Hon. Morton Denlow (Ret.) joined JAMS following 16 1/2 years of distinguished service as a Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. During his time on the bench, Judge Denlow presided over thousands of matters in both the pretrial and trial stages. He has conducted over 2,000 settlement conferences.
A nationally recognized expert in settling cases, Judge Denlow has continued to prove invaluable to parties involved in intractable disputes at JAMS. His breadth of experience as an advocate, and a settlement-focused judge and successful mediator makes him an ideal choice to mediate the complex case.
Since coming to JAMS in October 2012, Judge Denlow has mediated insurance disputes in a variety of contexts:
Representative Matters
- Agency Dispute
- Settled pre-suit claim alleging refusal to award position as general agent
- Class Action
- $2,039,500 settlement of class action alleging defendant wrongfully denied coverage of claims based on alleged misrepresentations in insurance application
- Coverage
- $4,000,000 pre-suit settlement of five party coverage dispute arising out of an underlying personal injury judgment
- $625,000 settlement of suit alleging duty to defend under a general liability policy and the applicability of a sub-limit endorsement
- $2,250,000 settlement of suit seeking coverage for preservation of property arising out of a pre-flood move of computer data
- $3,725,000 settlement of breach of contract/suit to recover on closing protection letters
- $8,000,000 settlement of insurance coverage claim arising out of underlying settlement of product liability cases
- $550,000 settlement of coverage action involving advertising disparagement coverage
- $1,500,000 settlement of coverage suit involving a Financial Institution Bond
- $4 million settlement of suit involving insurance coverage and valuation dispute arising out of equipment breakdown
- Settled coverage dispute brought by municipality for environmental damage occurring over many years and involving multiple carriers and policies
- $1 million settlement of lawsuit involving coverage under a fidelity policy
- Settled pre-suit dispute arising out of purchase of variable annuities
- Settled suit to recover under Lienholder's Interest Endorsement arising from governmental seizure of insured aircraft
- Conducted mini-trial arising out of suit to recover against excess insurance carrier for damages resulting from reservoir failure
- D&O Policies
- Settled a number of claims, both pre-suit and after commencement of litigation, by the FDIC against former officers and directors of closed banks in which D&O carriers were involved in the settlement
- Settled an insurance coverage suit under a D&O policy for amounts incurred in settling an EPA claim
- $2.7 million settlement of lawsuit brought by bankruptcy trustee against carrier for former officers and directors
- Environmental
- Settled pre-suit claim under commercial liability policy arising out of an explosion involving pollution exclusion issues
- Settled pre-suit insurance claim for indemnity arising out of settlement of underlying environmental suit alleging improper dumping of highway construction materials
- Settled claims for insurance coverage against an insurance carrier for environmental damage
- Rescission
- $382,000 buyout settlement of pre-suit claim seeking rescission of disability and long-term care policies
- Subrogation
- Settled subrogation claim for water damage to commercial building due to alleged defective water sprinkler