Mr. Simmons practices in the areas of commercial and general litigation, with a focus on insurance coverage issues. He has advised policyholder-clients regarding various types of insurance portfolios, including property / business interruption, general liability, directors & officers, builder's risk, fidelity, environmental impairment liability and aviation. He has assisted clients in designing and implementing strategies to maximize existing insurance coverages and to improve coverages during renewal negotiations.
In the area of property / business interruption insurance programs, Mr. Simmons has significant experience evaluating insurer-marketed forms and manuscript forms used in a variety of industries including energy, primary metals, equipment manufacturing, real estate holdings, chemical manufacturing, entertainment/hospitality, construction, medical services and food service. He has assisted clients in the pursuit of insurance claims from initial assessment through resolution.
In the area of product liabilities, Mr. Simmons' experience includes the successful negotiation of buy-out agreements and coverage-in-place agreements involving over a half-billion dollars in insurance limits. He also has significant experience with the pursuit of claims against the estates of financially-troubled insurers, including U.S. insolvency proceedings and U.K. schemes of arrangement.
Mr. Simmons has participated in dispute resolution proceedings (litigation, mediation and arbitration) across the United States on matters involving breach of sales contracts, product defects, toxic torts, natural disasters, man-made accidents, construction defects, insurance disputes and environmental conditions.
Mr. Simmons has lectured and published on various topics relating to commercial litigation and insurance issues.
