Demkovitz, Peter H.

Chip Delano concentrates his practice in the areas of tort, insurance and appellate litigation. He is a member of the Risk Management practice.

Chip has significant experience in advising and representing insurance companies and their insureds in insurance coverage, tort and/or bad faith claims. Chip is rated AV by Martindale Hubbell, the highest possible designation based on the opinions of other lawyers and judges, and is listed in Best Lawyers in America in Appellate Law and Insurance Law.

He devotes a considerable portion of his practice to life, health and disability insurance/ERISA litigation pending in state and federal courts. His life and health litigation experience includes matters involving:

• ERISA
• Coverage
• Lapse for nonpayment of premiums
• Suicide
• Total and/or partial disability
• Accidental death or bodily injury
• Overseas death claims
• Material misrepresentations by the insured
• Bad faith
• Stop loss
• Interpleader
• Application of Virginia's slayer statute and its related common law rule
• Claims of waiver and/or estoppel against the agent and/or insurer

Chip also has extensive appellate experience before Virginia's highest appellate court, the Supreme Court of Virginia, having served as a law clerk and personally handled over 35 appeals there. Thirteen of those were full appeals with oral argument, twelve of which resulted in published decisions. He has represented clients in numerous federal appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. Chip is the author of a number of publications relating to areas of his practice including:

• "Death from prescription narcotic overdose: Was it accidental?", Virginia Medical Law Report, May 2008
• "Overdose of Oxycontin and other Painkillers: Latest Round of Accidental Death Litigation", DRI Life, Health and Disability News (Winter 2008)
• "Oxycontin Overdose Deaths: Virginia's Latest Trend in Accidental Death Coverage Litigation?", The Journal of Civil Litigation (2008)
• The Virginia Law Chapter, Misrepresentations in Life, Health and Disability Insurance Application Process: A National Survey (ABA 2009)
• The Misrepresentation Chapter, Insurance Law of Virginia (2002-2009 Editions)
• The Insurance Law Chapter, The Virginia Lawyer (1990, 1993 & 1996 Editions)
• "An Overview of the Illegality Defense: Why Crime Still Does Not Pay in Virginia", The Journal of Civil Litigation (1992)

He has lectured before numerous business and professional groups on such varied subjects as ERISA, bad faith, misrepresentations, insurance coverage, appellate advocacy, premises liability, motor vehicle accident litigation and Virginia's business personal property tax.

Chip has been a life long participant with the Boy Scouts of America, for which he was chosen by the Virginia State Bar as an example of superior community service. You can see his video interview at the Virginia State Bar YouTube.com channel.