Daniel J. Lynn

Daniel Lynn is a Partner in the Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Practice Group. He is a seasoned insurance coverage attorney with extensive experience advising insurers and litigating complex coverage disputes nationwide. Dan's practice focuses on Commercial General Liability, Pollution Legal Liability, professional liability, and excess and umbrella coverage matters. He represents insurance company clients in high-stakes litigation arising from environmental, toxic tort, construction defect, and professional liability claims in state and federal courts across the United States. In addition to litigation, Dan provides strategic coverage analysis, risk assessment, and guidance during mediation and settlement negotiations.

Recognized for both his legal ability and ethical standards, Dan holds an AV^® Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell^®. In 2022, he was elected a Fellow of the American College of Coverage and Extra-Contractual Counsel, an invitation-only organization composed of leading insurance coverage attorneys from the United States and Canada.

Before concentrating his practice on insurance coverage matters, Dan handled a broad range of litigation, including insurance defense, medical malpractice, corporate disputes, intellectual property, employment matters, and tobacco litigation. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia's Trial Advocacy College, one of the nation's premier trial advocacy programs for practicing attorneys.

Prior to joining the Firm, Daniel led the following representative matters for his clients:

• Represented Insurance Company in a declaratory judgment action in the Eastern District of Virginia involving coverage under a contractor’s Pollution Liability Policy for a third-party claim brought against Insured for damages for contamination of plastic pellets during transfer from a rail car to a tank trailer. Obtained the dismissal of the action on the grounds that the “contamination” of the third-party’s plastic pellets was not the result of a “Pollution Condition” as defined in the Policy.
• Assisted Insurance Company client to evaluate coverage under a Scheduled Location Pollution Liability Policy issued to Insured in consolidated lawsuits filed in Texas State Court by property owners alleging claims arising out of odor, noise and fly infestation emanating from a concentrated animal feeding operation in Texas. Assisted the insurer client in supporting its coverage position, including reliance on an independent counsel provision re: limitation of defense fees, and in successfully filing a Petition to Intervene (granted) into the lawsuits to submit proposed jury instructions and a special verdict form with written interrogatories to the Court for presentation to the jury for the purpose of ascertaining whether any damages awarded by the jury, if any, are awarded to compensate Plaintiffs’ claims fall within the coverage provided by the client’s Policy.

• Successfully resolved declaratory judgment action in Massachusetts which included allegations of Breach of Contract and Statutory and Common law Bad Faith against insurer client in allegedly improperly failing to provide a coverage determination and/or fully reimburse Plaintiffs for costs expended to remediate certain 1,4 dioxane contamination at their North Carolina and Florida manufacturing facilities. The Pollution Legal Liability Select Policy contained an exclusion for “clean-up costs” for 1,4 dioxane, which the insured attempted to sidestep by referring to the 1,4 dioxane “clean-up costs” as damages for “property damage,” not subject to the exclusion.
• Represented insurance company in a breach of contract action filed in federal court in Texas by an insured alleging wrongful denial of additional coverage under a Commercial General Liability and Pollution Legal Liability policy and Commercial Umbrella policy in litigation arising from a chlorine gas release. Successfully briefed and obtained summary judgment from the trial court based on application of the “Covered by Other Coverages” exclusion (upheld on appeal).
• Represented an insurer in a declaratory judgment action in Southern District of Florida seeking coverage under consecutive Storage Tank Third Party Liability, Corrective Action and Cleanup Policies for contamination at a gas station in Florida. Obtained motion for summary judgment on earlier issued policy on the grounds that Insured failed to timely report the claim during the policy period and that the federally mandated extended reporting period (40 C.F.R. 280.97 (b)(2)(2)(e)) did not apply.
• Represented insurance company in a declaratory judgment action involving coverage (defense and indemnity) in Florida State Court under a Florida Storage Tank Third-Party Liability, Corrective Action and Cleanup Policy. Successfully moved for dismissal, with prejudice, of coverage claim based upon the application of the “Choice of Law and Forum” provision requiring that litigation, arbitration, or other form of dispute resolution take place in the State of New York (upheld on appeal).