Steven D. Urgo Associate

Steven Urgo's practice includes litigation and counseling on broad areas such as insurance law, environmental law and professional liability for architects and engineers.

Steven has served as in-house counsel for two multinational specialty lines insurers that provided liability insurance policies for environmental, contractor and design professional risks on an admitted and excess and surplus lines basis.  He was also formerly in private practice in Philadelphia where he represented clients in complex insurance coverage matters, environmental matters and in complex commercial litigation.

While in law school, Steven clerked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, and at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc.

Insurance

Steven has authored thousands of coverage opinions on complex coverage issues involving all lines of coverage including general liability, environmental liability and professional liability. Steven co-authored an amicus brief in AllAmerica Financial Corporation v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, 449 Mass. 621 ( 2007), for the Supreme Judicial Court for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, involving an issue of national first impression regarding the duties of follow-form excess insurers. 

Steven has litigated complex coverage issues in state and federal courts in connection with construction defect claims, mold claims, environmental claims and interpretation of a wide range of coverage issues, including bad faith claims.

Steven assists underwriters in risk management in understanding complex risks associated with emerging technologies, such as Business Information Modeling (BIMS) and hydraulic fracturing.  Risk management analysis also focuses on assessing contractual indemnity provisions and other contractual risk shifting mechanisms.  

In addition to liability coverage, Steven also has significant experience in first-party property coverage issues, e.g., business interruption and extra expense covers, arising from catastrophic losses such as building collapse, fires, hurricanes and the World Trade Center Terrorist Attacks. 

Steven's policy drafting experience includes manuscript EIL, CGL, AL, PL and contractor policies and endorsements covering all types of risks, including those of owners and operators of storage tanks, motor carriers, contractors, design professionals, developers and facility owner/operators.  Steven has also drafted and analyzed various types of reinsurance contracts.

Environmental

Steven regularly negotiates environmental fines, penalties and notices of violation with regulators involving alleged violation of federal and state laws. He assists manufacturers, landowners, developers, casino gaming interests and motor carriers in negotiating or obtaining all types of environmental permits, including wetland jurisdictional determinations, NPDES permits and NJDEP permits to transport solid waste through New Jersey’s A-901 program.

He represents buyers, sellers, developers and lending institutions in the transfer and redevelopment of contaminated sites, such as Brownfield sites.  He regularly drafts and negotiates risk transfer mechanisms, such as indemnity agreements or manuscript environmental insurance liability and “cost-cap” policies to facilitate real estate transfers and redevelopment projects.  He also represents property owners and developers in cost recovery litigation, as well as in litigation involving Superfund, ACT 2 and the New Jersey Spill Act.   

Construction

Steven has handled hundreds of construction defect claims involving residential and commercial construction projects such as condominiums, developments, airports, power generating stations, high-rise buildings, transportation projects and other infrastructure projects.  He has handled losses arising from defective work and/or building materials, geotechnical issues, water intrusion, and structural failure. 

His professional liability experience includes claims made against architects and engineers and arising from domestic and international projects such as transportation systems, treatment works, construction projects and other industrial facilities.

Steven represents owners, developers, contractors and other entities in assessing, drafting and negotiating construction contracts, with emphasis on defense and indemnification provisions and insurance requirements. 

Representative Matters

• Represented one of the world’s largest wind turbine generating companies in connection with reducing a Clean Air Act penalty of $1.3 million by more than half
• Represented the purchaser of a multi-million dollar pharmaceutical manufacturing facility undergoing RCRA Corrective Action
• Negotiated and drafted agreements and insurance policies in connection with an Israeli petroleum company’s multi-million dollar acquisition of a U.S. downstream distribution network and a major British-based pharmaceutical company’s divestiture of over 100 sites constituting its former worldwide manufacturing facilities

Recognition & Involvement

Steven is AV® Preeminent™ rated by the Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating system.