Gerald P. Dwyer Jr.

Partner

  • Overview

    Biography

    Gerald "Kip" Dwyer is co-chair of Robinson+Cole's Litigation Section, and former chair of our Insurance + Reinsurance Group. Kip is a nationally recognized insurance coverage counselor and litigator. He has represented major insurers in disputes pending in trial and appellate courts in more than 25 states, including federal multi-district litigation (MDL) proceedings, syndicated quota share insurance litigation and arbitration, and class action litigation. Kip has also served as national and coordinating counsel for major insurers in response to catastrophic and high-impact losses, including Superstorm Sandy, Chinese Drywall, and Hurricane Katrina. During his 20+ years of legal practice, he has successfully litigated - from the pleading and discovery stage through the appellate process - numerous eight-figure property coverage and claim-handling matters, including the dismissal (and defense of appeal) of mezzanine financier's suit to recoup its $69 million loss from builder's risk insurer in ONA 510 Mezz Holdings LLC v. 510 Loan Funding LLC, et al. (N.Y. App. 1st Dept.).

    In recognition of his knowledge and experience, Kip was retained as the testifying expert by a quota share syndicate of insurers (ACE, AIG and CNA) on the subject of United States insurance law in a high-exposure coverage dispute in Quebec Provincial Court.

    Kip was selected by Appleman On Insurance to write the authoritative treatise's first chapter on claim handling. After more than two years of drafting, Chapter Four: The Claim Process, Appleman On Insurance, Liability Edition was published in 2010. He is currently working on an updated second edition.

    Kip has been on the UConn Law School faculty as an Adjunct Professor since 2008, and currently teaches a substantive course entitled "Property Insurance," which is an accredited class for Juris Doctorate and Insurance LL.M. degrees, as well as the certificate issued by the Center for Energy & Environmental Law.

    Kip has also drafted and revised various insurance and reinsurance certificates, forms and endorsements to assist our clients in bringing new products to market and improving existing products. In addition, he is frequently called upon to advise property insurers during the investigation of significant and complicated property, builder's risk and business income claims. He also contributes to the firm's Property Insurance Coverage Insights blog.

    Prior to joining Robinson+Cole, Kip was an in-house attorney in Travelers' law department, where he managed the litigation of coverage and claim-handling suits in courts across the country. In that role, he developed unique insight into the real-world dynamics between corporate law departments and their internal stakeholders, and the importance of managing expectations at every stage of the case. In private practice, Kip focuses on achieving excellent litigation results and managing the file along the way to provide the client with a consistent sense that all the correct steps are being taken to achieve the best outcome. With this unique background and experience, Kip maintains a national practice where clients need representation in the most challenging, high-profile and sensitive matters, irrespective of the jurisdiction or location of the dispute.

    Kip frequently writes and lectures on matters of concern to the insurance industry. He has been selected to the Connecticut Super Lawyers list from 2013 to 2022 and was selected to the New York Metro Super Lawyers list from 2006 to 2011. In addition, he has chaired Robinson+Cole's in-house litigation and trial skills program since 2011.

  • Experience
    • Experience

      Experience

      • Served as Connecticut counsel on team of attorneys negotiating with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP), and Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CTDEP) concerning wastewater discharges and impact to stream sediments, including required remediation and further investigation of conditions. Negotiations also included resolution of penalty amount and payment of past response costs.
      • Wells Dairy v. Travelers 241 F.Supp.2d 945, 966 (N.D.Iowa 2003)(U.S.D.C. W.D. Iowa) - Defended insurer in $30 million bad faith and breach of contract action arising from the denial of a national ice cream producer's extra expense claim.

