Kate is an experienced litigator with extensive experience analyzing first- and third-party coverage issues and potential exposures related to COVID-19 claims, including claims for business interruption coverage. She is a current member of Litchfield Cavo LLP’s COVID-19 Resource Team and advises carriers on proper coronavirus claim handling practices. Kate is the current chair of the Firm’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee and a former managing partner of the Firm’s Connecticut office.
Kate’s insurance coverage practice includes the litigation of a broad range of coverage issues under commercial general liability, homeowners and property policies, professional liability and automobile liability, as well as claims for bad faith, unfair insurance practices and extra-contractual liability. She also has significant experience in employment and professional liability matters.
Kate handles complex insurance matters, coverage analysis and commercial litigation in both trial and appellate matters. Her experience includes handling cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, as well as the Connecticut appellate courts, and has successfully argued before the Connecticut Supreme Court and the Connecticut Appellate Court.
Prior to joining Litchfield Cavo LLP Kate served as a legal research clerk for the Connecticut Superior Court. While attending the University of Connecticut, Kate was the Articles Editor for the Connecticut Journal of International Law and served as a professor’s assistant in Legal Profession, the writing and research course for first-year students.
Practices
Representative Experience
- First-party Property Damage Claims | Counseled an insurer client regarding the handling of numerous individual claims, as well as lawsuits, concerning first-party insurance coverage for crumbling foundation matters and obtained favorable resolutions of the subject matters.
- Insurance Coverage | Advised insurer clients regarding the handling of first- and third-party matters arising out of hurricanes in the northeast and analyzed coverage, as well as extra-contractual issues, for claims relating to the subject storms.
- Exposure Analysis and Policy Drafting | Counseled insurers regarding exposure associated with writing new lines of business and assisted insurers with drafting new policy forms, as well as endorsements.
Representative Matters
- Lucenti v. Laviero, 165 Conn. App. 429 (2016), aff’d, 327 Conn. 764 (2018)
- Atl. Cas. Ins. Co. v. Robinson, 2016 WL 3198204 (D. Conn. June 8, 2016)
- Mehta v. Ace Am. Ins. Co., 2015 WL 1456834 (D. Conn. Mar. 30, 2015)
- Middlesex Mut Assur. Co. v. Hamilton, et al., 2014 WL 2696773 (Conn. Super. Ct. May 14, 2014)
- Gartner, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 2010 WL 918075 (D. Conn. Mar. 11, 2010) aff’d, 415 F. App’x 282 (2d Cir. 2011)
- S. v. Webb, 602 F.Supp.2d 374 (D. Conn. 2009)
- Deed v. Walgreen Co., 50 Conn. Supp. 339, 927 A.2d 1001 (2007)
Education
- University of Connecticut, JD, 2005, with honors
- CALI Excellence for the Future 2003 Award recipient in Globalization and the Environment
- Boston College, BA, 2002, magna cum laude
Admissions
- Connecticut
- United States District Court: District of Connecticut, District of Vermont
- United States Court of Appeals: Second Circuit
Associations
- Center for Children’s Advocacy, Former volunteer
- Gifts of Love (Avon, Connecticut), Former Member of the Board of Directors
- National Forum for Environmental & Toxic Tort Issues (FETTI); Former Assistant Newsletter Editor
Professional Memberships
- Connecticut Bar Association
- Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM)
Recognition
- Previously selected to the Connecticut Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for three consecutive years in the practice area of Insurance Coverage and Civil Litigation, a designation received by fewer than 2.5 percent of attorneys in the state
