William P. Sowers

Biography

Cases

Commercial Litigation

• Served as trial counsel in a two-week breach of contract and bad faith case in Colorado federal court.
• Advised on business interruption losses and other COVID-19 insurance recovery claims ranging from $50 million to $600 million.
• Drafted the summary judgment briefing in a $20 million reinsurance dispute.
• Won a motion for judgment on the pleadings, and two motions for reconsideration, in a $5 million insurance dispute over coverage for a tractor-trailer accident.
• Advised a client on recovery under errors & omission coverage for settlement of a $4 million underlying bodily injury claim.
• Drafted the summary judgment briefing in a multimillion-dollar insurance coverage dispute over a waterpark injury.
• Successfully consolidated COVID-19 insurance coverage appeals over opposing counsel's objections.

Appellate

• Won a $50 million Colorado Supreme Court victory for Denver International Airport, overturning adverse bench trial and lower appellate court opinions and creating precedent that prohibits putative plaintiffs from using delay tactics to gain an unfair advantage in litigation.
• Drafted the appellate brief for a ski resort operator following a jury verdict in a negligent supervision case.
• Represented a water association in a petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Drafted appellate briefs in COVID-19 business interruption cases before the Third, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals, as well as in state appellate courts.
• Drafted an appellate brief in the Eleventh Circuit for a restaurateur whose employer liability insurance denied coverage.
• Advised a client in two oral arguments related to reinsurance recovery before a federal court of appeals.
• Advised a school district client on oral argument before the Fourth Circuit in a dispute about the civil procedure requirements for bringing an anonymous claim.
• Drafted the appellate brief in a multimillion-dollar reinsurance matter before the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division.

Pro Bono

• Drafted an amicus brief in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals for a nonprofit in support of policyholders who were wrongfully denied insurance coverage.
• Drafted an amicus brief in the Fourth Circuit for psychologists and psychiatrists arguing that the competency evaluation performed in a death penalty case was not medically sufficient.
• Obtained a settlement of 1% of an insurer's initial demand on a subrogation claim for a military service member.

Other Representative Experience

• Won a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law following a jury trial on behalf of a ski resort operator in a negligent supervision case, resulting in a significant reduction of the verdict.
• Briefed, argued, and won a motion to dismiss for personal jurisdiction representing an international machinery manufacturer in a products liability case.
• Represented a technology company in an action to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars that a former executive embezzled.

Publications & Speaking Engagements

Articles

• Co-Author, "Running out the Clock: The Period of Limitation in COVID-19 Insurance Lawsuits May Soon Come to an End," Insurance Coverage Law Center, (February 15, 2022).
• "Men, Take Paternity Leave to Embrace Fatherhood," Richmond Times-Dispatch, (November 5, 2021).
• Co-Author, "A New Test or Merely a New Name for Some Regulatory Takings?," Yale Journal on Regulation, (August 22, 2021).
• How Do You Solve a Problem Like Law-Disruptive Technology?, 82 Law & Contemporary Problems 193–214 (2019).

Press

• WTO Lead Counsel in U.S. Supreme Court "Environmental Case to Watch"

Other Experience

Legal Memberships, Activities, and Honors

Personal Interests