Thomas B. Alleman

Insurance Coverage Matters

Tom has been involved in hundreds of matters involving insurance and risk management questions in fields ranging from autonomous and connected vehicles and related technologies to environmental management, corporate management, catastrophe claims and oil and gas production. In addressing these questions, Tom has become intimately familiar with a wide range of insurance policies, including data and cyber policies, CGL, D&O, E&O, OCIPs, CCIPs, umbrella and excess policies, reinsurance treaties and slips, and commercial property policies. Tom’s extensive litigation experience enables him to assist clients in avoiding pitfalls that can lurk in transactional documents, risk management programs, insurance policies and indemnification agreements. He currently handles major matters throughout the United States, with extensive experience in coverage matters in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Utah, New Mexico, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey and Minnesota.

His experience includes:

• Negotiated successful resolution of insurance coverage issues and payment of policy limits for costs resulting from cyberattack on lender’s systems.
• Analysis and negotiation of cyberinsurance programs for health care organizations and banks.
• Coordinating insurer response to three major natural gas explosions each resulting in multiple claims for injury and property damage and significant additional insured and contractual liability issues.
• Counsel in multiple claims involving construction of CGL policy endorsements for oilfield and upstream oil and gas operations.
• Obtained summary judgment for policyholder in case of first impression concerning control of defense and settlement under policy with self-insured retention (Powell Elec. Syst. Inc. v. National Union Fire Ins. Co., 2011 WL 3813278 (S.D. Tex. 2011)), resulting in reimbursement of $1.7 million to policyholder.
• Counsel to policyholder in Don’s Building Supply Inc. v. OneBeacon Ins. Co., 267 S.W.3d 20 (Tex. 2008), in which the Texas Supreme Court adopted an “actual injury” trigger for claims of latent and ongoing property damage.
• Counsel to lenders, servicers and property owners in resolution of multiple insurance claims arising out of hurricanes and other natural disasters.

Automotive Industry Matters

Tom has been at the forefront of counseling automotive industry clients through the unique challenges in insurance and risk management that range from development of risk management programs to contracts between suppliers and manufacturers to insurance matters in an increasingly automated and connected vehicle world. Tom is at home dealing with the complex issues the automotive sector generates. His experience includes:

• Advising and assisting OEMs and other automotive manufacturing clients concerning high self-insured retention programs, including timing of notice, control of defense and settlement decisions, coordination with monitoring counsel, arrangements for settlements, liaison with reinsurers and preparation of releases.
• Representing manufacturers with respect to insurance claims and indemnity issues arising from claims of wrongful death and injuries in manufacturing plants and facilities.
• Enforcement of insurance and indemnity terms in supplier contracts and presentation of claims as indemnitee and additional insured to indemnitors and insurers.
• Drafting of insurance and indemnity terms for products and software in supplier contracts.
• Advising and assisting suppliers in negotiating terms for product recall insurance covering finished and component parts for use in the automotive sector.
• Providing support to the University of Michigan MCity public private partnership on issues relating to insurance for autonomous and connected vehicles.
• Advising and assisting companies providing ride and vehicle sharing services with advice on issues relating to sale of use-based insurance in connection with their programs, and advice on applicable insurance agency laws.
• Advising and assisting insurers in developing insurance programs for manufacturers, owners and operators of autonomous vehicles.

Environmental and Toxic Tort Matters

Tom has been involved in environmental litigation since the first wave of Superfund litigation in the 1980s. He has had active hands-on experience with environmental and toxic tort matters including coal combustion products and fly ash, upstream and midstream oil and gas products and waste including saline substances, underground resources and pollution buyback endorsements, pipeline releases, NORM, chemicals, asbestos, MTBE, chlorinated solvents, D-NAPLs, and insecticides. In addition to litigation, Tom advises clients with environmental regulatory issues relating to air, water and solid waste permitting and enforcement and environmental audits under Texas and federal law.

Environmental Litigation Overview

• Represented PRPs in more than 30 clean-up actions arising out of CERCLA, RCRA and analogous state statutes, including actions under CERCLA §§ 107 and 113, at sites in twelve states.
• Represented defendants in more than 40 toxic tort lawsuits in federal and state courts in eight states involving coal combustion products, FGD sludge, insecticides, herbicides, lead, arsenic, hexavalent chromium, cadmium and other metals, chlorinated solvents, crude oil, natural gas, gasoline and other petroleum products, spray paint propellants, paint thinner, vinyl chloride, acrylonitrile and residues, asbestos and other substances.
• Managed mass tort and catastrophe litigation including three lawsuits involving natural gas releases from horizontal directional drilling, five suits involving alleged mass toxic tort exposure, and the Hyatt Skywalks litigation involving 114 deaths and over 3,000 significant injuries.
• Represented both insurers and policyholders in over 100 disputes involving environmental insurance coverage questions.

Select Environmental Litigation Matters

• Currently is engaged in three mass tort actions in Missouri, Florida and Nebraska involving releases of natural gas with resulting explosions. Tom successfully resolved claims in the Missouri action and, as lead negotiator for the defense and insurer group has crafted a global settlement in the Florida action.
• Represents the largest manager of coal combustion products in the United States in managing insurance issues related to a 78-plaintiff mass toxic tort action in West Virginia and a 500-plaintiff action in Virginia. 

Environmental Advice Overview

• Provided advice to businesses affected by 2015 Gold King Mine disaster and closure of Animas River in Colorado.

• Advised lenders in over 30 engagements on proper management of environmental risks in loan transactions.
• Counseled clients on ten environmental self-audits and permit issues.
• Advised over 50 clients on issues relating to environmental risk programs and proper use of environmental insurance.
• Represented over 50 clients, including borrowers, lenders and trade associations on issues relating to NFIP and flood insurance.
• Lead author, Mortgage Bankers Association white papers on environmental insurance and issues relating to mold in commercial real estate transactions.

Banks and Financial Institutions

Tom advises financial institutions regarding insurance coverage for cyberliability and data breach issues, flood insurance compliance, director and officer liability, including liability for participation on non-board committees, and bond claims. Tom has represented community and regional banks in many class actions based on alleged ATM non-compliance checking account overdraft claims. In addition, Tom is a long time adviser to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, in which he has been actively involved in issues relating to lender liability after foreclosure, mold, insurance, certificates of insurance and other matters vital to real estate owners, lenders and servicers.

Improving the Justice System
Tom also plays a role in improving the justice system, having served as chairman of the Court Advisory Committee and Merit Selection Panel for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, and the Dallas Bar Association Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts. Tom has lectured at the Washington University Schools of Law and Engineering, is the author of publications on insurance issues for lenders and servicers, a textbook on tort law and numerous other articles and publications. He is a frequent speaker for industry and professional groups.