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18 ¦ DECEMBER 21, 2020 NEWS

¦ From INSURANCE on PAGE 17 against Arch Insurance Co. and
counsel leading the Society Insur- United Specialty Insurance Co.
ance cases, spearheaded efforts to over canceled season ski passes.
coordinate cases against Erie in The U.S. Judicial Panel on Derek Potts, of Potts Law Firm
the Eastern District of Pennsylva- Multidistrict Litigation
in Houston, had moved to trans-
nia. As have other insurers facing ordered coordination fer the cases against Generali to

business interruption claims, Erie of about two dozen the Eastern District of Texas be-
had opposed an MDL but, in the lawsuits bringing business fore Chief Judge Rodney Gilstrap.
event the panel disagreed, sug- Generali, represented by Bronwyn
gested the Western District of interruption claims Pollock, a Mayer Brown partner
Pennsylvania. in Los Angeles, called the MDL
against Erie Insurance to petition “gamesmanship,” accus-
The Western District of Penn- the Western District of ing plaintiffs firms of coordinating
sylvania is the “clear center of Pennsylvania and a dozen with one another to inflate the
gravity for this litigation,” the cases against Generali to case count.
panel concluded, appointing U.S. the Southern District of

District Chief Judge Mark Hornak New York. The panel chose U.S. District

to oversee the cases. Judge John Koeltl, of the Southern
In the other order, the panel District of New York, where Gen-
created a multidistrict litigation erali has U.S. headquarters. ¦
proceeding for a dozen cases against Generali, the
U.S. branch of Italian conglomerate Assicurazio- Amanda Bronstad is the ALM staff reporter cov-
ni Generali Group, which provided insurance for ering class actions and mass torts nationwide.
bookings on vacation rental site Vrbo. Those cases, She writes the email dispatch Critical Mass. She
according to the order, are more akin to the MDLs is based in Los Angeles.

CCM Recognizes Lawyers as ‘Municipal
Champions’

By Michael Marciano

The Connecticut Conference of Municipali- “CCM’s 2020 Municipal Champions showed
ties honored four Connecticut attorneys this outstanding service and commitment to Con-
month as CCM’s “Municipal Champions” for necticut towns and cities,” said Joe DeLong, CCM
2020 for their work on executive orders from Gov. Executive Director and CEO. “They put in count-
Ned Lamont’s office that have impacted cities and less hours on the complex issues related to over 80
towns during the COVID-19 pandemic. executive orders from the governor and worked
The accolades were announced at CCM’s recent tirelessly behind the scenes with CCM and
statewide convention, held virtually Dec. 1-3 for lo- our member municipal leaders over the last 10
cal leaders of Connecticut’s 169 towns and cities. months.”
The four honorees are attorney Claire Coleman, As undersecretary for legal affairs at OPM, Cole-
undersecretary for legal affairs for the state Office of man plays reviews and advises on legal, policy and
Policy and Management; New Haven solo practitio- budgetary issues at OPM and works with the gover-
ner Steven Mednick; Murtha Cullina partner Kari nor’s office to issue executive orders, crucially during
Olson; and Halloran Sage partner Rich Roberts. the COVID-19 pandemic.

CONNECTICUT
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