Matthew Paradowski

Matt Paradowski is a litigator specializing in complex commercial insurance disputes, representing carriers, agents, and corporate insureds in jurisdictions throughout the United States. These disputes involve commercial general liability policies, commercial umbrella and excess liability policies, commercial auto liability policies, and professional liability policies. Mr. Paradowski also defends carriers from lawsuits alleging extra-contractual liability and bad faith, and regularly advises clients on handling and responding to Stowers settlement demands under Texas law.

Mr. Paradowski has significant experience in complex “other insurance,” “additional insured,” and priority of coverage disputes at times involving dozens of carriers and multiple towers of insurance. Over the course of his career, Mr. Paradowski has drafted numerous  coverage opinions involving these and numerous other coverage issues.

In addition to complex insurance coverage matters, Mr. Paradowski has also represented commercial clients in both state and federal courts in lawsuits alleging breach of contract, unfair trade practices, fraud, and other business torts, on behalf of a breadth of commercial clients including auto parts distributors, radio stations, energy companies and municipalities.

Mr. Paradowski currently serves as Managing Editor of Right Off the Press, the leading online newsletter concerning developments in Texas insurance law, and as a Managing Editor of the Journal of Texas Insurance Law. In 2019, Mr. Paradowski was elected to the governing Council of the Insurance Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.

Representative Experience

• Representation of commercial umbrella liability insurer in dispute with competing umbrella liability insurer for coverage for multi-million-dollar settlement arising out of a trucking accident wrongful death claim

• Representation of commercial liability insurer in dispute with potential additional insured and its liability insurer involving complex cross-indemnity and additional insured obligations in connection with a forklift accident wrongful death claim

• Representation of commercial excess liability insurer in dispute with insured general contractor concerning coverage for $20 Million property damage claim and in related pursuit of allocation of the loss to the insured’s subcontractors’ liability insurers

• Obtained summary judgment in federal district court on behalf of commercial general liability insurer finding no coverage for multi-million-dollar arbitration award against insured general contrator

• Obtained summary judgment in Texas state court on behalf of insurance broker against suit by an insured oil company alleging failure to procure proper coverage for oil well blowout losses

• Representation of commercial umbrella liability insurer in Louisiana state court in connection with coverage for over $50 million claim for serious injuries to minor children as a result of trucking accident

• Representation of commercial umbrella insurer in Mississippi federal court concerning dispute as to whether driver in serious trucking accident qualified as an insured under insurer’s policy

• Representation of commercial liability insurer of multiple subcontractors in complex allocation of defense and indemnity losses in $30 million construction defect dispute involving numerous indemnity, anti-indemnity, additional insured, and priority of coverage disputes

• Representation of commercial excess liability insurer in lawsuit involving multiple towers of insurance and over $300 million in alleged damages in connection with insured’s liability for losses arising from the largest wildfire in Texas history

• Representation of commercial excess liability insurer in federal district court in Louisiana in coverage dispute for class action lawsuit against insured for violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act

• Representation of professional liability insurer of management company of a senior living facility in dispute with owners of facility and its liability insurers in connection with priority of coverage for liability for numerous wrongful death claims arising from serial killings on premises

Professional

Elected Member – Insurance Law Council of the State Bar of Texas

State Bar of Texas

Dallas Bar Association

American Bar Association

Texas Association of Defense Counsel

PUBLICATIONS

Resolving Commercial Liability “Other Insurance” Disputes: Try Harder or Try Not At All? 16 Tex. J. Ins. L. 12 (2018)

Stowers after Patterson: Same as it Ever Was? Texas Insurance Law Section Case Notes (2017)