News & Events
Recent news & events
Skarzynski Marick Lawyers Recognized as Illinois Super Lawyers and Rising Stars 2023
January 13, 2023Skarzynski Marick & Black LLP is excited to announce that Super Lawyers has named seven attorneys to its 2023 Illinois Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.
Guest Post: Can Exclusive Derivative Forum Selection Provisions Survive Ninth Circuit’s En Banc Review?
January 13, 2023We are pleased to announce a guest post for "The D&O Diary", co-authored by our very own, Sarah Voutyras Rachmel (Partner, Skarzynski Marick & Black LLP) and Melanie Saponara (Claims Manager - Executive Risk, Beazley).
Skarzynski Marick Recognized by U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" 2023
November 8, 2022Skarzynski Marick & Black LLP is pleased to announce that the 2023 Edition of U.S. News - Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" honors the firm for its practice in Insurance Law as a top-ranked national firm and a Metropolitan Tier 1 law firm in Chicago.
2022 ABA Women in Insurance Network (WIN) Regional CLE Program
October 13, 2022Karen M. Dixon will be presenting at the 2022 ABA Women in Insurance Network Regional CLE Program in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, October 13th.
2022 PLUS Cyber University | Fall Session
September 20, 2022John Black will be presenting a webinar at PLUS Cyber University on September 20, 2022.
2022 ABA Business Law Section Annual Meeting
September 15, 2022John Black and Sam Riley will participate in a panel discussion, “The State of Play: The Intersection of Cyber Risks, Government Regulators, War and Criminals” at the ABA Business Law Section Annual Meeting on September 15th.
Delaware Court Dismisses D&O Coverage Suit Based on the Insureds’ Default in an Underlying Class Action
June 7, 2022Skarzynski Marick & Black attorneys Ted Carleton and Juan Luis Garcia, representing Great American Insurance Company, obtained a favorable dismissal in a coverage action in the Delaware Superior Court.
American College of Coverage Counsel (ACCC) 10th Annual Meeting
May 12, 2022Jim Skarzynski will be presenting at the American College of Coverage Counsel (ACCC) 10th Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois on Thursday, May 12th.
2022 Claims Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) Annual Conference
March 24, 2022Cheryl Vollweiler will be speaking and moderating a panel at the 2022 CLM Annual Conference on March 24th in Palm Desert, CA.
2022 DRI Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute
March 21, 2022Mike Marick will co-present the opening speech at DRI’s annual spring coverage program on March 21st in Houston.
2022 PLUS D&O Symposium
March 1, 2022Jim Skarzynski will be moderating a panel on “Current Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation” at the opening session of the 2022 PLUS D&O Symposium at the New York Marriott Marquis on March 1st.
James Skarzynski Honored with the PLUS1 Award by PLUS
February 25, 2022Skarzynski Marick & Black LLP is pleased to announce that James Skarzynski has been honored with the PLUS1 Award by The Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS).
ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee’s 30th Annual Mid-Year Conference
February 25, 2022Cheryl Vollweiler will be presenting at the ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee’s 30th Annual Mid-Year Conference in Phoenix, Arizona on February 25th.
Skarzynski Marick & Black Wins Summary Judgment on Insured Capacity and Uninsurability of Disgorgement
February 2, 2021Skarzynski Marick & Black attorneys Alexis Rogoski, Ted Carleton and Juan Luis Garcia, representing Freedom Specialty Insurance Company, along with other non-settling excess
insurers, obtained favorable rulings on summary judgment in the New York State Supreme Court for the County of New York.
insurers, obtained favorable rulings on summary judgment in the New York State Supreme Court for the County of New York.
Skarzynski Marick Secures Appellate Victory on Duty to Defend Antitrust Lawsuit and Insured’s Claim of Conflict of Interest Requiring Independent Counsel
April 16, 2020The Appellate Court of Illinois published an opinion on April 7, 2020, affirming that Skarzynski Marick’s client did not have a duty to defend antitrust allegations under a CGL policy and that a policyholder’s potential liability in excess of limits did not create a conflict of interest.
Skarzynski Black Welcomes Four New Partners Led by Michael M. Marick to Its Chicago Office and Announces Name Change
February 20, 2019The firm is excited to announce the addition of four partners to our Chicago office, Michael M. Marick, James H. Kallianis, Jr., Karen M. Dixon and Timothy H. Wright, and that it is changing its name to Skarzynski Marick & Black LLP.
Developments and Trends in Lawyers’ Professional Liability Exposures
January 23, 2019Evan Shapiro, Joel Vander Vliet and Andrew Gerow co-authored a comprehensive update on developments in lawyers’ professional liability in Professional Liability Insurance published by the International Risk Management Institute.
