Kevin M. Pugliese | Shareholder

Mr. Pugliese's litigation practice principally involves representing insurance clients in subrogation and first-party property claims. He has conducted and supervised numerous site investigations of catastrophic losses, including the retention of experts and preservation of evidence in subrogation and worker's compensation matters. Representative subrogation cases include issues involving: fire causation and spread; construction defects; product liability; warranty claims; breaches of contract; and complex damages. Mr. Pugliese has been involved in all phases of litigation of such claims. He has obtained favorable jury verdicts and arbitration awards on behalf of his clients, as well as successfully argued before the Appellate Court of Illinois. He has also resolved numerous matters through mediation, including: a $2.99 million settlement arising out of a fire at a food processing facility in Indiana; a $2.7 million settlement related to a fire loss involving faulty construction in Florida; and a $790,000 recovery arising out of a fire that destroyed a historic building in Texas.

Mr. Pugliese's first-party practice includes loss investigation and providing legal opinions in property insurance coverage matters including issues related to employee dishonesty, bad faith, business interruption, arson, builder's risk, contamination and environmental claims. Mr. Pugliese advised insurers with respect to various coverage issues relative to the 2005 hurricanes, including the application of coverage exclusions and deductibles, debris removal, business interruption, extra expense and code upgrades. Mr. Pugliese also conducted numerous presentations on claims handling practices in Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Alabama following the 2005 hurricanes. He has extensive experience in litigating complex first-party coverage disputes through trial.

Before joining Fisher Kanaris, P.C., Mr. Pugliese gained extensive experience in personal injury matters involving first and third-party claims. He also served as an arbitrator for the Cook County Circuit Court, and successfully completed the Fred Lane Trial Techniques course.

Prior to his litigation practice, Mr. Pugliese was the staff attorney for the civil division judges in the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court. His responsibilities included extensive research and drafting of legal memoranda for numerous judges, including Illinois Supreme Court Justice Robert R. Thomas, former Illinois Supreme Court Justice Louis S. Rathje, and Federal District Court Judge Jack Darrah.