Program Details
2026-10-02 12:00:00
Over 1,000+ webinars
Course Overview
2026-10-02 12:00:00
2h CLE Credits
Intermediate
2
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ESTThis session examines the California Supreme Court’s July 2026 decision in Fox Paine & Co. v. Twin City Fire Insurance Co. and its landmark holding that policyholders may sue excess insurers across an entire layered tower before underlying limits are exhausted. Attorneys will learn the new ‘reasonable likelihood’ pleading standard, how to structure a whole-tower complaint, and how the decision eliminates the serial litigation staircase that previously forced insureds into successive policy-by-policy lawsuits. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for drafting declaratory relief claims against upper-layer excess carriers and for mapping policy language across layered programs to satisfy demurrer-proof factual pleading requirements.
Benjamin W. MassarskyNatalie E. Cook 1:10 pm - 2:10 pm ESTThis session examines how policyholder counsel can identify, plead, and prove bad faith claims against excess insurers before underlying limits are exhausted. Drawing on the California Supreme Court’s landmark Fox Paine decision and the emerging national landscape, attorneys will learn the specific pre attachment conduct that triggers implied covenant liability, how to document and build the damages case, and how jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction variation shapes litigation strategy. Attendees will leave with a concrete proof framework applicable to multi-layer tower disputes.
Marc S. MayersonBenjamin W. Massarsky is a Partner at Miller Friel, PLLC, where he represents corporate policyholders in complex insurance disputes in federal and state court. His coverage work spans commercial general liability, property, directors and officers, errors and omissions, political risk, builder’s risk, and music tour non-appearance policies, for clients in manufacturing, real estate, technology, and entertainment.
Natalie E. Cook is an Associate at BatesCarey LLP, where her practice centers on complex insurance coverage disputes. She works on commercial general liability matters, coverage litigation, and transportation coverage questions. She came to private practice from a judicial clerkship in the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, and earlier served as a judicial extern in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
Marc S. Mayerson is the Principal of The Mayerson Firm PLLC in Washington, D.C., where he represents policyholders — businesses, nonprofits, directors, executives, and fiduciaries — in complex insurance coverage disputes. His practice reaches excess coverage and exhaustion, multi-layer insurance towers, directors and officers liability, and insurer bad faith, as well as asbestos, environmental cleanup, toxic tort, product liability, securities, ERISA fiduciary, employment practices, fidelity and dishonesty, first-party property, and business interruption claims. He also serves as an arbitrator, mediator, and expert in insurance matters.
Benjamin W. Massarsky is a Partner at Miller Friel, PLLC, where he represents corporate policyholders in complex insurance disputes in federal and state court. His coverage work spans commercial general liability, property, directors and officers, errors and omissions, political risk, builder’s risk, and music tour non-appearance policies, for clients in manufacturing, real estate, technology, and entertainment.
Natalie E. Cook is an Associate at BatesCarey LLP, where her practice centers on complex insurance coverage disputes. She works on commercial general liability matters, coverage litigation, and transportation coverage questions. She came to private practice from a judicial clerkship in the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, and earlier served as a judicial extern in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
Marc S. Mayerson is the Principal of The Mayerson Firm PLLC in Washington, D.C., where he represents policyholders — businesses, nonprofits, directors, executives, and fiduciaries — in complex insurance coverage disputes. His practice reaches excess coverage and exhaustion, multi-layer insurance towers, directors and officers liability, and insurer bad faith, as well as asbestos, environmental cleanup, toxic tort, product liability, securities, ERISA fiduciary, employment practices, fidelity and dishonesty, first-party property, and business interruption claims. He also serves as an arbitrator, mediator, and expert in insurance matters.
Requirements
The Alabama State Bar MCLE Commission requires attorneys to complete 12 credits, including 1 ethics, by December 31 of each year. All credits must be reported by February 15 of the following year. A maximum of 12 credits, including 1 ethics credit, may be carried over for 1 year only.
Formats
