Edwin A. Oster, Esq.

ERISA

• Health care coverage dispute concerning residential addiction treatment excluded under employer's policy but arguably mandated by federal law, conflicting out-of-circuit opinions, case of first impression overlay with continuing claims, replacement policy. Omnibus settlement.
• Long term disability claim brought in federal court, ERISA status disputed, additional standard of review, scope of administrative record and waiver issues as well as disputed underlying disability, settled initially with reference to new IME, subsequent lump sum

Sexual Harassment

• High-salaried plaintiff became one of many targets of sexual harassment after hiring of executive vice-president brought in to "save" the company. HR inaccurately claimed immediate investigation completely exonerated new VP, when the investigation hadn't taken place yet. Multiple other claimants started coming forward. The settlement will serve as a blueprint for pending cases.

Wage and Hour Class Action

• Multi-million dollar class claims and penalties for failure to pay overtime, provide meal periods, rest periods, employee expense reimbursement and accurate wage statements, and including PAGA remedies. All claims resolved in two-phase resolution: initial phase open-ended, second phase closing claims period and providing finality.

Bad Faith

• 3-party healthcare bad faith/coverage dispute for special needs patient through multiple private insurers, coverages, continuing claim issues, settlement preserving overlapping public benefits claim and avoiding reimbursement.
• 4-party bad faith dispute arising out of additional insured status vis-a-vis construction site accident, concurrent implied indemnity and contribution issues, global settlement.
• Individual disability claim bad faith dispute with choice of law overlay, settled, venue in Hartford, CN.
• Owners of subchapter C corporation created a tax-leveraged IRS Section 79 Life Insurance plan with $5 million in death benefits. Although the actual investment performance exceeded policy illustrations for non-guaranteed benefits, the defendants are still potentially liable for breach of fiduciary duty and misrepresentation of guaranteed benefits. Case settled via re-work of existing policy values and modest injection of new money.
• Cumis counsel dispute with multiple underlying, separate cases of franchise terminations, cross-claims, and third parties, settled with buy-outs and cash infusion involving a multinational fast-food chain.
• A life insurance claim involving incomplete policy application, rescission, and missing underwriting, Too many links in the chain between the insurer and insured. All defendants contributed save one, and dismissed by the plaintiff.
• Multi-million dollar life insurance policy involving four institutional defendants — devised sliding scale of participation, breaking impasse, and resulting in settlement.

Coverage

• 7-party, 4 consolidated actions - underlying catastrophic worksite injury, breach of contract, contractual indemnity and declaratory relief coverage actions, multiple sessions, 6 months of post-session follow-up culminating in global settlement.
• 3-party coverage dispute arising out of premises water damage, multiple policies and carriers with overlapping coverage and claims for property damage, business interruption and liability exposure, settled with high-low structure.
• High-dollar individual disability policy dispute, initial payments followed by claim denial, subsequent admitted partial disability but continued fraud and non-cooperation defenses, Social Security and Medicare overlay, settled without jeopardizing continuing collateral sources.
• Pre-litigation, 7-figure property damage claim for vandalism and theft with substantial uninsured component resolved reserving insured's third-party rights.
• High six-figure life insurance policy proceeds prematurely distributed to new stepdaughter beneficiaries because of unilateral change of beneficiaries without knowledge of spouse/stepmother, the former beneficiary. Policy was community property and despite change of beneficiary, spouse/stepmother had rights to 1/2 of distribution under Nevada law if Nevada law applied. Case filed in California but the parties where domiciled in Nevada, Colorado and California. To obtain agreement of the parties it was necessary to reconcile the choice of law, conflict of laws and insurance law conflicts, as well as the longstanding family conflicts. Case resolved during mediation.
• Successfully mediated a highly emotional, conflicting claims to 7-figure life insurance proceeds arising from underlying murder, kidnapping, and divorce.
• Mediated 9-party fire loss across multiple condominiums caused by laser engraver operated in garage. Inadequate insurance resources to cover negligence, products liability and breach of CC&Rs claims. Settled by creating classes of claimants and defendants with pro-rata recovery in negotiated percentages.
• A case involving data loss/reconstruction, business interruption, and bad faith claims, complicated by contamination of server, bankruptcy, and liquidation of the business.

Directors and Officers

• Cross-over attorney malpractice/D&O claims in hospitals liquidation in bankruptcy, creditors’ claims disputes, six insurers over many years, and painstakingly settled one by one.

Inter Carrier Dispute

• Six years of litigation resolved in one day of mediation. Multi-year dispute between a consortium of out-of-network providers and a healthcare insurer with cross-claims and counterclaims.

Subrogation

• Mediated severe jet aircraft damage claim caused by storm-toppled trees. Resolved negligence liability as well as indemnity and coverage disputes arising out of contract and co-insured status.
• Water damage resulting from the flooding of a condominium complex. There were multiple defendants. Settlement occurred as a result of the creation of a double-blind contribution protocol.

Real Property

• Multi-party dispute involving real estate limited partnership for financing, acquisition, development and ownership of mixed-used retail and residential development. Conflicts involved 3 core disputes with multiple sub-parts. Key to successful resolution of what was becoming a prohibitively expensive litigation fiasco was breakdown into more than a dozen discreet components and serial resolution of those.
• Community standing and culture overlay on pre-litigation dispute among Vietnamese businesswomen operating elder care facilities. Some form of buy-out and dissolution the best answer, but substantial cooperation needed from hostile parties to unwind transaction without severely jeopardizing the business assets, primarily real property and contracts but also goodwill and licensing. Community standing post-dissolution was as or more important than dollars involved. Dispute/dissolution fully resolved in half-day session.

Catastrophic Injury

• Severe construction site injury, multiple defendants on res ipsa theory, liability disputed amongst defendants as well as dispute re LOE, multiple sessions, settled for slightly less than $2,000,000.

Policy Distribution

• Tractor trailer going full speed plows into 6 vehicles, setting off chain reaction. Limited insurance limit informally offered only if all B/I and PD claims could settle simultaneously without litigation. Major complication was that lacking any discovery, none of the claimants knew of the degree of severity of other claims, so each demanded an over-sized share of the proceeds. Case settled in one session.

Product Liability

• Crossover case of products liability, worker's comp., and third-party negligence involving an arm crushed by an industrial plastic bag winder. Unusual cross-complaints and liens compounded division of responsibility, which included a substantial comparative fault factor. Resolved in one session.