Charles A. Henty

Profil complet

Charles (Charlie) Henty litigates and advises clients on coverage disputes arising from first- and third-party claims. Charlie’s experience includes representing insurers in complex, multi-party disputes involving environmental and mass tort coverage, as well as advising on individual homeowner and automobile policy disputes.

Charlie has co-authored chapters of the LexisNexis Practice Guide: Washington Insurance Litigation on property insurance and the rescission of policies based on policyholder misrepresentations.

In 2017, Charlie completed an extended secondment with a London Market insurance company, working directly with senior claims personnel on asbestos, environmental, and health hazard claims for insureds across the United States.

Admissions

• Washington
• Oregon
• US District Court for the Western District of Washington
• US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Education

• J.D., UCLA School of Law, 2007
• B.A., Cornell University, 2003

Memberships

• Washington State Bar Association
• King County Bar Association

Expérience

• Represented insurers who issued policies with combined liability limits in excess of USD 50 million in multi-party contribution lawsuit regarding potential coverage for over 1,000 toxic tort claims and environmental claims arising out of polluted sites across the country. A seven-week jury trial resulted in a partial defense verdict, with the jury concluding that the pollution exclusions in various policies precluded coverage for the environmental claims. The plaintiff insurer filed an interlocutory appeal seeking reversal of the pollution exclusion verdict, and the client’s cross-assigned error to the denial of a directed verdict motion regarding the viability of all of the plaintiff’s contribution claims. The appellate court ruled in favor of the clients, holding that the trial court erred by denying the motion for directed verdict.
• Obtained very favorable settlement in dispute involving parallel lawsuits in two states regarding insurance coverage for insured’s alleged liability (claimed to be in excess of USD 100 million) at several polluted sites around the country.
• Represented insurers who issued policies with combined liability limits in excess of USD 100 million in a lawsuit regarding a nine-figure pollution liability at the Portland Harbor Superfund Site and several other environmental sites.