Lloyd A. Gura

Lloyd Gura is a partner and member of the firm’s Executive Committee and DEI Committee. He has more than thirty years of experience in reinsurance, insurance, ERISA, environmental, tort, and healthcare litigation and arbitration. His practice includes complex insurance and reinsurance coverage disputes, fronting, captive and program business, subrogation, fraud, life and health claims, bad faith, property and casualty losses, directors and officers, errors and omissions, and all facets of professional liability claims, personal injury claims, premises liability, allocation disputes, insolvency issues, molestation, talc, concussion, human trafficking, advertising injury, copyright infringement, cyber claims, Bermuda Form arbitrations, construction defect coverage, and claims involving asbestos products and non-products.

Mr. Gura has published articles in Best’s Review, Business Insurance, New York Law Journal, CPCU Claims Quarterly, Journal of Reinsurance, and the Risk Management Newsletter regarding insurance and reinsurance issues. Mr. Gura created and chairs the annual NYC Reinsurance Conference and lectures at seminars sponsored by AIRROC, ARIAS-US, IRUA, Mealey’s, American Conference Institute, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Reinsurance Association of America, HB Litigation Conferences, Perrin Conferences, AIG, AXA XL, Zurich, Chubb, The Hartford, R&Q, ACE, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Riverstone, Swiss Re, and Gen Re, among others, on insurance and reinsurance law and practice. He has tried numerous cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States and participated in more than two hundred reinsurance/insurance arbitrations in the United States and London, UK.

He is admitted to the New York and Connecticut bars and is a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association, where he is on the Committee on Insurance, and the New York State Bar Association.

Honors

• Member, Firm's Executive Committee
• Chambers USA, 2018-2023: "He's a well-respected and well thought-of lawyer." "Very detail-oriented." "Has expertise representing insurers in a range of coverage litigation, including environmental, mass tort and healthcare-related disputes. He also has experience handling reinsurance arbitration matters." "He is extremely responsive and very practical," "He goes to great lengths to understand our business and the types of issues that we face, and to weigh up the business risks." "Maintains a respected carrier-side disputes practice and counts premier insurance companies among his clients.” "He is exemplary in the way he works and is highly practical and creative in finding resolutions." “One of the reasons I’ve worked with Lloyd for so long is that he’s able to understand what my business objectives are.”
• Who’s Who Legal: Insurance and Reinsurance, 2017-2023: "Mr. Gura is an excellent insurance and reinsurance lawyer." "Mr. Gura is a great representative and a formidable name in the insurance and reinsurance market. His enviable practice sees him assist clients with a broad range of complex matters."
• Super Lawyers, New York Metro, Insurance Coverage, 2010-2023
• Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers
• Euromoney's Expert Guides - Top Insurance & Reinsurance Practitioner, 2015-2021
• America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, 2020
• New York's Leading Lawyers Guide, Leaders in the Law, 2018-2020
• America's Top 100 Bet-the-Company Litigators® for New York City, 2019
• LexisNexis Insurer Attorney of the Year, 2008

Memberships

• Journal Of Reinsurance, Advisory Panel member
• Insurance and Reinsurance Underwriters Association Board Member
• New York State Bar Association
• New York County Lawyers’ Association, Committee on Insurance
• Nassau County Bar Association
• AIDA Reinsurance and Insurance Society (ARIAS-US)

Representative Matters

• Counsel for Harbor Insurance Co. and London Guarantee & Accident Co. of NY (CNA is the successor) in a declaratory judgment action pending in New Jersey pertaining to Johnson & Johnson’s talc (Atlanta International Ins. Co. v. Johnson & Johnson, et. al., Docket No. MID-L-003563-19) claims for coverage associated with personal injury claims arising out of talc. The litigation focuses upon various coverage defenses (expected/intended) as well as allocation analysis and modelling.  The aggregate value of the claims likely exceeds $8B and involves the relationship of mass tort coverage issues in the context of an insured’s use of the bankruptcy code to resolve and cap liability (channeling of claims and receipt of comprehensive releases) (issues on the forefront of US litigation).  This is a high profile matter in the public arena.
• Counsel for AXA XL (Catlin Specialty Insurance Company, Indian Harbor Insurance Company) Harbor in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware.  Our representation included participation in the BSA Confirmation Hearing (as part of the Certain Insurers objecting to various provisions in the BSA Plan), appeals to the District Court and 3rd Circuit (confirmation and objections to various provisions in the Plan, including the Trust Distribution Procedures by which the channeled claims will be valued), and motions to stay pending resolution of the US Supreme Court decision in Purdue.  The aggregate value of the BSA claims is allegedly between $2.45B – $7B. MCWG also represents Indian Harbor/Catlin in the Texas Declaratory Judgment Action initiated by the BSA Settlement Trustee to resolve coverage issues pertaining to claims which are subject to the BSA Plan.  This litigation is significant because it represents the cutting edge in terms of the resolution of mass torts in the context of the insured’s utilization of the bankruptcy code to cap liability and resolve claims. This is a very high profile matter reported frequently in the press:  www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2023/03/29/boy-scouts-bankruptcy-plan-upheld-federal-judge-sexual-abuse/70060605007
• Griffith Foods Int’l Inc. et al v. Zurich American Ins. Co. et al, Case No. 2023CH00782
  Counsel for AXA XL (Greenwich Ins. Co.) in a coverage action filed by Griffith Labs against 10 carriers seeking indemnity and defense for the settlement of approximately 1,000 claims arising from exposure to ethylene oxide (EtO) emitted at the Willowbrook, IL, facility. This is the country’s largest EtO exposure case. https://cookcountyrecord.com/stories/641931497-court-filing-griffith-foods-to-pay-48m-to-settle-hundreds-of-lawsuits-over-willowbrook-eto-emissions

