McKool Smith, on behalf of Energy Transfer Equity LP, obtained a ruling from the Delaware Supreme Court rejecting an appeal by several insurers seeking to overturn a lower court ruling that they are subject to jurisdiction in Delaware, allowing a $2 billion coverage suit to proceed.
In the lower court decision, Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis rejected arguments that the Delaware state court lacked jurisdiction and that the suit was premature, holding that because the insurers sold insurance contracts to Delaware entities they “must have foreseen the possibility that they could have been haled into Delaware.” Read more about that decision here.
The insurers, which include Twin City Fire Insurance Co., Navigators Insurance Co., and Allied World National Assurance Co., appealed, arguing that Judge Davis improperly applied the law and exceeded the limits imposed by the United States Supreme Court. The Delaware Supreme Court disagreed in a December 31, 2020 decision, declining to take up the appeal and finding that “the potential benefits of interlocutory review do not outweigh the inefficiency, disruption, and probable costs caused by an interlocutory appeal.”
The case is Energy Transfer Equity LP v. Twin City Fire Insurance Co. et. al., case number 343, 2020, in the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware. The Court’s full decision is here.
With 130 trial lawyers across offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall, New York, and Washington, D.C., McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America’s leading trial firms. Since 2006, the firm has secured 12 nine-figure jury verdicts and 14 eight-figure jury verdicts. The firm has also won more VerdictSearch and The National Law Journal “Top 100 Verdicts” than any other law firm in the nation. Courtroom successes like these have earned McKool Smith critical acclaim and helped the firm become what The Wall Street Journal describes as “one of the biggest law firm success stories of the past decade.” McKool Smith represents clients in complex commercial litigation, insurance recovery, intellectual property, bankruptcy, and white collar defense matters.
