Insurance Defense

Sutin, Thayer & Browne is experienced and respected in all areas of insurance defense, including premises liability, nursing home liability, personal injury, governmental entity defense, bad faith, employment, trucking and transportation, railroad accident defense, civil rights, construction defects, toxic torts, professional malpractice, medical malpractice, architectural malpractice and engineering malpractice. Our lawyers have worked closely with companies such as State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Blue Cross Blue Shield, USI, Hiscox USA (a servicer for syndications of Lloyds London), ACE North American Claims-Professional Risk, Utica Insurance Company, ESIS, Inc., Leavitt Group Enterprises, CNA, National Indemnity Company, Chubb, Philadelphia Insurance Companies, and Grain Dealers Mutual Insurance Company. Our insurance defense group assists clients throughout the insurance industry, including individuals, small and large businesses, and governmental entities. We serve primary insurers, excess insurers and reinsurers, and clients ranging from large carriers and surplus line insurance carriers to insurance carriers who prefer to operate on a non-admitted basis. We provide a comprehensive range of services intended to avoid and resolve disputes, including preventive counseling, policy analysis and interpretation, pre-litigation investigation, and prosecution and defense of claims at the trial and appellate levels. We assist our clients in this highly regulated industry with complex issues of taxation and licensing.

We work closely with lawyers in our other practice groups, including business and corporate, commercial litigation, and labor and employment. Our insurance defense group lawyers practice in state, federal and tribal courts throughout New Mexico and the United States. We help insurance companies defend their interests and manage their policies effectively. We have significant experience defending insureds on construction defect claims (prime and subcontractors), design professional claims, surety claims, employment claims, personal injury, premises liability, medical and dental malpractice, and general personal injury and professional negligence claims. We have experience in following and complying with insurance company guidelines for litigation as well as for billing practices. Our approach to managing cases provides insurance clients with cost effective, complete and vigorous representation.

  • We represent New Mexico Risk Management Division pursuant to a general services contract.
  • We defend Brinker International, Inc. in wrongful death, dram shop and personal injury matters arising in New Mexico.
  • We provide intellectual property and other advice arising out of book publishing, motion picture development, music and art transactions.
  • We defend a major mattress manufacturer in personal injury matters.
  • We defend personal injury matters filed in New Mexico against an international hotel chain.
  • Through an insurer, we represent real estate professionals in claims arising out of the purchase or sale of real property.
  • We defend automotive manufacturers and finance companies in cases involving defective vehicles, alleged wrongful repossessions and allegations of improper efforts to collect debts.
  • We represented a major insurer against a local insurance brokerage in a matter involving misappropriation of trade secrets, breaches of employment agreements and unfair competition.
  • We represented an oil and gas production company in a dispute arising out of the defective drilling of a well.
  • We defended a national insurance brokerage firm in an action against it and its local insurance brokerage by a New Mexico Indian tribe alleging misrepresentation and fraud in connection with the application for annual renewal of insurance.
  • We defended a national hardware distributor and retailer in a product liability wrongful death claim.
  • We defended a United States Postal Service regional trucking mail delivery contractor in a wrongful death claim arising from a highway accident.
  • We defended a New Mexico Indian tribe in a personal injury action involving a question of first impression concerning whether an insurer was a proper named party in an action governed by the New Mexico Indian Gaming Compact.
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