Christopher B. Sevedge

Experience

Insurance Recovery

• Chris obtained summary judgment on behalf of a food manufacturing client, securing insurance coverage for a product contamination claim under a commercial general liability policy.
• He obtained summary judgment on behalf of a specialty beverage supplier, securing insurance coverage under a pollution policy for tort claims relating to a chemical release.
• He secured a high-value settlement of a multimillion dollar dispute with a municipality's liability insurer concerning a policy limits demand for a pending tort claim under the Kansas Tort Claims Act.
• He has successfully resolved multiple coverage disputes concerning first-party and liability claims arising out of employee thefts, bribery schemes, and other allegedly fraudulent and/or criminal activities.
• He secured a high-value settlement of a dispute with a client's cyber insurer following a ransomware event.
• He successfully resolved a multimillion dollar property insurance dispute arising from the loss of a building by fire.
• He successfully resolved a dispute over coverage for materials under a contractor's inland marine policy.
• He has served as coverage counsel for multiple attorneys and law firms to secure professional liability coverage for various underlying pending claims.

Bankruptcy

• Chris is a member of a team that has worked as bankruptcy counsel on behalf of several unsecured creditors' committees in mass tort bankruptcy proceedings across the country. He has helped to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance coverage for creditors under various forms of liability insurance policies spanning several decades.
• Chris has also successfully secured coverage under D&O and other executive management policies for directors, officers, and distressed companies facing bankruptcy or receivership.

Commercial Litigation

• Chris secured the dismissal of several counts brought by a foreign financial institution on various contract, quasi‑contract, and tort theories arising out of the insolvency of a South American grain trading company.
• He is a member of a team that has worked as defense counsel concerning environmental contamination claims and helped secure a defense verdict in state court.
• He obtained summary judgment on behalf of a Missouri bank, defeating a multimillion dollar equitable subrogation claim by a borrower's surety companies.
• Chris obtained summary judgment against post‑acquisition claims alleging that the buyer converted the seller's confidential business data.
• He has successfully resolved multiple disputes concerning non-compete agreements and employees' misappropriation of trade secrets in state and federal court.
• He secured a high-value settlement in favor of a software company concerning a dispute over a service as a software agreement.
• He helped defeat a bid for preliminary injunctive relief in state court concerning a dispute over restrictive covenants, followed soon thereafter by a successful global resolution of the dispute.
• He was part of a team that secured a favorable construction of key trust language via summary judgment in state court.
• He has also represented clients in several internal and government investigations concerning various forms of alleged or suspected misconduct.

Recognitions

Professional & Civic Activities