Michael A. Hamilton

Michael A. Hamilton handles sophisticated and high-exposure insurance coverage claims and commercial litigation. As a leader of the firm’s Global Insurance Services Pennsylvania and Ohio teams, Mike focuses his practice on environmental, professional liability, construction defect, transportation, and business torts/advertising injury claims. He has been lead defense counsel in class action litigation, representing insurance companies, self-insurers, and transportation entities. He also has extensive appellate experience, arguing numerous appeals in state and federal courts across the country.

Experience Highlights

Mike has more than 25 years of experience handling insurance coverage claims and litigation on behalf of major insurers throughout the United States. He has an extensive background in environmental claims under commercial general liability policies and specialty environmental policies and has assisted clients with claims involving the application of the pollution exclusion, surface and groundwater contamination, ground pollution, and hydro-fracking.

Mike has also advised clients on a number of significant claims involving data privacy, intellectual property, false advertising, and business torts. His experience includes counseling carriers on policy form wording with respect to data breaches, cyber liability, and intellectual property infringement claims and was recently involved in a case that was closely watched by the insurance industry involving insurance coverage for a highly publicized data breach. Mike was also involved in two groundbreaking cases holding that claims for faulty workmanship in construction were not covered under CGL policies. He has represented insurance companies in bankruptcy court and has formulated strategies for carriers to best protect their rights when policyholders are in bankruptcy. He has also represented clients in commercial disputes and litigation, including matters relating to contractual indemnity, transportation accidents, and governmental immunity.

Mike currently leads the group of former chairs for the Insurance and Reinsurance Committee of the International Association of Defense Counsel, an invitation-only professional association for corporate and defense lawyers around the world, after having recently served a two-year term as the committee’s chair. He is also a frequent speaker and author on insurance litigation and emerging issues and was recently named a fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel, an exclusive group of the top insurance attorneys in North America.

Prevailed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Illinois Court of Appeals, obtaining favorable rulings in related matters involving insurance coverage for a class action asserting violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
Secured summary judgment for his client in federal court in a case concerning insurance coverage for environmental liabilities arising from the alleged discharge of pollutants by numerous property owners onto a neighboring property.
Obtained a victory for a transportation authority before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in a far-reaching decision addressing the impact of workers’ compensation liens on personal injury settlements involving state governmental entities.
Succeeded before the North Carolina Supreme Court in a multimillion-dollar case involving insurance coverage for false advertising and trademark infringement claims; the opinion was recognized by Mealey’s as one of the most significant U.S. insurance decisions in 2010.
Served as trial and appellate co-counsel for a domestic insurer in the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit in the World Trade Center Property Insurance Litigation, prevailing in a nationally recognized case involving attempts by the World Trade Center’s leaseholder to recover insurance proceeds after September 11.
Represented his client before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, resulting in a ruling of the first impression that self-insured commercial entities are not liable under Pennsylvania’s bad faith statute.

Honors & Awards

Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent

Best Lawyers in America — Insurance Law, 2018–23

Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, Insurance Coverage, 2010–22*

Chambers USA Pennsylvania — Insurance, Ranked Lawyer 2018–2019; Band 3, 2020–22

Admitted as a Fellow into the American College of Coverage Counsel, 2016

Harleysville Mut. Ins. Co. v. Buzz Off Insect Shield, L.L.C. — recognized by Mealey’s as one of the United States’ most significant insurance decisions in 2010

*View peer-review methodologies at superlawyers.com. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Publications & Events

Presenter, “The Illusory Coverage Doctrine: Going Beyond the ‘Plain Language’ of the Policy,” ACCC Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, September 23, 2021
Co-Presenter, “Looking for IP Coverage: What’s In or Out for CGL, Excess & Specialty Policies?” ACCC Annual Meeting, September 25, 2020
Presenter, “An Update on the Practical and Legal Insurance Coverage Issues Involving the Pollution Exclusion,” CLE Course, December 11, 2019
Presenter, “Allocation—Is That a Thing?”—Navigating Disputes Over Allocation Between Covered and Uncovered Claims,” ACCC Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, May 9, 2019
Co-Presenter, “Time-Limited Demands, “Hammer” Letters, and Consent Judgments as Bad Faith Setups,” Client Presentation, New York, NY, January 31, 2019
Co-Presenter, “Use of Extrinsic Evidence in Analyzing the Duty to Defend,” Client Presentation, Wayne, PA, December 7, 2018
Co-Presenter, “Covered vs. Non-Covered Claims: Allocating Defense & Indemnity Payments,” Client Presentation, Wayne, PA, December 7, 2018
Presenter, “Drilling Down on the Business Risk Exclusions,” DRI Northeast Regional Claims Conference, Hartford, CT, September 27, 2018
Presenter, “Evolving Insurance Coverage Issues: Challenges in Opioid Litigation,” IADC Annual Meeting, Lisbon, Portugal, July 7, 2018
Presenter, “The Insurance Coverage Update,” Perrin Opioid Litigation Conference, Dallas, TX, June 28, 2018
Co-Presenter, “Covered vs. Non-Covered Claims: Allocating Defense & Indemnity Payments,” GS Presentation, New York City, NY, June 20, 2018
Co-Presenter, “Coverage Strategies and Solutions for Widespread Environmental Harm,” Containing Disasters Seminars, Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia, January 22-25, 2018
Co-Presenter, “Covered vs. Non-Covered Claims: Allocating Defense and Indemnity Payments,” October 25, 2017
Co-Presenter, “The Latest in Coverage: Significant Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Decisions that will Impact You,” Goldberg Segalla Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Seminar, May 23, 2017
Presenter, “Money for Nothing: Bad Faith Claims Involving Deductibles, Retentions, Eroding Limits, and Non-Traditional Policies,” DRI Bad Faith and Extra-Contractual Liability, Boston, MA, May 31, 2017
Co-Presenter, “What Has Eight Corners But Isn’t a Cube? Issues Arising From the Duty to Defend,” IADC Mid-Year Meeting, Scottsdale, AZ, February 21, 2017
Presenter, “The Evolution of Bad Faith in Professional Liability Claims,” International Association of Defense Counsel’s Professional Liability Roundtable, Chicago, May 12, 2016
Presenter, “Construction and Specialty Risk Policies,” DRI Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute, Chicago, March 27, 2015