Patrick E. Winters

Representative Client Work

• Represented insurers in bad faith trials in federal court involving allegations of bad faith failure to settle
• Defended insurer in multi-million dollar coverage case involving underlying environmental coverage litigation relating to PFAS and solvent contamination
• Representing major insurer in litigation involving insurance coverage for historical environmental contamination, including alleged contamination due to PFAS
• Consulting with clients regarding investigation and analysis of claims for insurance coverage involving PFAS
• Prevailed on summary judgment in federal court in West Virginia on claims including breach of contract and bad faith
• Prevailed on claim for bad faith-claim handling against insurer in federal court in Indiana
• Served as coverage counsel for insurer with respect to hundreds of claims alleging exposure to defective drywall
• Defended insurer in coverage litigation and settlement negotiations involving hundreds of underlying asbestos cases
• Defended insurer in coverage litigation involving a claim of defective manufacturing where the plaintiff sought over $30 million in damages
• Second chaired a coverage trial in which a verdict of no cause of action was obtained on client’s behalf where the plaintiff was seeking $3 million in damages 
• Defended insurers in complex coverage litigation involving extensive underlying environmental contamination in Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan
• Drafted coverage opinions and recommendations to insurers on complex environmental contamination, product liability, and construction defect cases
• Obtained favorable dispositive rulings on numerous issues including choice of law, lack of an “occurrence,” late notice, allocation, and many others

Professional Affiliations

• State Bar of Michigan
• Ohio State Bar Association
• American Bar Association (Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section)
• DRI (Construction Law Committee; Insurance Law Committee, Steering Committee; Insurance Coverage and Practice Symposium, Chair, 2016)

Community Involvement

• Michigan State University College of Law Alumni Association (Board Member, 2004-2011; President, 2010-2011; President Elect, 2009-2010)

Publications and Lectures

• Selected to speak at the 2022 DRI Insurance Coverage Practice Symposium regarding cutting edge insurance coverage claims, including claims relating to autonomous vehicles, climate change, biometrics, PFAS and statutory damages
• "Fair Claims Practice - Ohio" webinar, Co-presenter, Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, Dec. 5, 2023
• "Fair Claims Practice - Michigan" webinar, Co-presenter, Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, Dec. 7, 2023
• "Bad Faith - Michigan" webinar, Presenter, Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, Oct. 10, 2023
• “When Good Faith Allegedly Breaks Bad: An Examination of Bad Faith Failure to Settle,” DRI Insurance Coverage and Practice Symposium, Article and Presentation, New York, NY, November 2018
• “Establishing Prejudice As A Coverage Defense,” Presenter, Property Liability Resource Bureau 2017 Claims Conference, March 2017
• DRI's “Insurance Coverage and Practice Symposium,” Chair, Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, Dec. 7-9, 2016
• “Better Late Than Never: The Erosion of the Late Notice Defense,” DRI's Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute, Article and Presentation, Chicago, IL, April 2016
• “The Evolution of the Additional Insured Endorsement and its Impact on Coverage for Construction Claims,” Co-Author, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice section of the American Bar Association, Re-published by ALFA International’s Construction Practice Group, 2016
• DRI's Annual Meeting, Insurance Law Committee Co-chair, Washington Marriott Wardman Park, Washington, D.C., 2015  
• Out of Thin Air: An Examination of Vapor Intrusion and the Availability of Insurance Coverage for Vapor Intrusion Claims and Lawsuits, New Appleman on Insurance, Fall 2009
• Indiana Supreme Court confirms Rebuttable Presumption of Prejudice to Insurer Arises From Defense of "Late Notice," Denial of Coverage on Other Bases Does Not Rebut Presumption
• Sixth Circuit (Kentucky Law) Requires Excess Insurer to Establish that Late Notice Caused Actual Prejudice
• Indiana Supreme Court holds assignment of insurance policy rights invalid due to 'consent to assignment' clause in policy
• Iowa High court Upholds Total Pollution Exclusion as Bar to Coverage
• Texas Supreme Court Holds Mold Exclusion Applies Even Though Damage Was Caused by Covered Peril