William D. Wilson

William (Bill) Wilson has over thirty years of experience handling insurance-related matters. Since 1998, he has been responsible for running Mound Cotton’s New Jersey office and he currently splits his time between the firm’s New Jersey and Florida offices. Bill’s practice focuses primarily on the handling of first-party and third-party insurance and reinsurance coverage disputes. In addition, he regularly handles commercial contract disputes, as well as products liability, employer liability, premises liability, and general tort claims. He litigates cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States, and is a member of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County, Mediation Equity Panel.

Bill is a member of the New Jersey, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Texas bars, and is also admitted to numerous federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second, Third, Eleventh, and Federal Circuits. He also is a member of the New Jersey and Florida Bar Associations.

Bill is a 1988 graduate of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree, magna cum laude, in Computer Science. He also is a 1991 graduate of St. John’s University School of Law, where he was an editor of St. John’s Law Review. He is a former Adjunct Professor of Law at Seton Hall University School of Law, where he taught New York Practice and is a frequent lecturer and has published numerous articles on insurance issues and general litigation topics. He also is the co-author of New Jersey Insurance Coverage Litigation – 2021: A Practitioner’s Guide, published by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, a division of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Memberships

• Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County, Mediation Equity Panel
• New Jersey State Bar Association
• Florida State Bar Association

Representative Matters

• Bill represented the property insurer that provided coverage to Champlain Towers South condominium complex located in Surfside Florida, in connection with the collapse of the building in June 2021. That was a high-profile claim that garnered a lot of media attention. Bill was instrumental in settling the claim. He continues to represent a number of insurers in cases pending in Florida arising out of the Champlain Towers South collapse.
• • He represented a market of first-party property insures in connection with a large construction defect case involving student housing at Clemson University. The case recently settled.
  • Bill also recently won an appeal in Florida that involved a claim for in excess of $1.5 million in prejudgment interest in connection with the failure to timely pay an appraisal award.  See Hawks Nest Condo. Inc. v. Westchester Surplus Lines Ins. Co., 366 So.2d 1184 (Fla. 3^rd DCA 2023).
  • Bills won a number of motions to dismiss in connection with COVID-19 claims in Florida, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. See, e.g., Yellow Strawberry CCDR, Inc. v. Continental Cas. Co., 2021 WL 2766996 (S.D. Fla. May 14, 2021); Greenwood Racing Inc. v. American Guarantee & Liability Ins. Co., 569 F. Supp. 3d 243 (E.D. Pa. 2021);  Count Basie Theatre Inc. v. Zurich American Ins. Co., 2012 WL 3732903 (D.N.J. Aug. 24, 2021); Yellow Strawberry CCDR, Inc. v. Continental Cas. Co., 2021 WL 2766996 (S.D. Fla. May 14, 2021); Downs Ford, Inc. v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co.,2021 WL 1138141 (D.N.J. March 25, 2021); Causeway Automotive, LLC v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., 2012 WL 48691 (D.N.J. Feb. 10, 2012).
  • Bill was successful in winning summary judgment in connection with a collapse claim asserted by a restaurant in Miami, Florida. That decision was upheld on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and is now one of the leading collapse cases involving Florida law.  See S.O. Beach Corp. v. Great American Ins. Co. of N.Y., 791 Fed. Appx. 106 (11^th Cir. 2019).

  Bill also regularly represents U.S.-based and international insurers in arbitrations involving first-party coverage claims. Bill’s involvement in those cases typically commences with the filing of a motion to dismiss and to compel arbitration. See, e.g., Vose Ave. Apartments Urban Renewal, LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, 2023 WL 2399160 (D.N.J. March 8, 2023); Park Cole Group, LP v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, 2022 WL 19521724 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 1, 2022); Gold Coast Property Management Inc. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, 2019 WL 2482058 (S.D. Fla. June 14, 2019).

Newsroom

Speaking Engagements

• Chair and Presenter, New Jersey CLE Marathon 2017, Practicing Law Institute, May 2017
• Presenter, “New Jersey Law Practice Management,” New Jersey Bridge-the-Gap CLE Program, New York City Bar Association, December 2016
• Presenter, “New Jersey Law Office Management,” New Jersey Basic CLE Marathon 2016, Practicing Law Institute, May 2016
• Presenter, “Enforcement & Interpretation of First-Party Insurance Policies,” New Jersey State Bar Association, April 2016
• Presenter, “New Jersey Law Practice Management,” New Jersey Bridge-the-Gap CLE Program, New York City Bar Association, December 2015
• Presenter, Builders Risk Coverage: Navigating Hard and Soft Costs, Delay in Opening Expenses and Construction Delay Measurement, Strafford Webinars, November 2015
• Presenter, “New Jersey Law Office Management,” New Jersey Basic CLE Marathon 2015, Practising Law Institute, May 2015
• Speaker, “New Jersey Law Practice Management,” New Jersey Bridge-the-Gap CLE Program, New York City Bar Association, December 2014
• Speaker, “Coverage for Losses Arising out of Construction Projects: Additional Insureds and Other Insurance Clauses,” West LegalEdcenter Webinar, December 2014
• Speaker, “Insuring Delay in Opening and Associated Costs,” IRMI Construction Risk Conference, November 2014
• Speaker, “Builder’s Risk Insurance Coverage: A Primer,” West LegalEdcenter Webinar, April 2014
•  Speaker, “Builder’s Risk Insurance Coverage: A Primer,” West LegalEdcenter Webinar, April 2014
• Speaker, “Lessons from the Caged Bird: the Impact of Mass Catastrophes on Policy Language and Interpretation,” Lexis CLE Video Seminar, December 2013
• Speaker, “New Jersey Civil Trial Preparation,” West LegalEdcenter Webinar, November 2013
• Speaker, “New Jersey Civil Trial Preparation,” New Jersey Bridge-the-Gap, New York City Bar Association, September 2013
• Speaker, “Common Coverage Issues Arising Out of Catastrophic Claims: An Overview,” CEU Institute, February 20, 2009
• Speaker, “Complexities of Business Interruption Losses,” PCS Catastrophe Conference, April 2006
• Speaker, “Establishing Coverage Limitations and Determining Loss on Business Interruption and Contingent Business Interruption Claims,” ACI Catastrophic Event Insurance Claims Conference, March 2006

Civic Activities

• President, Jersey Gators Swim Team Parents Association, 2011–2015
• USA Swimming/New Jersey Swimming Certified Swim Official, 2008–2020
• Aquatics Official, Special Olympics 2014 USA Games, June 2014