Richard C. Mason joined Cozen O'Connor in June 1996, where is he a Member of the Global Insurance Group and heads the firm’s financial risk transfer practice.
Practice Specialty
Richard specializes in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), including arbitrating insurance and reinsurance coverage disputes concerning life, accident and health, and property risks. His experience includes involvement in such high-profile disputes as the London Market reinsurance spiral disputes, accident and health reinsurance pools, Enron bond insurance coverage dispute, the WorldCom bond default insurance dispute, and multibillion-dollar property reinsurance claims in connection with September 11, 2001 World Trade Center losses. He is accomplished in negotiating and drafting commutations and portfolio transfers. Richard also litigates and handles appeals of complex commercial fraud matters and other transactional disputes.
Representative Matters
- Handled the appeal of a $60 million award of damages for losses on insurance backing subprime leases, and persuaded the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the damages award.
- Negotiated and drafted commutation structure for a $25 million block of disability reinsurance business.
- Instituted litigation against a global insurance brokerage firm for broker’s professional negligence and unjust enrichment. Achieved lucrative financial settlement for client.
- Litigated global defense of securitized motion picture financing claims in excess of $400 million. Achieved favorable settlement in which third-parties funded major portion of liabilities.
- Oversaw comprehensive operational and reporting audit on $5 billion block of life reinsurance business. Achieved 50% reduction in claim amount.
- Provided expert consulting advice regarding aiding and abetting liability, on behalf of securities’ attorneys pursuing recovery of $30 million lost to investment Ponzi scheme.
- Advised leading domestic insurer in its negotiations with reinsurers to recover approximately $1 billion for September 11, 2001, World Trade Center Attack losses. Client’s reinsurers agreed to make full payment.
- Managed all domestic legal aspects of a run-off of a $600 million block of accident and health reinsurance.
Richard is the immediate past editor-in-chief of the American Bar Association's Tort & Insurance Law Journal, a member of the ABA's Financial Institutions Litigation and Business Litigation Subcommittees, and a vice chair of the Excess, Surplus Lines and Reinsurance Subcommittee. He has served as an arbitrator, and is a member of the AIDA Reinsurance and Insurance Arbitration Society (ARIAS).
Richard is admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Selected Publications
- "Recent Developments in Excess, Surplus Lines, and Reinsurance,” Tort Trial & Ins. L.J.(Winter 2008) (co-author)
- "Civil Liability for Aiding and Abetting," The Business Lawyer (May 2006)
- "Insurance Derivatives Products: The Question is: What's to Lose?," Risk Management (April 2005)
- "Insurance Coverage Allocation," Mealey's Reports: Insurance Litigation (January 2000)
- "Courts Reallocate Risks to Insurers," Best's Review (December 1998)
- "A Closer Look at Facultative Reinsurance," 31Tort & Ins. L.J. 642 (Spring 1996)
Seminars
- Panelist, "Building a Better ADR Clause," American Bar Association Annual Meeting (August 2008)
- Panelist, ACI Reinsurance Arbitration Seminar, New York, N.Y. (September 2006)
- Panelist, Mealey's Reinsurance Claims Seminar, Boston, Mass. (September 2004)