Harvey Nosowitz

Counsel

Overview

Insurance companies and policyholders from many industries as well as contractors turn to Harvey for his decades of experience resolving complex disputes about insurance coverage. He has even been called upon by insurance industry organizations to write an amicus brief on their behalf, which successfully argued that professional liability policies giving policyholders the right to veto a settlement were consistent with Massachusetts law.

Harvey’s areas of emphasis include:

  • General Liability: Harvey obtained summary judgment in favor of an insurer that the property owner did not have additional insured coverage for slip and fall outside a building, on the grounds that additional insured coverage applied only to a room inside the building that was used by named insured.
  • Construction Defects: Harvey obtained summary judgment in favor of a construction company that a subcontractor’s insurer had a duty to defend the contractor as an additional insured in an arbitration that alleged damage to equipment and substrate from allegedly negligent paving by the subcontractor.
  • Claims Handling Practices: Harvey successfully defended an insurer in a two-week trial alleging unfair settlement practices, including preparation and direct examination of the defense’s expert and deposition and cross-examination of the plaintiff’s expert.

During Harvey’s 25 years of advocating for both insurance companies and policyholders, he has developed long-term relationships with his clients as a trusted advisor who provides thorough analysis of their issues and careful advice to help them overcome insurance coverage disputes by the most efficient means available, whether it be negotiation, alternative dispute resolution, or litigation.

 

BEYOND THE OFFICE

Harvey is a jazz drummer; the author of The Pond Report, a vlog documenting life in and around a 20-acre pond in north Middlesex County; and a member of the board of Mass Movement, a youth summer dance program. He is also a former member of the Town of Shirley Planning Board.

PRACTICE AREAS

Practice Areas

Credentials

Education

Northeastern University Law School, J.D. 1990

School of the Art Institute of Chicago, M.F.A. 1981

Bard College, B.A. 1976

Admissions

Massachusetts

U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts

U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit

Recognition

The Best Lawyers in America©, Insurance Law, 2019-2023

Affiliations

Experience

  • Won two First Circuit appeals for an insurer, defeating one insured’s $2 million indemnification and defense costs claim, and separately vacating summary judgment for a second insured.
  • Advised on design professional insurance coverage issues under an owner-controlled insurance policy for Big Dig cost recovery and personal injury claims.
  • For insurers, rescinded policies for misrepresentations in applications for auto and yacht coverage.
  • Represented an insurer in an action that established that a medical professional liability policy does not cover the negligent hiring and retention of an employee who abused a patient.
  • Defended complex products liability claims involving home appliances, manufacturing equipment and other products.
  • Litigated for a publisher on contract and copyright issues resulting from the resale of books consigned for recycling.

Insights

Insurance companies and policyholders from many industries as well as contractors turn to Harvey for his decades of experience resolving complex disputes about insurance coverage. He has even been called upon by insurance industry organizations to write an amicus brief on their behalf, which successfully argued that professional liability policies giving policyholders the right to veto a settlement were consistent with Massachusetts law.

Harvey’s areas of emphasis include:

  • General Liability: Harvey obtained summary judgment in favor of an insurer that the property owner did not have additional insured coverage for slip and fall outside a building, on the grounds that additional insured coverage applied only to a room inside the building that was used by named insured.
  • Construction Defects: Harvey obtained summary judgment in favor of a construction company that a subcontractor’s insurer had a duty to defend the contractor as an additional insured in an arbitration that alleged damage to equipment and substrate from allegedly negligent paving by the subcontractor.
  • Claims Handling Practices: Harvey successfully defended an insurer in a two-week trial alleging unfair settlement practices, including preparation and direct examination of the defense’s expert and deposition and cross-examination of the plaintiff’s expert.

During Harvey’s 25 years of advocating for both insurance companies and policyholders, he has developed long-term relationships with his clients as a trusted advisor who provides thorough analysis of their issues and careful advice to help them overcome insurance coverage disputes by the most efficient means available, whether it be negotiation, alternative dispute resolution, or litigation.

 

BEYOND THE OFFICE

Harvey is a jazz drummer; the author of The Pond Report, a vlog documenting life in and around a 20-acre pond in north Middlesex County; and a member of the board of Mass Movement, a youth summer dance program. He is also a former member of the Town of Shirley Planning Board.

Education

Northeastern University Law School, J.D. 1990

School of the Art Institute of Chicago, M.F.A. 1981

Bard College, B.A. 1976

Admissions

Massachusetts

U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts

U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit

The Best Lawyers in America©, Insurance Law, 2019-2023

  • Won two First Circuit appeals for an insurer, defeating one insured’s $2 million indemnification and defense costs claim, and separately vacating summary judgment for a second insured.
  • Advised on design professional insurance coverage issues under an owner-controlled insurance policy for Big Dig cost recovery and personal injury claims.
  • For insurers, rescinded policies for misrepresentations in applications for auto and yacht coverage.
  • Represented an insurer in an action that established that a medical professional liability policy does not cover the negligent hiring and retention of an employee who abused a patient.
  • Defended complex products liability claims involving home appliances, manufacturing equipment and other products.
  • Litigated for a publisher on contract and copyright issues resulting from the resale of books consigned for recycling.

News

Publications