Newsroom

Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, “Trending Legal Topics,” 2024 Gen Re Claims Seminar, Austin, TX, March 4, 2024
• Moderator, “Issues & Challenges Facing Reinsurance Legal Departments,” Mound Cotton NYC Annual Reinsurance Conference, New York, NY, September 21, 2023
• Presenter, “Not Your Father’s (or Mother’s) APH,” AIRROC Spring Membership Meeting, New York, NY, March 15, 2023
• Chair, “Recent Developments in Program Business” and “Intersection of Claims and Underwriting: Senior Underwriting Officers Provide Insight into Drafting History, Wording Choices, and Other Functions that Impact Claim Decisions,” NYC Annual Reinsurance Conference, New York, NY, September 29, 2022
• Presenter, “The Arbitration Process: A Critical Perspective,” ARIAS-U.S., New York, NY, September 20, 2022
• Presenter, Reinsurance 101 session, CLM (Claims and Litigation Management) Alliance Annual Conference, Palm Desert, CA, March 25, 2022
• With Steve Torrini, Mr. Gura gave a virtual client presentation to a major reinsurer on New York Labor Law sections 200, 240(1) and 241(6). Approximately 200 claims, underwriting, and senior management personnel attended.The presentation focused on the application of the statutes to personal injury claims throughout New York City and other parts of New York State. In addition, they covered the nuances of handling such claims, both from a claims and a litigation standpoint, including an analysis of factors upon which to focus in order to set a reserve, the economic and non-economic exposure presented by these claims, recent jury verdicts and settlements, and a discussion of the contractual indemnification and insurance coverage issues which arise between owners, general contractors, and subcontractors. March 26, 2021
• Chair, NYC Annual Reinsurance Conference, September 2014-2019
• Presenter, “Unique Issues Affecting the Reinsurance Industry Arising Out of 2015 Winter Storms,” RAA Re Claims Bermuda, March 16, 2016
• Presenter, “Medical/Legalized Marijuana,” IRUA’s Claims and Underwriting Aspects of Emerging Risks, March 9, 2016
• Presenter, “Dispute Resolution and Service of Suit,” IRU’s Reinsurance Contracts Seminar, May 13, 2015
• Presenter, “Supply Chain Disruptions/Contingent Time Element Coverage,” AIRROC’s Annual Commutations and Networking Conference, October 15, 2014
• Chair, HB Litigation Reinsurance Roundtable, September 15, 2014
• Presenter, “Autonomous Vehicles: Emerging Legal Issues,” Zurich North America Actuarial Networking Conference, August 2014
• Presenter, Zurich North America Actuarial Networking Meeting, August 2013
• Presenter, “Exploring the Interruption of Supply Chains after an ARkStorm,” ARIAS Spring Conference, May 8–10, 2013
• Co-chair, AIRROC’s Annual Commutations and Networking Conference, October 16–19, 2011
• Presenter, “Climate Change/Natural Disasters,” Reinsurance Association of America, September 14–15, 2011
• Presenter, “The Insurance and Reinsurance Impacts of the Japan Earthquake Webinar,” Perrin Conferences, May 2011
• Presenter, “Survivor,” AIRROC/R&Q Commutations & Networking Event, October 2010
• Presenter, “Exposure to Insurers/Reinsurers From the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill,” RAA Re Claims 2010, September 2010
• Case Study Presenter, Re Claims 2010, Reinsurance Association of America, September 2010
• Presenter, Reinsurance Magazine – Claims & Run-Off Seminar, London, England, December 9, 2009
• Presenter, “Reinsurance Seminar: London v. New York,” MCWG/Reynolds Porter Chamberlain Joint Seminar, London, England, September 23, 2009
• Co-Chair, BVR Legal/Mealey’s Conference 2009 – The Insurance Industry’s Top 10 Risks and Opportunities
• Presenter, Panel Discussion Concerning Ethical Problems in Reinsurance, ARIAS-US
• Presenter, “Reinsurance and Non Product Asbestos Coverage Issues,” American Conference Institute
• Presenter, “Access to Records Clauses – Use and Abuse,” American Conference Institute
• Presenter, “Organizational Meetings,” American Conference Institute
• Presenter, “Recent Developments in Reinsurance Law,” New York City Bar
• Presenter, “Recent Developments in Follow the Fortunes and Follow the Settlements and their Impact on Allocation,” Reinsurance Association of America
• Presenter, “Natural Catastrophes and Reinsurance,” Reinsurance Association of America
• Presenter, “Apportioning Losses – Allocating and Aggregating Complex Claims,” American Conference Institute
• Presenter, “Reinsurance Disputes in the Global Marketplace,” Lehman Brothers Global Reinsurance Conference
• Presenter, “Reinsurance 101,” Mealey’s
• Presenter, “Reinsurance Case Studies,” Marcus Evans