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Jim DuChateau and Joe Fay recently obtained summary judgment on all counts in a high exposure, insurance coverage, and bad faith matter pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The case was brought on behalf of a large Chicagoland church for what the Plaintiff initially claimed was $13,000,000 in hail damage to its multi-use commercial property. After conducting extensive fact and expert discovery on issues of causation, damages, and claims handling, DuChateau and Fay moved for summary judgment on all counts of the complaint. After significant briefing, the Court granted the motion, finding that Plaintiff failed to adduce admissible evidence of a covered cause of loss during the policy period, much less that hail damaged the property in the manner complained of by Plaintiff. The Court further found, consistent with Illinois law, that in the absence of coverage, there can be no bad faith under Section 155 of the Illinois Insurance Code and also granted summary judgment in favor of the Defendant on the extracontractual count.
DuChateau, a partner in the firm’s Chicago office, concentrates his practice exclusively on insurance coverage, with an emphasis on first-party property for both commercial and personal lines. For the last 15 years, he has counseled carriers throughout the Midwest and Mountain West on high exposure claims, and coverage issues ranging from appraisal to arson to business interruption. He also devotes a large portion of his practice to litigating insurance coverage issues in state and federal courts and frequently represents insurers in both declaratory matters for non-coverage as well as the defense of contractual and extracontractual liability matters.
Fay, an associate in the firm’s Chicago office, focuses his practice on insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, as well as high exposure personal injury and property damage litigation.