Internationally known for his successful litigation and arbitration strategies, Adam Ziffer litigates for policyholders and counsels clients on a range of insurance-related issues. Adam litigates some of the most cutting-edge, precedent-setting insurance coverage cases in trial and appellate courts nationwide, as well as in London and Bermuda arbitrations. They include privacy liability, employee dishonesty, first-party, errors and omissions, directors and officers, product liability, asbestos, environmental, and employment coverage matters.
Recently, Adam won a significant ruling for Viacom Inc. (now Paramount Global), establishing that its insurers could not avoid covering a $122.5 million settlement of litigation stemming from the Viacom-CBS merger by relying on a “bump-up” exclusion. He is also currently representing Walmart in its claim for billions of dollars in coverage for opioid-related liability. Adam and the Cohen Ziffer team recently defeated efforts by dozens of Walmart’s insurers to dismiss the action, and earned a ruling establishing Walmart’s right to coverage for defense costs in thousands of opioid-related lawsuits. The Arkansas court’s precedent-setting decision addressed multiple issues of first impression under Arkansas law.
Some of Adam’s other recent successes include obtaining summary judgment for Immunomedics in Delaware Superior Court, establishing that the underlying claim at issue triggered a new and viable tower of coverage. Adam also recently prevailed in a forum battle on behalf of Institutional Venture Partners, defeating a motion to dismiss the policyholder’s Delaware action, and obtaining a stay of the insurers’ competing California suit.
Some of Adam’s other notable work includes securing a landmark decision for TIAA-CREF in an insurance coverage lawsuit that addressed whether liability policies can protect against lawsuits that seek disgorgement for policyholders’ alleged unfair business practices. Adam won a landmark decision that New York law did not prohibit indemnification of TIAA-CREF, clarifying that a civil settlement of disgorgement claims is an insurable loss. He first-chaired the subsequent jury trial, obtained a verdict worth $50 million, and successfully argued the appeal in Delaware Supreme Court, which affirmed the verdict unanimously.
Adam also secured a summary judgment victory for Medidata Solutions Inc. in one of the first federal decisions regarding coverage for email spoofing under a commercial crime insurance policy. Existing law did not speak to whether computer fraud coverage covered such a loss, and the resulting ruling had significant implications for insurance coverage of cyber-scams.
Adam is recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA and The Legal 500, and has been named an Insurance MVP by Law360, a Leading Litigator by Lawdragon, as well as an Elite Boutique Trailblazer, a Plaintiffs’ Attorney Trailblazer, and a Litigation Trailblazer by The National Law Journal.
Education: Fordham University School of Law (JD); University of Florida (BS)
Practice Areas: Complex Commercial Litigation • Insurance
Updated Aug 2024
