fire loss. The D&O insurer claimed that an exclusion applied. We successfully argued that the exclusion did not apply, or at a minimum, that there was a potential for liability triggering the D&O insurer’s duty to defend those directors.

These types of policies are often written as “claims made” policies that have specific requirements for the reporting of the claim. Often the claim must be reported before the expiration of the policy period or any applicable extended reporting period. If it is not, then the insurer may deny coverage for the claim. It is therefore important that the company have guidance by our Directors & Officers Liability Lawyers in California on how and when to submit claims under D&O insurance so that they can be approved for payment.

This issue has been front and center in a number of our cases. For example, in a recent case, we represented a multi-national corporation where there were potential claims against officers and directors arising out of a failed bid for the corporations’ services. We were able to put the insurance carriers on notice of this potential claim, thereby preserving their right to claim coverage under those D&O insurance policies.

D&O Insurance

D&O insurance provides a firm’s top management with protection and peace of mind. It allows them to take bold action without fear of personal financial repercussions. Corporate leadership expects its D&O insurance to provide coverage when legal action is taken against them. A D & O policy that isn’t there when you need it isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.

Schedule A Consultation With Our Directors & Officers Liability Lawyers

At Pillsbury & Coleman LLP, our California directors & officers liability lawyers represent policyholders in disputes with their insurance companies over D&O coverage. If your D&O insurer has denied your claim for coverage, has unreasonably delayed payment of a D&O claim, or you merely expect to make a D&O claim that needs to be properly and timely submitted to the insurer, please call our office at (415) 433-8000 or contact us by email to discuss your case.

We represent clients in coverage disputes and insurance bad faith lawsuits when an insurance company fails to cover a valid claim or fails to reimburse covered expenses or losses incurred by directors and officers.

From our offices in San Francisco, we represent policyholders throughout California.