Richard W. Brown is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and focuses his litigation practice on insurance coverage disputes—exclusively on the policyholder side. Richard joined Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. more than a decade ago. During that time, he has recovered millions of dollars for policyholder clients under various types of insurance policies, including Commercial Property, Builders Risk, Owners’/Contractors’ Professional & Protective, Directors & Officers, Marine, and Cyber-Risk policies.
Richard has litigated several issues of first impression in multiple jurisdictions, including a New York Court of Appeals decision resolving a critical split of authority on the scope and availability of additional insured coverage, and a Florida federal court case regarding the recovery of attorney fees incurred by an insured in defense of a declaratory judgment action.
Richard represents policyholder clients nationwide on all aspects of insurance coverage in the construction, power and energy, and real estate industries. His clients range from regional construction management contractors and commercial real estate investment and lending firms to a prominent multinational leader in the renewable energy sector.
In addition to his active litigation practice, Richard provides a broad range of legal services to insurance brokers and other corporate clients, including the review and revision of insurance and indemnity terms, comprehensive analysis of risk management programs, and identification of potential operational exposures. Through collaboration with numerous regional and national insurance brokerage clients, Richard remains at the forefront of emerging trends and issues related to insurance procurement and risk transfer. Some of his most notable achievements include:
- Securing a multi-million-dollar recovery on behalf of a regional construction manager for fees incurred in defense of a construction defect claim related to a luxury hotel construction project;
- Orchestrating the successful transfer of multi-million-dollar claims of liability and recovery of fees on behalf of numerous corporate clients to downstream insurers through the trigger of additional insured and insured contract coverage;
- Securing multi-million-dollar recovery from cyber liability insurer for business interruption losses caused by a ransomware attack on the operating systems of an electrical utility provider;
- Successfully securing the dismissal of a general liability insurer’s declaratory judgment action against a General Contractor client and an ongoing defense and seven-figure indemnity payment on behalf of the client against a wrongful death action;
- Securing a favorable settlement for a client in suit against the property insurer for the collapse of an air-supported athletic dome facility caused by the weight of ice and snow;
- Developing and implementing contract language, and a standardized insurance program and policies on behalf of a multi-million-dollar Real Estate Investment Trust.
Richard’s extensive legal experience is further sharpened by his prior business experience and education, having earned a Master's in Business Administration from Quinnipiac University. Prior to joining Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C., Richard was a member of the State & Local Tax group of Big Four public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP (PwC). Richard also served as Corporate Counsel at Franchise World Headquarters, the international franchisor for SUBWAY Restaurants, where he managed complex commercial litigation matters.
Richard is often called upon to advise on the impact of current developments in legislation and case law affecting insurance coverage and risk transfer, and regularly publishes articles and industry guidance regarding novel insurance coverage issues.