         
      • Won summary judgment on the ground that the insured could not recover $3 million in consequential damages allegedly caused by the insurer's delay in paying fire and business interruption claim.
      • Won summary judgment in $700,000 collapse case arising from the deterioration of a parking garage.
      • Prosecuted $13 million claim against national fire alarm company arising from delayed detection of a fire at a large manufacturing facility.
      • Representation of a major Hartford, Connecticut-based insurer as national coordinating counsel for first-party property claims related to Chinese drywall.
      • Won summary judgment in case where insured was seeking coverage for loss he allegedly sustained when the city demolished his property on the grounds that such damage was excluded under the ordinance or law provision of the policy.
      • Representation of an insurer in a claim by an international engineering firm in Maryland, which had its phone system hacked and hundreds of thousands of dollars of phone usage was stolen, principally in sub-Saharan Africa.
      • Representation of an insurer involving electronic fraud in which an e-commerce business, which processes payments and money transfers over the Internet, received access to many insureds’ checking accounts. The money for state and federal taxes was taken out by the e-commerce business, but many insureds received notice from the taxing authorities that payment had not been made.
      • Won summary judgment on the ground that a life insurance applicant could not create coverage through the doctrine of estoppel.
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    • Professional Associations

      Professional Associations

      American Bar Foundation
      Fellow

      American Bar Association
      Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, Property Insurance Law Committee
      Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, Property Insurance Law Committee, Newsletter Editor (2001 - 2005)
      Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, Vice Chair of Property Insurance Law Committee (2001 - present)

      New York State Bar Association

      Connecticut Bar Association (1998 - present)
      Insurance Committee, Presenter and Moderator (2007 - 2009)
      Co-chair of International Law Section of Young Lawyers Division (1999)

      Connecticut Bar Foundation
      James W. Cooper Fellow (2017)
    • Honors + Awards

      Honors + Awards

      Listed in Benchmark Litigation as a Local Litigation Star for Connecticut in the areas of Insurance and Product Liability since 2017

      Selected to the New York Metro Super Lawyers list from 2006 to 2011.

      Selected to the Connecticut Super Lawyers list from 2013 to 2022.

       Robinson+Cole Mentor of the Year Award, 2008 and 2012

    • Community Involvement

      Community Involvement

      Foodshare
      Board of Directors (2014)

      Connecticut Children's Medical Center
      Board of Directors, Quality Improvement Committee (2009 - 2011)
      Honorary Co-Chair, CCMC's Storybook Gala and Bids For Kids Committee (2009)
      Founder and Chair, CCMC Family Advisory Board (2008 - 2011)
      Member, NICU Family Advisory Board (2008 - 2012)
      Founder and Organizer, Hikes For Tikes, Annual Fundraising hike up Heublein Tower (2008 - Present)

      University of Connecticut School of Law
      Adjunct Professor (2008 - Present)
  • NEWS + PRESS
    • Publications

      Publications

      "New Appleman on Insurance Law Library Edition - Chapter Four: Claims Processing," (2010)
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      "Recent Developments in Construction Defect Law," published in Appleman on Insurance: Current Critical Issues in Insurance Law (2013)
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      "When Construction Goes Awry: The Availability of First-Party Insurance Coverage for Damage Caused by Workmanship," published in ABA TIPS The Brief (Fall 2014)

      "The Faulty Workmanship Exclusion," published in Connecticut Law Tribune, co-authored with J. Tyler Butts (11/26/12)

      "Recent Developments Concerning the Faulty Work Exclusion in the Construction Defect Context," published in New Appleman on Insurance, co-authored with J. Tyler Butts (Fall 2013)

      "The Faulty Workmanship Exclusion: The Erosion of the Product versus Process Distinction," published in Connecticut Law Tribune (2012)

      "Homeowners Build Cases Against Chinese Drywall," published in Connecticut Law Tribune, co-authored with John P. Malloy and Christopher R. Perry (11/23/2009)

