John H.
Fontham
(Jack)

Served as trial and appellate counsel for The Coca-Cola Company in Cleaver-Brooks, Inc., et al. v. AIU Ins. Co., et al., 351 Wis.2d 643, 839 N.W.2d 882 (Wis. App. 2013), rev. denied, 846 N.W.2d 15 (Wis. 2014), successfully securing a judgment that jointly and severally liable insurers who sold their policies as part of a single block of coverage cannot insist upon prorating their liability and cannot force the policyholder to choose only one policy to pay at a time.

Represented the owners of an 898-megawatt coal-fired power plant in central Texas in connection with claims under a construction all-risk/delay-in-start-up policy issued by London- and Europe-based insurers for losses resulting from severe damage to a boiler during construction of the plant.

Represented a leading healthcare services provider in the adjustment and mediation of a large property loss and business interruption claim arising out of the shutdown and eventual closure of a pharmaceutical repackaging facility due to FDA-compliance-related issues.

Represented the largest U.S. dental practice management company and certain affiliated dental practices in insurance coverage litigation against their dental professional liability insurer in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, seeking coverage for two putative class action lawsuits and other underlying claims.

Represented the former parent of a company in litigation against numerous primary and excess general liability insurers involving insurance coverage for several hundred thousand asbestos-related claims against the former subsidiary, and secured a final declaratory judgment directing that the defendant insurers are jointly and severally liable for the full amount of the cost to defend and indemnify any covered asbestos-related claim; that the policyholder has the right to choose the policy under which it wishes to invoke coverage for each claim; and that the excess insurance policies may be triggered by vertical, rather than horizontal, exhaustion.

Representing Pneumo Abex LLC in insurance coverage litigation against numerous primary and excess general liability insurers in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and related arbitration and mediation proceedings seeking coverage for underlying asbestos-related bodily injury claims.

Represented Chevron Corporation in the adjustment of a claim under an offshore construction all-risk policy issued by London- and Europe-based insurers for losses arising out of construction problems on a deepwater development in the Gulf of Mexico.

Advised a multinational electric utility company on insurance coverage matters arising from an explosion at a power plant in Monterrey, Mexico.

Represented a healthcare services provider in the adjustment of a large property loss and business interruption claim arising out of a product recall and closure of a pharmaceutical repackaging facility.

Represented The Coca-Cola Company in litigation in federal court against a consortium of European insurers seeking coverage for more than $100 million paid in the settlement of a race discrimination class action.

Represented a Fortune 50 company in connection with various insurance coverage, indemnity and subrogation disputes relating to its use of captive insurance for certain layers of automobile and truckers' liability coverage.

Advised a Fortune 10 multinational conglomerate on the restructuring of its domestic and international property insurance programs and, in particular, the drafting of reinsurance and retrocession agreements for the client’s captive insurance company.