Kurt M. Zitzer

• Selected as one of Arizona's Finest Lawyers (2011)
• Former Editor-in-Chief of The John Marshall Law Review
• Awarded the highest possible Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating, AV® Preeminent ™ (AV is a registered certification mark of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies)

Speaking Engagements

• The Defense and Indemnity of Claims in Arizona, Navigators Group of Companies, San Francisco, California (August 2010)
• Arizona State Bar CLE by the Sea in Scottsdale, Arizona, Ethical Considerations for Law Firm Management (June 2010)
• Arizona State Bar CLE by the Sea in San Diego, California, Minding the Store, Internal Ethics and Liability Management (July 2009)
• Hot Topics in Professional Liability Insurance: Electronic Data and Bad Faith, Professional Liability Underwriting Society in Denver, Colorado (April 2008)
• Insurance Coverage Litigation, National Business Institute (September 2007)
• Claim Notice Requirements Under New York Law (July 2006)
• Construction Defect Claims Handling (July 2005)
• Recent Developments in Design Professional Liability, Professional Liability Underwriting Society in Phoenix, Arizona (October 2004)
• Construction Defect Litigation - A Primer on Claims and Coverage Issues (March 2002)
• Design Professionals - A Primer on Claims and Coverage Issues (December 2001)   

Published Articles

• "Continuous Impact" Best's Review 82 (June 2005)
• "Lost Pay Damages - Employer Liability Grows" Arizona Attorney 44 (April 2002)
• "Illinois Rejects Market Share Liability: A Policy Based Analysis of Smith v. Eli Lilly & Co." 79 Ky. L.J. 617 (1990-91)
• Contributor, "Design-Build Contracts" Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 11-1 (1990)
• "Punitive Damages:  A Cat's Clavicle in Modern Civil Law" 22 J. Marshall L. Rev. 657 (1989)

 Recent Decisions

• Scottsdale Ins. Co. v. R.I. Pools, et al., ___F.Supp.2d ___, 2011 WL 3563169 (D.Conn., August 15, 2011) (holding that insurance company had the right to reimbursement of defense expenses from the insured and awarding the insurance company $200,000)
• Czapski v. Maher, 954 N.E.2d 237 (Ill.App. 1st Dist. 2011) (holding that a test driver of an automobile is a "customer" within meaning of policy exclusion that customers do not qualify as insureds under $5 million dollar commercial umbrella policy, and holding that client had no duty to indemnify any part of a $13.7 million dollar wrongful death verdict)
• Phillips & Associates, P.C. v. Navigators Ins. Co., ___F. Supp. 2d ___, 2011 WL 537509 (D. Ariz., February 11, 2011) (finding that subject to a determination of no coverage, a carrier has the right to recovery from the insured defense and indemnity payments so long as carrier properly reserves those rights)
• Leflet v. Redwood Fire & Casualty Ins. Co., 226 Ariz. 297, 247 P.3d 180 (Ariz.App. 2011) (court restricts the use of Morris agreements and finds insureds who enter into such agreements to the benefit of one carrier and to the detriment of another carrier violate the policy's cooperation clause)
• Goble, et al. v. Beckwith, et al., No. CV2008-051863 (Maricopa County Sup. Ct., Ariz., Dec. 2, 2010) (holding that legal malpractice claims are barred by the statute of limitations because plaintiffs knew or should have known of the damages they sustained as a result of the alleged malpractice more than two years before filing suit)
• College Book Centers, Inc. v. Carefree Foothills Homeowners' Association, 225 Ariz. 533, 241 P.3d 897 (App. 2010) (reversing jury verdict against association that it had waived right to enforce CC&R's and ruling that implied easement claim failed as a matter of law)
• Scottsdale Ins. Co. v. R.I. Pools, Inc., 742 F.Supp.2d 239 (D.Conn. 2010) (holding that insurer did not have a duty to defend and indemnify against 19 claims and lawsuits alleging cracking in the concrete walls and floors of high-end swimming pools because there was no “occurrence” under the CGL policies)
• Nationwide Mutual Fire Ins. Co. v. Jones, 695 F.Supp.2d 978 (D.Ariz. 2010) (motor vehicle exclusion precluded coverage for ATV accident on public street)
• Scottsdale Ins. Co. v. Market Finders Ins. Corp., 2009 WL 5125771 (9th Cir. 2009) (reinstating cause of action for professional negligence against managing general agent)
• Johnson v. Clarke, 2009 WL 3756332 (Ariz. App. 2009) (holding that legal malpractice was time barred by two-year statute of limitation)
• American Safety Cas. Ins. Co. v. City of Waukegan, 2009 WL 855795 (N.D. Ill. 2009) (granting summary judgment to carrier based upon insured's failure to timely tender defense of suit)
• Colony Ins. Co. v. Events Plus, Inc., 585 F.Supp.2d 1148 (D. Ariz. 2008) (granting summary judgment to carrier based upon liquor liability exclusion)
• National Cas. Co. v. Forge Indus. Staffing, Inc., 2008 WL 4874508 (N.D. Ill. 2008) (granting summary judgment to carrier holding that insured was not entitled to "Peppers" counsel)
• Scottsdale Ins. Co. v. City of Waukegan, 2007 WL 2740521 (N.D. Ill. 2007) (granting carrier's motion to dismiss claim of bad faith)
• Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church v. Church Mut. Ins. Co., 2006 WL 18488 (D. Ariz. 2006) (granting carrier's motion for summary judgment dismissing claim for bad faith)