Josh represents domestic and foreign insurers in complex insurance coverage litigation, with particular experience in pollution and environmental contamination, products liability, and toxic and mass tort claims.
His matters include disputes involving remediation costs at contaminated industrial sites, interpretation of pollution liability policies, defense obligations involving recalled medical products, allocation and exhaustion questions, and multijurisdictional opioid litigation addressing whether governmental economic losses constitute covered bodily injury damages, and coverage for claims alleging that social media platforms cause harm to children and adolescents. He also defends insurers in bad faith arbitrations.
Josh’s practice spans the pre-trial, trial, and appellate levels in state and federal courts. He also advises underwriting professionals on the drafting of manuscript policy forms.
Beyond insurance coverage, Josh has represented corporate and individual clients in commercial disputes and other civil litigation before state courts and government tribunals, including contract disputes, fraud claims, and real estate tax matters.
Josh is a longtime volunteer in the Chicago Bar Association’s Lawyers in the Classroom program and a member of the Board of Directors of the CBA Media & Civic Education Inc. He previously served as Board president for four years.
Listed in Illinois Super Lawyers (2020-2021, 2023-Present), Rising Star (2016-2019)
Named to Crain’s Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting & Law (2026)
Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc. v. ACE American Insurance Co., et al., 2026 NCBC 68 (N.C. Bus. Ct.) Obtained summary judgment on behalf of insurers holding that Harris Teeter was not “legally obligated to pay” damages under Kroger’s nationwide opioid settlement and that Kroger’s internal allocation of more than $60 million in settlement liability to Harris Teeter did not create a covered legal obligation. (2026)
GD Group v. Medmarc Casualty Ins. Co., Case No. 23 C 176 (N.D. Ill.) Obtained summary judgment ruling that millions of dollars in surgical supplies that were recalled because they were packaged with policyholder’s allegedly moldy surgical gowns, did not constitute “property damage” or “impaired property” under Illinois law, and extrinsic conjecture of potential cross-contamination did not trigger duty to defend. (2025)
Publix Super Markets, Inc. v. ACE Prop. and Cas. Ins. Co., et al., No. 8:22-cv-2569 (MD Fla.) Achieved ruling that multi-billion-dollar governmental opioid lawsuits present generalized economic losses and do not seek to impose covered liability for damages “because of bodily injury” where there is no claim to prove causation or damages for any individual’s injury. (2024)
WestRock, CP, LLC v. Lexington Insurance Co., et al., 2024 IL App (1st) 231631-U Secured affirmation of the trial court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of insurer, holding that two different pollution conditions on the same insured property were subject to only a single limit of liability because the term “related” in a pollution liability insurance policy meant to group together claims that were either logically or causally connected. (2024)
SECURA Insurance v. Harley-Davidson, Inc., et al., No. 2021-CV-102 (Wis. Cir. Ct., Winnebago Cty.) Obtained summary judgment on behalf of insurer in which the court held that insurer’s commercial umbrella policy was not required to respond, if at all, until policyholder exhausted its additional insured coverage under another insurer’s general liability policy (2022).
Colonial Pipeline Co. v. AIG Specialty Ins. Co., No. 19-CV-762, 2022 WL 866414 (N.D. Ga.) Obtained partial summary judgment on behalf of insurer in which the court held that pollution liability policy was not required to provide defense or indemnity for a state regulator’s lawsuit arising out of a gasoline leak (2022).
Illinois Tool Works, Inc. v. Ace Specialty Ins. Co., et al., 2019 IL App (1st) 181945 (Ill. Ct. App.) Obtained affirmation of summary judgment secured on behalf of insurer in which the court held that insurer did not have a duty to pay insured’s costs to mediate the federal government’s claims concerning remediation of a polluted former industrial site (2019).
Colton v. Brooks, No. 2018-L-8534 (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook Cty.) Successful defense of client against claims seeking $2 million for alleged breach of contract and fraud. Obtained a stipulated dismissal with prejudice for which the client paid nothing (2019).
Successfully represented corporate clients in three real estate tax disputes, resulting in total tax refunds and/or savings of approximately $6,000,000, $4,000,000, and $2,700,000, respectively (2014-2015).
Drywall Claims. Represented various insurers with respect to claims arising out of Chinese-manufactured drywall, successfully arguing that insureds’ claims are excluded from coverage by the pollution exclusion (2010-2012).
Confidential Arbitration. Successful defense of insurer in two-week arbitration involving more than $20 million in compensatory, bad faith, and punitive damages. The arbitration panel found in insurer’s favor, ruling there was no coverage for two class actions and two governmental actions under three pollution liability policies (2010).
Additional Insured and Contractual Indemnity Overview, Client Seminar (February 2025)