Timothy M. Strong

• Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
  • Insurance Law, 2023
• Best Lawyers in America®
  •  Insurance Law, Litigation – Insurance, 2023-2024
• Southwest Super Lawyers®
  • Insurance Coverage, 2014-2023
• Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education
  • Top 50 Pro Bono Attorney, 2018

Insurance Litigation and Advice

In his insurance-litigation practice, Tim has successfully defended high-stakes cases ranging from class actions attacking institutional claim-handling practices, to individual personal-lines bad-faith cases, to complex commercial matters seeking coverage under D&O, CGL, builders risk, commercial property, and cyber-risk policies. Tim regularly defends workers'-compensation carriers against claims of bad faith.

Representative matters include:

• Successfully defended builders-risk insurer in action seeking nine-figure damages to iron-ore processing plant. Court granted judgment resolving all alleged business-interruption damages and most alleged physical damages; also granted judgment on plaintiff’s bad-faith and punitive-damage claims.
• Secured summary judgment in favor of D&O carrier against claims that it unreasonably declined to fund eight-figure settlement of underlying securities class action.
• Multiple favorable dispositions of cases brought by workers’-compensation policyholders and claimants alleging unreasonable claim handling and “institutional” bad faith.
• Secured summary judgment on homeowner’s claim that insurer acted in bad faith in determining that hurricane loss was caused by flood (a non-covered peril) rather than wind. Court found no evidence of an institutional scheme to underpay claims. 
• Obtained dismissal of putative statewide class action attacking an automobile insurer’s claim-settlement practices for “minor impact soft tissue” injuries.  

Tim also advises insurers regarding complex coverage decisions and claim-handling issues, including coverage opinions and advice regarding the use of computerized claim-adjustment tools. 

Other Commercial Litigation, Including Class Actions

As a complement to his insurance practice, Tim handles a variety of other complex commercial disputes, which have included matters involving the consumer retail, background screening, car audio, mechanical engineering, construction, and commercial real estate industries.

Representative matters include:

• Secured dismissal of putative class action against background-screening company alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
• Obtained judgment in favor of international mechanical-engineering and manufacturing company in case involving the design, testing, manufacture, and sale of printers.
• After three-day evidentiary hearing, secured case-dispositive discovery sanctions against owner of Panamanian distributor suing producer of high-end car-audio systems.
• Secured summary adjudication of trade-secret claims against car-audio accessory company.
• Prevailed on motion to decertify class in case against industrial hog farm. Despite district court’s initial certification order surviving appeal to the 6th Circuit, developed evidence in discovery that convinced the district court to decertify. 

• Speaker, "What Every Business Lawyer Should Know About Business Insurance," Maricopa County Bar Association, December 2021 
• "Business Interruption Insurance, Captives, and Coronavirus," Dickinson Wright Webinar, April 2020
• "Common Coverage Issues Arising from Catastrophes," PLRB 2018 Regional Adjusters Conference - Western, Glendale, AZ, June 27, 2018
• "An Insurer's Duty to Settle Third-Party Claims," PLRB Claims Conference, April 20,2016