D&O Monitoring Counsel

Philipp Strasser, Jan Philipp Meyer and their team have acted as coverage and monitoring counsel in multiple cases, mounting a defence against D&O claims relating to corrupt acts, tax offences, environmental scandals and delays in filing for insolvency.

Defence against Investor Claims

Our team assists FIPI/EO insurers on an ongoing basis with the monitoring of insured mass actions brought by investors against financial institutes and securities firms due to losses incurred on investments and securities.

Arbitrator in VIAC Industrial Loss Case

Philipp Strasser acted as an arbitrator in a proceeding (VIAC, Vienna) concerning non-contractual damage claims for a massive industrial loss.

Restructuring of Real Estate Portfolios

Peter Haindl advised an Austrian institutional real estate investor for restructuring its health care real estate portfolio. The restructuring included the spin-off of certain business divisions and their subsequent disposal.

Defence against Indirect Shareholder Losses (D&O)

Philip Strasser has advised a number of international insurers on monitoring issues as well as the parties they insure on the defence against indirect shareholder loss claims against corporate bodies with insurance cover.

Division of Responsibility / Corruption – Failure to Supervise (D&O)

Our team has assisted insurers to evaluate the extent of management duties to monitor employees for the purposes of preventing corporate embezzlement and corruption.

Coverage Disputes before Courts Abroad

Acting on behalf of several affected insurers, and in close cooperation with a local law firm, Jan Philipp Meyer’s team have successfully avoided coverage claims before the Bulgarian courts (sports boat hull insurance, applicability of Austrian substantive law).

New Development: Mixed-use Buildings

Peter Haindl advised an institutional real estate investor on the development, completion and renting out of a mixed-use building. The case also concerned the acquisition of the remaining shares from the joint venture partner as part of a share deal.

Fake President (Cyber/Crime/D&O)

The team has taken on a number of “fake president” cases involving different coverage structures (based both on cyber or crime wording) and aspects of director’s and officer’s liability for providers of D&O insurance.

State-of-the-art IT? (Cyber)

We help international insurers to prepare for claims under cyber-crime insurance policies and to subsequently defend themselves against those claims, arguing that the technical risks has not been adequately disclosed at the insured company.

Long-term D&O Monitoring in Group Insolvency

Members of our team took over the D&O monitoring in the course of the major insolvency of a listed, international industrial company over a period of several years and handled a large number of manager liability cases – mostly in connection with group-wide cash pooling.

Collaborative Defence in D&O Matters

Our team acted on behalf of an international provider of D&O insurance as part of strategic collaborative defence against two claims brought against the former manager of an insolvent company by an insolvency administrator (the claims ran into the millions) for breaches of capital maintenance obligations.

Real Estate Transactions – Forward Deals

Peter Haindl has supported real estate developers and investors in negotiating and executing numerous real estate forward deals (forward funding; forward purchase). He represented sellers/contractors as well as buyers/clients.

Defence against COVID-related BI-claims

Philipp Strasser and Jan Philipp Meyer have taken care of several business interruption cases relating to COVID and acted on behalf of the insurance sector in successfully defending against the claims.

VIAC Arbitration Proceedings Relating to W&I Claims

The team excelled itself in its work on an arbitration proceeding (ICC, Vienna) where a defence was mounted against a construction law warranty claim on behalf of a W&I insurer.

Liability Claims against Prospectus Auditor

Philipp Strasser acted on behalf of a third-party liability insurance provider as part of the defence against investor claims against a prospectus auditor.

Claim for Reimbursement of Defence Costs (D&O)

The team gives ongoing advice on numerous criminal law proceedings relating to D&O monitoring clients, representing various international insurers.

(Cross-border) Defence Coordination against Liability Claims

The members of our team were responsible for successfully settling contentious manager liability claims and D&O coverage claims relating to a risk which was located in Switzerland but insured in Austria. Several management and supervisory bodies from the technology sector had had claims brought against them.

Defence against Claims Lodged by Neighbours

With Peter Haindl’s help, claims brought before the courts by neighbouring parties in the context of the total renovation and restructuring of an office building in the 1st district of Vienna were successfully repelled.

Grenzen der Bauherrenhaftpflicht

Philipp Strasser successfully defended an international insurance company against claims brought by neighbouring parties under a building owner’s liability insurance policy.

Monitoring and Handling of Major Loss Claims Relating to Damage to the Environment

The team of Philipp Strasser and Jan Philipp Meyer have already taken care of multiple complex large claims concerning environmental and environmental penal law, processing the related claims. These cases included high-profile waste deposit claims (D&O, business liability, environmental insurance).

Large Cyber Claims

Our team members acted as coverage counsel related to a large cyber claim where restoration cost claims had to be assessed. They also assisted the insurer in limiting possible coverage claims and the business interruption claims expert in obtaining the necessary information to make his assessment.

“Austrianisation” of Various Insurance Wordings / Conditions

The team of Philipp Strasser and Jan Philipp Meyer regularly advises national and international insurers on the drafting and revision of existing sets of insurance terms in different languages. This has included financial lines (cyber, D&O, fidelity bonds) but also comprehensive and collision insurance products and even some of the more unusual insurance variants (recently: adaptation of a term life insurance policy for horses to Austrian law).

Negotiation of International Supply Agreements

We provide ongoing advice to an Austrian supplier from the entertainment and consumer electronics industry. Most recently, this concerned the structuring of (framework) supply agreements with international companies.

Enforcement of Various Claims against Austrian Companies Selling Industrial Goods

Jan Philipp Meyer and his team represented a Bulgarian commercial agent and authorised dealer as part of the recovery of compensation and damages claims. The underlying contracts contained a VIAC arbitration clause.

Enforcement of Claims under U.S. Law in Austria

Our team advised two foreign companies on the recovery of statutory damage claims (the value of which ran into the millions) which a US court had awarded to an Austrian company.

Defence Against Claims under Professional Liability Insurance

Over the past few years, our team has successfully defended against claims brought against doctors, dentists, architects, lawyers and auditors.