Full Profile
As a member of the Liability & Excess practice group, John Harding's practice is concentrated in the areas of insurance coverage, litigation and advice, reinsurance disputes and arbitrations, and "bad faith" litigation.
John has more than 35 years of experience representing domestic and foreign insurers on a national basis in coverage disputes under CGL, excess, umbrella, commercial property, and specialized policies, including pollution liability, professional liability, and medical devices.
His knowledge extends to claims arising out of underlying environmental, asbestos, products, pharmaceutical, medical device, employment discrimination, technology, construction, design and other professional liability claims, tort and other liabilities, as well as a broad range of first-party losses.
John has significant background in handling reinsurance matters on both the ceding company and reinsurer side. He has tried complex coverage cases to juries and to courts, including several multi-phased proceedings. Further, John has handled appeals in state and federal courts throughout the country involving the key legal issues that have been at the forefront of modern coverage litigation. John has been involved in several Bermuda Form and insurance arbitrations in New York and London.
In addition to his insurance and reinsurance practice, John has experience in complex business litigation, as well as land use and environmental matters in state and federal courts.
Admissions
- Massachusetts
- US District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- US Supreme Court
- US Court of Claims and Federal Circuit
Education
- J.D., cum laude, Harvard Law School
- B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Duke University
Memberships
- American College of Coverage Counsel (Fellow; Co-Chair, CGL/Excess Committee)
- Defense Research Institute (Publications Chair; Advisory Board, Insurance Law Committee)
- International Association of Defense Counsel (Chair, Insurance and Reinsurance Committee)
- Massachusetts Insurance and Reinsurance Bar Association (President)
- Boston Bar Association (Chair, Tort and Insurance Section)
- American Bar Association (TIPS Committee)
Experience
- Represented insurer in complex coverage litigation arising out of biotech company’s use of unapproved artificial larynx devices which allegedly caused catastrophic injuries.
- Advised insurer regarding claims against design engineering company in connection with wrongful death suit arising out of collapse of parking garage.
- Represented insurer and third-party administrator in complex “bad faith” suit in federal court alleging wrongful failure to settle brain injury claims.
- Represented insurer in coverage suit arising out of Legionnaires’ disease claims.
- Advised Texas state insurance liquidator regarding resolution of proof of claims for millions of dollars in asbestos, pollution and other long-tail claims.
- Extensive experience in litigating and advising insurers with respect to environmental and pollution claims, including all aspects of declaratory judgment actions, as well as multi-phased jury and bench trials.
- Lead attorney in six-week federal court jury trial relating to allocation of responsibility for USD 35 million in cost to remediate PCB contamination; defense verdict.
- Lead attorney for international insurers in litigation concerning coverage for silicone implants, including multi-phased bench and jury trials.
- Represented ceding company in Bermuda Form reinsurance arbitration arising out of the Sphere Drake occupational accident spiral.
- Obtained judgment for noted architect in jury trial against financial institution for unfair and deceptive trade practices in construction lending arrangement; including award of multiple damages and attorneys’ fees.
Presentations
John has been a featured presenter at many national conferences on insurance coverage, reinsurance, claims handling and bad faith litigation, including programs sponsored by IADC, DRI, Mealey's Insurance, the Emerging Environmental Claims Managers Association FETTI, American Conference Institute, the Complex Insurance Claims Association, and PLRB. John has also designed and presented programs to numerous in-house claims organizations. Representative presentations include:
- "The Pollution Exclusion: Avoiding Risks and Gaps in Coverage," Strafford Publications (webinar), July 2025
- "The Use of Experts in Insurance Coverage Litigation," American College of Coverage Counsel Annual Meeting, Chicago, May 2024
- "Insurance Coverage for PFAS Claims," ABA Environmental and Toxic Tort Symposium, Scottsdale, Arizona, June 2023
- "PFAS Insurance Claims: The Next Frontier," American College of Coverage Counsel, Fall Symposium, Philadelphia, November 2023
- "New Developments in Allocation of Long-Evil Claims, Trigger of Coverage Theories, and Exhaustion," DRI insurance Coverage Practice Symposium, New York City, December 10, 2021
- "Fawlty Towers: Complex Coverage and Claims Handling Issues in Construction Defect Claims," Perrin Insurance Coverage Allocation Conference, Philadelphia, January 12, 2021
- "The ALI Restatement, Law of Liability Insurance," Spring Forum, Massachusetts Insurance and Reinsurance Bar Association, Boston, Massachusetts, June 13, 2019
- "Allocation Update," Perrin Insurance Conferences, Philadelphia, May 30, 2019
- "More Than We Bargained For: Prosecuting Counterclaims and Appeals," DRI Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute, March 2018
Publications
- Contributing Author, “Reinsurance Desk book,” Thomson Reuters, 2015, 2017, 2022
- “New Appelman on Insurance: Contribution Among Insurers," April 2015
- "New Insights on an Old Issue: The Number of Occurrences Dilemma," For the Defense, Defense Research Institute, 2014
- "The English Revolution: Follow the Fortunes After WASA v. Lexington," Defense Counsel Journal, International Association of Defense Counsel, July 2011 (Awarded the John C. Yancey Prize for Outstanding Article of the Year)
