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  • The Shield Surrounding Online Retailers: An Update on the Prime Strategies Utilized by Cyber Stores to Deflect Accountability
    NASP Annual Conference (Orlando, FL)
    November 12, 2018
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The Subrogation Strategist

Christopher Konzelmann Partner

 
Philadelphia, PA | Direct 215.864.6334 | Fax 215.789.7636
konzelmannc@whiteandwilliams.com
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Chris is a senior partner in the Subrogation Department where he began his legal career in 1990. He regularly acts as lead counsel in subrogation matters throughout the United States. His practice is focused on investigating and litigating fire losses for insurance carriers and he has recovered more than one hundred million dollars for his clients.

Chris is a frequent speaker on subrogation related topics. He is an active member of the National Association of Subrogation Professionals and a regular presenter at both the Annual and Litigation Skills and Management Conferences. Chris is a Certified Instructor with the International Association of Arson Investigators and an attorney instructor in the organization’s Expert Witness Courtroom Testimony two and a half day fire investigator training program. He has also developed two-eight hour educational training programs for the Association, “Investigating and Litigating Fire Losses for Subrogating Insurers” and “Giving Stronger Deposition and Trial Testimony” which he presents to local IAAI chapters.

Chris is one of the few subrogation lawyers who is an active state certified interior structural firefighter, fire officer, and fire instructor. He is a Captain in the Moorestown Fire Department in Burlington County, New Jersey where he responds to approximately 200 calls per year and has training, operational, and supervisory fire ground responsibilities. 

Representative Matters

Chris has investigated and litigated numerous multi-million dollar fire losses involving industrial sites, warehouses, office buildings, condominium complexes, apartment complexes, grain silos, restaurants, and residential properties.

  • Litigating $70 million subrogation claim arising from a warehouse fire in New York
  • Litigating $40 million subrogation claim arising from a fertilizer manufacturing facility fire in Pennsylvania
  • Litigating $15 million subrogation claim arising from a transformer recycling facility fire in New York
  • Litigated $5.5 million subrogation claim arising from a fire at a cold storage warehouse facility fire in New Jersey
  • Litigated $35 million subrogation claim arising from apartment complex fire in Pennsylvania
  • Litigated $9 million subrogation claim arising from fire in 36,000 square foot mansion in New Jersey
  • Litigated $8 million subrogation claim arising from grain storage silo fire in Ohio
  • Litigated $7.5 million subrogation claim arising from County owned historic building fire in New Jersey
  • Litigated $6 million subrogation claim arising from dining hall fire at summer camp in Maine
  • Litigated $3.5 million subrogation claim arising from house fire in Connecticut
  • Litigated $3 million subrogation claim arising from dock collapse in New York
  • Litigated $2.7 million subrogation claim arising from chimney fire in Georgia
  • Litigated $2.6 million subrogation claim arising from building fire in New York
  • Litigated $2.5 million subrogation claim arising from mill fire in Michigan
  • Litigated $2.5 million subrogation claim arising from restaurant fire in Massachusetts
  • Litigated $2.1 million subrogation claim arising from warehouse fire in Wisconsin
  • Litigated $2 million subrogation claim arising from collapse of television station transmission tower in Pennsylvania
  • Litigated $2 million subrogation claim arising from warehouse fire in New Jersey
  • Litigated $1.9 million subrogation claim arising from roof failure in Delaware
  • Litigated $1.5 million subrogation claim arising from jewelry store burglary in Texas
  • Litigated $1.3 million subrogation claim arising from roof fire in the District of Columbia
  • Litigated $1.2 million subrogation claim arising from fast food restaurant fire in California
  • Litigated $1 million subrogation claim arising from boardwalk fire in Maryland
  • Litigated $1 million subrogation claim arising from partial roof collapse in New Jersey
  • Litigated $950,000 subrogation loss arising from ventilation fan fire in Pennsylvania
  • Oversaw forensic investigations of numerous high dollar losses that did not result in litigation against responsible third parties
  • Investigated and litigated numerous losses where the damages did not exceed $1 million

Recognition & Involvement

Chris is a volunteer with the Moorestown Fire Department in Burlington County, New Jersey, where he responds to approximately 200 incidents per year. He is a qualified driver/operator of the Department’s Engines and Ladder Truck. Chris has been a line officer since 2009 and currently holds the rank of Captain where he is responsible for crew supervision during incidents and station level training.

Since 2012, Chris has been selected in a survey of his peers as a Pennsylvania "Super Lawyer" by Super Lawyers.

Events

  • The Shield Surrounding Online Retailers: An Update on the Prime Strategies Utilized by Cyber Stores to Deflect Accountability
    NASP Annual Conference (Orlando, FL)
    November 12, 2018
  • Effective Deposition and Trial Testimony
    International Association of Arson Investigators (Indianapolis, IN)
    August 20, 2018
  • Investigating and Litigating Fire Losses for Subrogation Carriers
    Englewood, CO
    July 30, 2018
  • Standard of Care in Fire Loss Litigation
    NASP Subrogation Litigation: Skills & Management Conference (New Orleans, LA)
    March 22, 2018
  • Fire Scene Safety, Preservation, and Relationships: Three Keys to a Safe and Successful Fire Investigation
    NASP Annual Conference (Austin, TX)
    November 7, 2017
  • What Happens After Suppression?
    Burlington County Fire Marshal’s Association (Westampton, NJ)
    September 28, 2017
  • Litigating Fire Losses: What Origin and Cause Consultants Should Know
    International Association of Arson Investigators (Ames, Iowa)
    September 14, 2017
  • Emerging Trends in Water-Related Construction Defect Litigation
    National Association of Subrogation Professionals – Subrogation Litigation Skills and Management Conference (Scottsdale, AZ)
    April 27, 2017
  • Investigating and Litigating Fire Losses for Subrogated Insurance Carriers
    International Association of Arson Investigators International Training Conference (Las Vegas, NV)
    April 2017
  • Expert Witness Courtroom Testimony
    International Association of Arson Investigators (Crofton, MD)
    January 7, 2017
  • Giving Better Depositions
    International Association of Arson Investigators – New Jersey Chapter (Sayreville, NJ)
    October 12, 2016
  • Live Burn to Learn
    Chester County Public Safety Training Facility (Coatesville, PA)
    September 16, 2016
  • Expert Witness Courtroom Testimony
    International Association of Arson Investigators (Crofton, MD)
    September 7, 2016
  • Evaluating Subrogation Claims Against Contractors
    In-house Seminar
    May 25, 2016
  • Don’t Let Negative Corpus Take The Spark Out of Your Expert’s Causation Opinion
    National Association of Subrogation Professionals (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
    April 7, 2016
  • Proving a Product Malfunction Case
    10th Annual National Property Subrogation Strategies ExecuSummit (Uncasville, CT)
    April 9-10

Practice areas

Bar and Court Admissions

Pennsylvania

District of Columbia

New Jersey

New York

Education

Widener University School of Law, JD, 1990

LaSalle University, BA, 1987 

Memberships

National Association of Subrogation Professionals

The Loss Executives Association

National Fire Protection Association

International Association of Arson Investigators

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