Erica J. Kerstein

Partner

  • Overview

    Biography

    Erica Kerstein focuses her practice on complex insurance matters, with particular emphasis in the areas of financial lines, bad faith, commercial general liability and first-party property. Her extensive experience includes matters involving environmental, professional liability, general liability, and other claims, both counseling and representing clients in high-profile matters. Erica is a member of the firm’s Insurance + Reinsurance Group.

    Insurance Coverage Arbitration and Litigation

    Erica represents domestic and foreign insurers and reinsurers in litigation across the United States, both in federal and state courts. She also represents insurers before arbitration panels and mediators in the United States and abroad, with a particular focus on Bermuda and London arbitrations of complex insurance coverage issues. She has litigated and arbitrated many of the insurance industry's fundamental dispute issues, including restitution, disgorgement, consent, reasonableness, allocation, subrogation, misrepresentation, warranty/rescission, late notice, prior notice, exhaustion, bad faith, professional services exclusion, owned property exclusion, prior or pending litigation exclusion, pollution exclusion and enforcement of arbitration provisions. In addition, Erica has represented public companies, financial services firms and individuals in securities enforcement matters, internal investigations, and compliance matters. 

    Erica is known for engaging with her clients in an incisive, efficient and responsive manner. She is a sought-after speaker and has published articles on a broad range of insurance-related topics.

     

  • Experience
    • Experience

      Experience

      • Successfully represented an insurance company in a Bermuda arbitration involving D&O coverage for the settlement of a complex underlying litigation, which involved questions of New York law, including whether the underlying action involved a "Securities Claim" as defined by the policy, whether the exposure to the risk constituted restitution/disgorgement, consent to settlement issues, reasonableness of the settlement, allocation of covered and uncovered costs, the "insured v. insured" exclusion and subrogation. *

      • Obtained summary judgment in a California state court where the judge ruled that, under California law, the professional services exclusion barred coverage for equitable subrogation, equitable contribution and equitable indemnity claims. *

      • Provided regular coverage advice to various Bermuda and London insurers for first-party and third-party liability claims arising out of the Deepwater Horizon incident. *

      • Represented an international insurance company in bankruptcy litigation concerning a purported assignment of rights to seek insurance coverage under policies that were assigned by the insured to the liquidating trust. *

      • Represented an insurance company in a London arbitration with respect to a coverage dispute over a major environmental catastrophe, which involved questions of New York law, including misrepresentation, warranty, consent to settle and the "owned property" exclusion. *

      • Reached successful settlement for major international insurer on claim relating to coverage for Adverse Publicity arising from food contamination and Avian flu. *

      • Represented an insurance company in an international arbitration involving insurance coverage for a complex securities class action settlement. *

      • Represented a products liability insurer in several trials regarding the extent to which it was liable for defense costs incurred by its insured in over 200 lawsuits around the country. *

      • Performed a comprehensive review of a reinsurance company's internal controls. *

      • Represented the special committee of a public media company’s board of directors in a comprehensive internal investigation and resulting litigation in Delaware, Illinois, and Canada. The investigation and ensuing civil litigation resulted in ousting former senior management, the company obtaining nearly two hundred million dollars in recoveries, and criminal convictions of the company’s former senior management. *

      • * Attorney Kerstein was counsel in these representative transactions prior to joining Robinson+Cole.

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    • Professional Associations

      Professional Associations

      Professional Liability Underwriting Society
    • Honors + Awards

      Honors + Awards

      Presented with a certificate of recognition for dedicated service to the New York State Courts Access to Justice Program as part of the New York County Lawyers Association, New York State Bar Association and New York State Unified Court System’s Office for Justice Initiatives 2023 Pro Bono Awards.

  • NEWS + PRESS
    • Presentations

      Presentations

      "Claims Collaboration, Negotiation, and Sometimes, Litigation: A Liability Claims Toolkit for Young (and Experienced) Lawyers," during the American Bar Association Section of Litigation’s virtual “2021 Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Seminar" (3/5/2021)
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    • News

      R+C in the News

      • October 20, 2023

        R+C Lawyers Recognized for Pro Bono Service Provided to the New York State Courts Access to Justice Program

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      R+C News Releases