    • Presentations

      Presentations

      "Business Interruption Insurance Coverage and the COVID-19 Crisis: An Examination," co-presented with Gregory P. Varga, Raymond T. DeMeo and Wystan M. Ackerman, the first in a series of webinars designed to explore critical coverage and loss measurement issues that are expected to emerge from COVID-19-related business interruption claims. (3/26/2020)
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      "Investigating Unique Property Damage Claims," for Envista Forensics' 2019 Webinar Series. (11/22/2019)
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      "Foundation Engineering Design and Coverage Issues," as part of the 2018 Claims Conference & Insurance Services Expo in Orlando, Florida (4/15/2018)
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      "Please Raise Your Right Hand—Preparing the Insurance Claim Professional and Corporate Designee for Deposition," co-presented with J. Tyler Butts and Deborah A. Vennos, as part of the Insurance In-House Counsel CLE Series (3/22/2018)
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      "Annual Insurance Law Symposium: Bad Faith Litigation," co-hosted by the Connecticut Bar Association’s Insurance Law Section and the University of Connecticut School of Law in Hartford, Connecticut (2/23/2017)
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      "Insurance Coverage and Investigative Considerations for Chinese Drywall Claims," at Loss Executives Association Annual Meeting, Tampa, FL, Presenter/Featured Panelist (January 2016)
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      "Insurance Coverage for Catastrophes," at Connecticut Bar Association Conference, New Britain, CT, Presenter/Featured Panelist (January 2016)
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      "Faulty Workmanship Exclusion," at ABA Conference, Palm Beach, CA, Presenter/Featured Panelist (May 2013)

      "Direct Physical Loss and Fortuity," at HB Litigation Conference, Presenter/Featured Panelist for CLE Accredited Webinar (February 2013)

      "Insurance Coverage for Super Storm Sandy," at Super Storm Sandy HB Litigation Conference, New York, NY, Presenter/Featured Panelist (December 2012)

      "Ordinance and Law Coverage," at New England Claims Executives Association, co-presented with Daniel F. Sullivan (3/12/2002)

    • News

      R+C in the News

      • December 8, 2022

        Robinson+Cole Insurance Group Highlighted in Latest Issue of Connecticut Insurance Law Journal

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      • June 28, 2019

        Robinson+Cole achieves favorable decision for our client Sentinel Insurance Co. Ltd., a Hartford Insurance company

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      • October 18, 2018

        51 Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized by Super Lawyers®

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      • May 1, 2018

        Kip Dwyer Presents on Foundation Engineering Design and Insurance Coverage Issues

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      • April 9, 2018

        Tyler Butts and Kip Dwyer Present on Preparing the Insurance Claim Professional and Corporate Designee for Deposition

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      • March 7, 2017

        Five Robinson+Cole Lawyers Selected as James W. Cooper Fellows of the Connecticut Bar Foundation

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      • March 1, 2017

        Insurance Lawyer is Panelist at Bad Faith Litigation Symposium

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      • December 20, 2012

        Insurance Litigation Attorneys Write Article on How Courts are Interpreting Faulty Workmanship Exclusion for Connecticut Law Tribune

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      • December 29, 2009

        Robinson & Cole Attorneys Author Article for Connecticut Law Tribune on Chinese Drywall

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      R+C News Releases

      • October 11, 2022

        Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized in 2022 Super Lawyers®

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      • September 30, 2022

        Robinson+Cole Recognized by Benchmark Litigation

      • October 14, 2021

        Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized by Super Lawyers®

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      • October 7, 2021

        Robinson+Cole Recognized by Benchmark Litigation

      • October 15, 2020

        47 Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized in Super Lawyers®

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      • October 8, 2020

        Robinson+Cole Recognized in Benchmark Litigation

      • October 19, 2019

        52 Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized by Super Lawyers®

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      • October 2, 2019

        Robinson+Cole Recognized by Benchmark Litigation

      • October 24, 2018

        Robinson+Cole Recognized by Benchmark Litigation

      • October 17, 2017

        Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized by Super Lawyers®

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      • September 29, 2017

        Robinson+Cole Recognized by Benchmark Litigation

      • October 18, 2016

        Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized by Super Lawyers®

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      • December 9, 2015

        Robinson+Cole Lawyers and Staff Volunteer with Junior Achievement

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      • October 19, 2015

        Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized by Super Lawyers®

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      • October 17, 2014

        Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized by Super Lawyers

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      • April 28, 2014

        Gerald Dwyer Elected to Foodshare’s Board of Directors

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      • January 3, 2012

        Robinson & Cole Announces Mentor of the Year Award Recipients

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