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

  • Large Washington produce supplier turns to GTTC for multiple coverage matters – Greg Pendleton and Brendan Winslow-Nason have represented a large vegetable and fruit grower and processor in several insurance coverage disputes.  This includes collective recoveries of nearly $100 million for large warehouse fires, product recalls, business interruption losses, aviation accidents, and general liability exposures.  Greg and Brendan have litigated many of these matters in federal and state courts throughout the Pacific Northwest.  Greg also represents other fruit and vegetable growers and suppliers in central and eastern Washington, including on machinery breakdown and stock throughput claims.
  • Outside general counsel for restaurant and amusement business – Greg Pendleton acts as outside general counsel for a successful, family-owned business with multiple restaurants and amusement rides in Washington and California, as well as a fishing lodge in British Columbia.  Greg provides his client with advice on risk management and insurance, property and liability claims, contracts with vendors and suppliers, and expansion opportunities.
  • Coverage counsel for many property owners and developers – Greg Pendleton acts as outside coverage counsel for several Seattle-based property owners and developers. Greg has negotiated resolutions of many water, fire, electrical, and other property damage claims for his clients, as well as disputes with liability insurers and condominium associations.
  • Insurance recovery counsel for the construction industry – Greg Pendleton regularly provides coverage advice and representation to large construction and mechanical firms in the Pacific Northwest.  This includes litigation over general and professional liability exposures, such as construction and design defects and additional insured issues.  Greg is also versed in builder’s risk coverage, having advised many clients—including subcontractors and materialmen—on coverage for losses occurring during construction activities.
  • Amicus counsel for the Association of General Contractors of Washington – GTTC lawyers Greg Pendleton and Frank Cordell 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.
  • Counsel for healthcare clients – GTTC’s Greg Pendleton frequently provides coverage advice for hospitals, clinics, and individual healthcare professionals for malpractice claims and property losses.  He has successfully negotiated and litigated claims against insurers seeking to limit coverage in large medical negligence actions and provides “duty to settle” and personal counsel advice to myriad physicians, dentists, and clinicians facing excess-of-limits exposures.
  • Insurance recovery representation for fishing and maritime clients – Greg provides advice to large fishing companies and fish processors whose fleets winter in Seattle and fish other seasons in Washington and Alaska.  Greg’s representation includes fire damage to vessels, wind damage to shore-based facilities, pollution insurance for waste spills, and corporate life insurance and contract disputes.
  • Cyber insurance coverage counsel – Greg Pendleton represents several local businesses, including banks, annuity companies, shippers, hospitals, and professional services firms in connection with cyber and wire fraud losses, as well as class actions related to web tracking and pixels. Greg is one of Washington’s leading insurance recovery lawyers under cyber and social engineering policies.
  • Commercial real estate brokerage hires Greg Pendleton and Brendan Winslow-Nason in several complex coverage matters – GTTC lawyers Greg Pendleton and Brendan Winslow-Nason frequently represent a large commercial real estate brokerage and property management company in coverage disputes. These engagements include employment practices disputes, D&O disputes, premises liability matters, and coverage for wrongful death litigation.
  • Tunnel boring machine broke down, insurers refused to pay – The $3.1 billion Seattle tunnel was designed to replace the downtown Alaskan Way Viaduct. The “Bertha” tunnel-boring machine sustained extensive physical damage far beneath the surface of the city. A consortium of insurance companies denied coverage to Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP) under a builder’s risk policy. GTTC lawyers Dale Kingman, Matt Pierce, and Greg Pendleton successfully represented STP in this massive insurance recovery case.
  • Building owner hires GTTC to act as coverage counsel in crane collapse – A tower crane in Seattle collapsed while being dismantled, killing four people and causing extensive property damage. GTTC lawyers Dale Kingman and Greg Pendleton advised the building owner in connection with its builder’s risk and general liability coverage interests.
  • Coverage counsel to Snohomish County after Oso landslide tragedy – A massive landslide killed 43 people near the community of Oso in Snohomish County, Washington. In the aftermath, victims and their families filed dozens of wrongful death claims.  GTTC’s Frank Cordell and Greg Pendleton prosecuted coverage litigation against the insurers in federal court in Seattle.
  • Local city turns to GTTC to secure insurance coverage following largest land use verdict in state history – A land developer sued the city for frustrating his development efforts.  The King County Superior Court awarded $18.3 million to the developer – the largest land use judgment in the history of Washington State.  Greg Pendleton successfully represented the city in a parallel insurance coverage case in federal court.

Coverage advice for clients around the country – Greg Pendleton regularly provides coverage advice for clients outside of Washington.  Acting pro hac vice, he has litigated and negotiated several property and liability coverage disputes in California.  He has also represented a property owner on a fire claim in Texas causing more than $60 million in property loss, as well as a complex freeze and vandalism claim in Oklahoma.  Finally, he has advised multiple clients based in Alaska, including native corporations and a power company that suffered millions of dollars in damage to an undersea cable.

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.