Greg Pendleton is a Chambers-ranked practitioner and among the leading insurance recovery attorneys in the Pacific Northwest. He represents only policyholders and has successfully obtained several seven- and eight-figure recoveries for his clients.

Over the past two decades, Greg has been involved in some of Washington’s largest commercial property insurance claims. His experience includes water and fire damage, business income loss, equipment breakdown, product recall and contamination, food spoilage, stock throughput, commercial crime, and vessel hull and machinery claims. Greg is also a leader in the rapidly evolving field of insurance for cyber losses and liabilities, including social engineering and computer fraud.

Greg’s practice includes litigating and negotiating disputes over liability coverage for professional errors and omissions, director and officer wrongful acts, construction defects, bodily injuries, data breaches and media liabilities, employment disputes, environmental contamination, and maritime damage.

After graduating from law school, Greg held a John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship in the Office of the Undersecretary of Commerce in Washington, D.C. Before joining GTTC, he practiced at law firms in Boston and Seattle.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

  • Tunnel boring machine breaks down, insurers refusing to pay – The $3.1 billion Seattle tunnel was designed to replace the downtown Alaskan Way Viaduct after it was damaged in a 2001 earthquake. The “Bertha” tunnel-boring machine sustained physical damage far beneath the surface, and a recovery shaft was drilled so that it could be repaired. A consortium of insurance companies denied coverage to Seattle Tunnel Partners’ (STP) claims under a Builder’s Risk Policy. STP, the contractor building the SR 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project in Seattle, is seeking coverage from its property insurers for damage to the project and the tunnel-boring machine. In 2015, STP filed a lawsuit seeking recovery of policy proceeds. Along with co-counsel, GTTC lawyers Dale Kingman, Matthew Pierce and Greg Pendleton represent STP in this ongoing massive insurance recovery case.
  • Long-tail coverage counsel to Weyerhaeuser Company – For nearly 30 years, GTTC’s lawyers have served as coverage counsel to iconic Northwest business Weyerhaeuser Company. Greg Pendleton, Frank Cordell, and Susannah Carr represented the company in litigation against the London Market, AIG, and other insurers over coverage for liability arising out of the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site, one of the largest and most costly Superfund sites in history.
  • Coverage counsel to Snohomish County after Oso landslide tragedy – On March 22, 2014 a massive landslide killed 43 people in the Steelhead Haven neighborhood near the community of Oso in Snohomish County, Washington. In the aftermath, victims and their families filed dozens of wrongful death claims against three defendants, including Snohomish County. These claims were consolidated in King County into the State’s largest-ever wrongful death action. Frank Cordell was selected to represent the County as coverage counsel, and, along with Greg Pendleton, prosecuted litigation against the insurers in federal court in Seattle.
  • City turns to insurer to help pay largest land use verdict in state history– In 2004, a developer proposed building a parking garage on land it owned. Over the ensuing years, the city in which the land is located was alleged to have frustrated the developer’s efforts. The city eventually took title to the land through a deed in lieu of foreclosure transaction. The developer sued the city more than a decade later. After more than three years of litigation, the King County Superior Court awarded $18.3 million to the developer – the largest land use judgment in the history of Washington State. The city appealed the verdict. Greg Pendleton successfully represented the city in a parallel insurance coverage case in federal court.
  • Coverage counsel for Alaska crab and fish processor – In late 2015 and early 2016, a series of massive windstorms and freeze events struck a small island in the Aleutian chain. The storms caused widespread property damage, including to the buildings and pier of an insured crab and fish processor. Jeff Tilden and Greg Pendleton represented the insured in federal court litigation against its insurer and a third-party administrator.
  • D&O coverage counsel for Alaska native corporation – Frank Cordell and Greg Pendleton successfully represented an Alaska native corporation in connection with its efforts to recover defense costs and settlement dollars from its Directors & Officers insurer. The dispute arose from fraud allegedly committed by the client’s former business associates in securing government construction contracts.
  • Washington produce supplier turns to GTTC – Dale Kingman and Greg Pendleton were tapped to represent a 105-year-old Washington company in connection with its effort to recover insurance dollars stemming from a recall of frozen vegetables. The federal court litigation concerned contaminated products insurance and tort liability of a wholesale insurance broker. Dale and Greg settled the case on favorable terms for GTTC’s client. Dale and Greg represented the same produce supplier in recovering funds from its London-based Stock Throughput carrier for product losses stemming from listeria contamination.
  • Potato Company Relies on GTTC for Property Insurance Advice and Litigation – GTTC lawyers Dale Kingman, Greg Pendleton, and Brendan-Winslow Nason have successfully represented one of the state’s largest potato and produce companies in several large property damage and business interruption claims, including claims stemming from massive warehouse fires.
  • Coverage counsel for bank in condo defect case – Prime Pacific Bank and PPB Sunset 100 Properties LLC were sued by their insurers in a declaratory judgment action. The insurers contended there was no coverage stemming for an underlying construction defect case involving waterfront condominiums in Everett, Washington. GTTC lawyers Dale Kingman and Greg Pendleton successfully defended the coverage action on behalf of their banking clients.
  • Amicus counsel for the Association of General Contractors of Washington – GTTC lawyers Frank Cordell and Greg Pendleton prepared a successful amicus curiae brief on behalf of the Association of General Contractors in T-Mobile USA, Inc. v. Selective Insurance Company of America. The case asked whether “an insurer was bound by representations made by its authorized agent in a certificate of insurance with respect to a party’s status as an additional insured under a policy issued by the insurer, when the certificate includes language disclaiming its authority and ability to expand coverage.” The Washington Supreme Court answered in the affirmative. The issue was of considerable importance to Washington’s construction industry because certificates of insurance are routinely relied upon as evidence of compliance with contractual insurance requirements.
  • Washington recycling business taps GTTC lawyers for multi-million dollar coverage and fraud action – Frank Cordell and Greg Pendleton successfully represented a local construction waste recycling business in coverage and tort litigation against its property and business income insurer.
  • Building owner hires GTTC to act as coverage counsel in crane collapse – In 2019, a tower crane in Seattle collapsed while being dismantled, killing four people and causing extensive property damage. GTTC lawyers Dale Kingman and Greg Pendleton represent the building owner in connection with its Builder’s Risk and CGL coverage interests.
  • Large agricultural firm engages Dale Kingman and Greg Pendleton on business income loss – GTTC’s client owns several grain bins in Montana and North Dakota. Two newly constructed bins experienced severe settlement due to a defectively designed ground improvement system, causing GTTC’s client to miss several wheat seasons. GTTC worked to secure a substantial business income payment from the client’s London property insurer.
  • Commercial real estate brokerage hires Greg Pendleton and Brendan Winslow-Nason in several complex coverage matters – GTTC lawyers Greg Pendleton and Brendan Winslow-Nason regularly represent a large commercial real estate brokerage and property management company in coverage disputes. These engagements include employment practices disputes, D&O disputes, and wrongful death disputes.
  • Cyber insurance coverage counsel – Greg Pendleton represents several local businesses, including financial institutions, shippers, and professional services firms in connection with cyber and wire fraud losses. Greg is one of Washington’s leading insurance recovery lawyers under cyber and social engineering policies.
  • Outside coverage counsel for property developer – Greg Pendleton acts as outside coverage counsel for a successful Seattle property developer. Greg has negotiated resolutions of several water, fire, and other property damage claims for his client, as well as disputes with liability and property insurers of homeowner’s associations with which the client is affiliated.

PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC INVOLVEMENT

  • Magnolia Little League, Board Member, 2022 – present
  • Magnolia Little League, Coach, 2021 and 2022
  • Magnolia Soccer Club, Coach, 2019

PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS

Publications

  • “Shareholder Derivative Litigation: A Primer for Insurance Coverage Counsel,” The Brief, American Bar Association, August 2013
  • “This Isn’t Your Father’s D&O Risk,” Business Insurance, February 14, 2013
  • “De-mystifying D&O Coverage,” Eisner Amper SEC Trends & Developments, September 2012
  • “Avoiding the IPO Queue,” IQ Insider Quarterly, Issue 39, Autumn 2011
  • “Case Study: Texas Mutual Insurance v. Ruttiger,” Law360.com, October 26, 2011
  • “Securities Litigation Against Chinese Issuers,” Bloomberg Law, July 14, 2011
  • “FDIC Renews Pursuit of Claims Against Directors and Officers of Failed Banks,” PLUS Journal, May 2011
  • “State Responsibility and the High Seas Marine Environment: A Legal Theory for the Protection of Seamounts in the Global Commons,” 14 Pac. Rim L. & Pol’y J. 485 (2005)

Presentations

  • Speaker, The Seminar Group, “Insurance Law” for the 20th Annual CLE Bootcamp, December 2021, Seattle, WA
  • Speaker, GTTC Insurance Recovery Webinar, “Life of a Property Claim,” December 2021
  • Speaker, Lockton Insurance, Lockton Law Days – Environmental Insurance Webinar, October 2021
  • Speaker, Propel Insurance, Insurance Webinar, October 2021, Tacoma, WA
  • Speaker, The Seminar Group, “Insurance Law” for the 19th Annual CLE Bootcamp, December 2020, Seattle, WA
  • Moderator, Puget Sound Claims Managers Council, Education Luncheon, Roundtable Discussion of COVID-19 Insurance Coverage Issues, April 2020, Seattle, WA
  • Speaker, PLUS Northwest Chapter, 2019 Annual “Cyber Liability” Conference, Seattle, WA
  • Speaker, Propel Insurance, Lunch and Learn, August 2019, Tacoma, WA
  • Speaker, GTTC Insurance Recovery Seminar, Insuring Against Cybercrime in the Modern Era, June 2019, Seattle, WA
  • Speaker, Puget Sound Claims Managers Council, Education Luncheon, Insurance Case Law Updates and Traps for the Unwary, May 2019, Seattle, WA
  • Speaker, Fundamentals of, and Insurance Coverage for, Merger Objections Suits, June 25, 2013, New York, New York
  • Speaker, At the Intersection of U.S. Securities Law & International Business, Boston University School of Law, January 12, 2012

PERSONAL

My wife and I spend much of our free time shuttling our kids around the Puget Sound to various youth sporting events and activities.  We would not have it any other way.  We like to return to our native British Columbia whenever we can, be it skiing at Whistler or visiting family and friends in Vancouver, Victoria, and the Sunshine Coast.