Skarzynski Black Wins Judgment on Insured Capacity and Contract Exclusion
December 3, 2018Court enters judgment on the pleadings for Skarzynski Black client, ruling that claims were not made against CEO in his insured capacity and contract exclusion barred coverage for claims against company.
Recent Developments Affecting Professionals’, Officers’ and Directors’ Liability Insurance
April 2, 2018Michael Chester co-authored an article for Volume 52-3 of the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal. The article discusses recent noteworthy court decisions and regulatory actions affecting the potential liability and insurance coverage for a variety of professionals, including corporate directors and officers.
Regulatory Changes May Boost Cosmetics Liability Claims
September 26, 2017Steve Napolitano published an article in Law360 discussing potential legislation that could significantly change how cosmetic products are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Seventh Circuit Affirms Insurer Not Liable for Insured’s Collusive Settlement
August 18, 2017Skarzynski Black prevailed in an appeal of a summary judgment ruling that a settlement by an insured defendant was unenforceable against its insurer.
Skarzynski Black Wins Ruling on Disgorgement
March 29, 2017Skarzynski Black obtains a declaratory judgment ruling, on behalf of an insurer, holding that a D&O policy did not cover settlement payments in the nature of disgorgement.
Skarzynski Black Wins Summary Judgment On Crime Coverage
March 22, 2017Skarzynski Black won summary judgment for Scottsdale Insurance Company on an apparel company’s crime coverage claim in federal court in Los Angeles on the ground that the executive who allegedly stole funds was not an Employee as defined in the Scottsdale policy.
Skarzynski Black Secures Exclusion of Expert Report in Coverage Litigation
March 20, 2017Skarzynski Black won exclusion of a plaintiff’s expert report in federal court as insufficiently detailed to give fair notice of the opinions the expert would testify to at trial.
When One Progressive Loss Ends and Another Begins
January 20, 2017William Kolb published an article in Law360 discussing progressive loss scenarios in property loss claims. The article discusses recent case law developments and the role of expert evidence in obtaining summary judgment.
The Intersection of Bankruptcy and Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance
April 1, 2016Michael Chester wrote an article for the April 2016 issue of Financier Worldwide. The article examines the legal issues arising from disputes over the extent of coverage for D&O liability insurance and the added complications if a corporate bankruptcy is introduced.
Skarzynski Black Defeats Assignee’s Claim under Consent Judgment
March 1, 2016Skarzynski Black attorneys obtained two favorable rulings for their clients in an action for declaratory judgment and breach of contract, resulting in a final judgment and total victory.
Skarzynski Black Wins Summary Judgment on Professional Services Exclusion
September 30, 2015Skarzynski Black won summary judgment in favor of Scottsdale Indemnity Company. See, Strategic Forecasting, Inc. v. Scottsdale Indem. Co., No. 12CV5389JMAARL, 2015 WL 9694796 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2015). Strategic Forecasting involved a data breach class action filed against the Insured (“Stratfor”), an operator of a web-based purveyor of geo-political intelligence content and analysis. SB’s client, Scottsdale, issued a D&O Policy to Stratfor. Stratfor sought coverage for the class action; Scottsdale denied coverage arguing that the Scottsdale Policy’s broad-form professional services exclusion, which excluded coverage for all claims “arising out of” professional services, precluded coverage for the class action. Scottsdale maintained that the operation of a website was inherently a professional service, and claims arising out of the website’s negligent operation were therefore excluded from coverage.
Second Circuit Affirms With Prejudice Dismissal of Antitrust Suit Against SB’s Client
November 19, 2015Skarzynski Black successfully defeated an antitrust suit asserted against its client, a travel agency. The plaintiff in the suit, also a travel agency, alleged that Skarzynski Black’s client interfered with the plaintiff’s relationship as a franchisee of American Express Travel and entered an improper agreement to control the market for discounted first and business class airline tickets.
The SEC's Use of In-house Courts: What it Means for Private Equity Firms
August 1, 2015Sarah Voutyras co-authored an article with Rachel Simon from Swiss Re Corporate Solutions about the impact of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act and resultant initiative launched by the SEC in October 2012.
Skarzynski Black Wins Dismissal of Antitrust Suit
March 23, 2015Skarzynski Black attorneys successfully obtained dismissal of an antitrust action alleging that the firm’s client had conspired with a unit of American Express to restrain trade in the sale of airline tickets. The March 16, 2015 ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York, was a complete win for our client.