Zimarowski, James B.

John is Chair of the D&O Practice Group.  He has been practicing law for more than 25 years and represents professional liability insurers both in and outside the U.S. in connection with insurance coverage and liability issues arising from complex antitrust, customer, shareholder, and bankruptcy-related litigation. 

In addition to professional liability insurers, John works with reinsurers and insurance brokers on compliance and corporate governance issues, and in business transactions.  Working closely with his insurer clients in both product development and policy drafting, John understands the critical issues and strategies underpinning a profitable underwriting portfolio. Clients turn to him for strategic insight and advice to creatively address complex business issues, and to negotiate difficult, multi-party settlements and other agreements.

Outside the insurance industry, John works with clients in assessing and deploying enterprise risk management solutions addressing policy, process, and technology with a particular focus on data capture and retrieval in the rapidly emerging area of electronic data discovery.

John is also frequently asked to speak, and regularly writes, on issues related to director and officer liability and insurance law.

John received his B.A. from Manhattan College in 1981 and his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1985.  He is licensed to practice in New York and is admitted to appear before the United States District Court for the Southern, Eastern, Western, and Northern districts of New York.

He is a member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society and the Union League Club of New York.

Aside from his legal practice, John is the co-founder of Grateful Nation Montana, Inc., a non-profit Montana organization that provides college scholarships and outreach services to children of Montana soldiers killed on active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. Working with the Montana University System, Grateful Nation Montana works to provide these children with the financial support and outreach guidance necessary for a successful college experience.

In recent years, John developed several annual charitable events for the professional liability insurance industry, including the St. Thomas Charity Golf Classic, the Statesman Dinner and the D&O Debate, which collectively have raised several hundred thousand dollars for charitable causes, including monies used to build a community center for the Gros Ventres and Assiniboine Native American communities in Lodgepole, Montana and other community projects. John continues to work with local Montana community interest and fundraising groups on development projects benefiting the Ft. Belknap Reservation.

John also has been active in pro bono efforts, and co-founded Miracle Kids in 2003 to deliver food and medical supplies to hospitals and orphanages in Belarus and Russia.  As part of the Miracle Kids pro bono project, John has worked with the Belarussian Ambassador and staff in Washington, D.C. and with Canadian officials to facilitate these relief efforts.

Reported Decisions

• Executive Risk Indem. Inc. v. Pepper Hamilton LLP, 2008 WL 6808243 (Trial Order) (N.Y.Sup. Jan 29, 2008), rev'd by 56 A.D.3d 196, 865 N.Y.S.2d 25 (1 Dep't Sep 23, 2008), affirmed as modified by 2009 WL 3347222, 2009 N.Y. Slip Op. 07453 (N.Y. Oct 20, 2009) (granting insurers' summary judgment motions on prior notice exclusions in a lawyers professional liability policy).
• Schwartz v. Twin City Fire Ins. Co. et al., 492 F.Supp.2d 308 (S.D.N.Y. 2007) judgment affirmed by 539 F.3d 135 (2nd Cir.(N.Y.) Aug 19, 2008). (granting primary D&O insurer's post-trial motion to dismiss D&O excess insurers' cross-claims for bad faith).
• Indotronix International Corp. v. Twin City Fire Ins. Co., No. 06 Civ. 2688 (S.D.N.Y. April 30, 2007) (finding after inquest on insured's claim for reimbursement of $520,000 incurred in defense costs and expenses, that only $117,000, after application of $100,000 SIR, were reasonable and necessary and therefore recoverable from D&O insurer).
• CNL Hotels & Resorts, Inc. v. Twin City Fire Insurance Company, et al. 06 CV 324, Order 113 (MD FL October 16, 2006) (granting insurer's motion to dismiss bad faith claim under Florida law because the insured had not first established that coverage was available for the claim in question).
• Vigilant Insurance Co. v. Credit Suisse First Boston, 10 A.D.3d 528, 782 N.Y.S.2d 19 (App. Div. 1st. Dept. 2004) (affirming trial court and extending ruling to also exclude coverage for defense costs associated with uncovered claim).
• Vigilant Insurance Co. v. Credit Suisse First Boston, 2003 NY Slip Op 51747(U) (Sup. Ct. N.Y. County, July 8, 2003) (settlement of regulatory claim for disgorgement is disgorgement of ill-gotten funds and therefore uninsurable).
• Local 705 Int'l Brotherhood of Teamsters Health & Welfare Fund v. Five Star Managers, LLC, slip op. No. 98 CH 7109 (Ill. App. 2000) (repayment of monies to pension fund does not constitute insurable loss under fiduciary liability policy).
• Macmillan, Inc. v. Federal Insurance Co., 741 F. Supp. 1079 (S.D.N.Y. 1990) (actual indemnification by corporation a condition precedent to corporation's right to sue to enforce Side B coverage).
• Wedtech Corp. v. Federal Insurance Co., 740 F. Supp. 214 (S.D.N.Y. 1990) (addressing severability issues implicated by rescission of D&O policy).

Notable Experience

• Co-founder and co-chair (1995 - 1999), "The D&O Symposium," New York City, (now the "Professional Liability Underwriting Society's D&O Liability and Insurance Issues Symposium").
• Founder and co-chair, The Statesman Dinner (1996 - present).
• Co-Founder and co-chair, The D&O Debate (2006).
• John represented the Lloyd's market as lead counsel with respect to high-profile claims by investment banks seeking coverage for litigation and regulatory enforcement actions involving IPO laddering, Enron, Worldcom, Adelphia and other substantial claims.
• John developed a new insurance product to provide legal expenses coverage to employees of business entities involved in criminal and regulatory investigations, which has been licensed to several insurers.