Barbara Almeida

Full Profile

Barbara Almeida has 20 years of experience in complex insurance coverage advice, litigation and arbitration on behalf of domestic and international property and casualty insurance companies.  

Her practice focuses on a wide range of high-severity coverage disputes, including matters related to products liability, pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter drugs and medical devices, agricultural and industrial contamination, consumer protection claims, long-tail torts such as asbestos and environmental coverage litigation, concussions arising from collegiate and professional sports, and other third-party liability coverage matters.  

Barbara has been counsel in numerous hotly-contested domestic coverage cases throughout the country, including, most recently, in a large asbestos coverage litigation in Delaware, an adversary bankruptcy proceeding in Southern District of New York, as well as various concussion liability coverage litigations in New York and other jurisdictions. She has also arbitrated multiple high-value coverage disputes in London for international insurers.

Barbara is a founding partner of the New Jersey office, which opened in 2010, and she is the office's Executive Partner.

She is fluent in Portuguese.

Admissions

• New Jersey
• New York
• US District Court for the District of New Jersey
• US District Courts for the Northern, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York
• US Courts of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits

Education

• J.D., Rutgers University School of Law, 1999. Notes and Comments Editor of the Rutgers Computer and Technology Law Journal. Interned for the Honorable Alfred J. Lechner, Jr. of the US District Court for the District of New Jersey.
• B.A., magna cum laude, History and English, Rutgers College, 1995
• Summer study, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal, 1992 and 1993

Notable Decisions

• In re Rapid-Am. Corporation, No. 13-10687 (SMB), 2018 WL 882398 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. February 12, 2018). The court ruled that Chapter 11 debtor, Rapid-American, lacked standing to challenge subpoenas issued by insurers seeking information on more than 450,000 claimants asserting asbestos-related claims against Rapid-American.
• Givaudan Fragrances Corporation v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Company et al, No. MRS-L-592-09 (May 5, 2017), motion for leave to appeal denied, Docket No. AM-000591-16T4 (N.J. App. Div. August 10, 2017), motion for leave to appeal denied, Docket No. 080033 (NJ Sup. Ct., December 8, 2017).
• In re Rapid-Am. Corporation, No. 13-10687 (SMB), 2016 WL 3292355 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. June 7, 2016).
• Mine Safety Appliances Company v. AIU Insurance Company, No. N10C–07–241 MMJ, 2016 WL 498848 (Del. Super. Ct. Jan. 22, 2016).
• Mine Safety Appliances Company v. AIU Insurance Company, No. CV N10C-07-241 MMJ, 2015 WL 5829461 (Del. Super. Ct. Aug. 10, 2015).
• Mine Safety Appliances Company v. AIU Insurance Company, No. N10C–07–241 MMJ, 2014 WL 2536977 (Del. Super. Ct. May 20, 2014).
• Mine Safety Appliances Company v. AIU Insurance Company, No. N10C–07–241 MMJ ,2014 WL 1326536 (Del. Super. Ct. Mar. 24, 2014).
• National Football League and NFL Properties LLC v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company et al., No. B245619, 2013 WL 2316543 (Cal. Ct. App. May 28, 2013).
• O.K. Petroleum v. Travelers Indem. Company, No. 09 Civ. 10273, 2010 WL 2813804 (S.D.N.Y. 2010).
• OneBeacon Am. Ins. Company v. Newmont Mining Corporation, Index No. 601382/08 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Dec. 9, 2009).
• In re Congoleum Corporation, No. 03-51524, 2005 WL 712540 (Bankr. D.N.J. March, 2005).
• Elm Insurance Company v. GEICO Direct et al., 23 A.D. 3d 219, 805 N.Y.S. 2d 34 (1st Dep't 2005).

Experience

• Negotiated a settlement for a major insurance company facing a potential $250 million liability arising out of products liability claims against a manufacturer and distributor of over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, following one year of litigation in concurrent state and federal court proceedings.
• Defended a major insurance company facing a potential $181 million liability arising out of products liability claims against a leading manufacturer of asbestos-containing floor materials, which, at the close of eight-months of testimony, resulted in a highly-favorable settlement.
• Negotiated a settlement on behalf of a major insurance company involved in a two-year complex pre-packaged bankruptcy in concurrent state and federal court proceedings.
• Prevailed in several related arbitrations on behalf of a ceding company against its reinsurers with respect to claims for reimbursement of asbestos-related defense costs and indemnity payments, successfully demonstrating that the reinsurer could not impose procedural or substantive requirements long after the reinsurance contract had been entered into.
• Negotiated a successful settlement of bad faith claims against a national insurance company resulting in no financial liability for the client.
• Obtained dismissal of a breach of contract claim against a national insurance company through a successful appeal to the First Department of the New York Appellate Division.
• Obtained a favorable jury verdict for an insurance company against an Atlantic City developer following a three-week trial in federal court involving $15 million breach of contract and consumer fraud claims.
• Represented an insurance company in an ERISA litigation in a consolidated action by two separate pension and annuity fund trustees that alleged the insurance company breached its fiduciary duties and the relevant investment contracts.
• Advised a special committee of the board of directors of a Fortune 100 company on the success of a potential shareholder derivative suit after conducting a six-month internal investigation.
• Represented a court-appointed Receiver in two concurrent enforcement actions by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission alleging a massive Ponzi scheme by several corporate defendants. Coordinated and conducted a hearing on the longest-running civil contempt imprisonment in US history, and drafted a plan of distribution to compensate affected noteholders.
• Represented an international bank in a consolidated action against four other international banks alleging the use of letters of credit by a third-party shipping magnate to perpetuate a $200 million fraud.
• Represented a financial institution in a class action suit involving a $30 million in damages for consumer fraud and tax sale law claims.