Richard W. Brown is an experienced coverage attorney who has earned the respect of clients and peers alike through his commitment to providing practical legal advice and the highest level of service of clients. He has assisted clients in recovering insurance proceeds under various forms of insurance coverage, including commercial property (business interruption) and general liability (CGL) policies, employment practices liability (EPL), directors & officers (D&O), cyber risk, errors & omissions (E&O), and marine coverages. Rich focuses his practice on all aspects of insurance coverage and risk transfer in the franchising and construction industries, representing commercial policyholders, including owners, developers, and public utilities in litigation and the negotiation of insurance disputes in New York, New Jersey and nationwide. Rich has worked with both franchisors and franchisees, providing a broad range of legal services, including review and revision of FDD insurance and indemnity terms, analysis of franchisor's insurance program and identification of potential operational exposures. He is frequently called upon to advise on the impact of current developments in legislation and case law affecting risk transfer.
Rich's litigation and appellate practice includes the successful resolution of coverage disputes in multiple jurisdictions, including a number of issues of first impression in New York insurance law regarding the scope and trigger of additional insured coverage and whether defective construction constitutes an occurrence under a CGL policy. He frequently collaborates with, and provides counsel to, insurance brokerage clients on insurance procurement and risk transfer generally, and he regularly speaks and authors articles on a variety of insurance coverage issues.
Before joining the SDV team, Rich served as corporate counsel at Franchise World headquarters, international franchiser for SUBWAY Restaurants, where he managed complex commercial litigation matters. He currently resides with his family in Orange, Connecticut.
"We are extremely proud of our strategic partnership with SDV. To that end, we have worked very closely with Rich since the onset of our relationship. Rich has been a true asset to our team providing superb legal advice and thoughtful guidance around complex issues. He has been a cornerstone of the partnership and we cannot express how much we appreciate him ." - Mary B
