Eugene Anderson
Encyclopedia
Eugene Robert Anderson was an American trial lawyer who developed creative solutions to require insurance
companies to cover commercial claims related to asbestos
exposure and pollution, years after the original policies had been issued.
. As the child of a single mother who was frequently disabled, Anderson lived at various times in orphanages and foster care
. He worked to pay for his college education and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles
. While hitchhiking
cross country, he was picked up one day by a lawyer who helped him gain admission to Harvard Law School
. He received an LL.M. degree from New York University School of Law
.
, but left to become an Assistant United States Attorney
for the Southern District under Robert M. Morgenthau
. He started his own practice in 1969, which was ultimately known as Anderson Kill & Olick.
Anderson represented companies that had been the targets of lawsuits by individuals claiming that they had been exposed to material like asbestos or toxic waste
, who often became ill and filed claims many years after they had first come into contact with the material. Companies that tried to make claims to cover their costs found that business insurers would pass the buck. A company that had used different insurers over the years would find that firms would say that the insurer who should be responsible was either the one who insured the company when the individual was exposed, or the one that was the insurer when the person became ill, or the one who provided coverage when the person filed suit or sought coverage. Each insurer would point the finger at the other and no one company would accept responsibility. In lawsuits filed on behalf of corporations, Anderson helped establish the principle in federal appellate court of the "triple trigger", which would allow a company to be covered at any of the points where an individual was either exposed, turned ill or filed a claim.
A resident of Manhattan
, Anderson died at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital
/Weill Cornell Medical Center at age 82 on July 30, 2010, due to double pneumonia. He was survived by his wife, a son and three grandsons.
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
companies to cover commercial claims related to asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
exposure and pollution, years after the original policies had been issued.
Early life
Anderson was born on October 24, 1927, in Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. As the child of a single mother who was frequently disabled, Anderson lived at various times in orphanages and foster care
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
. He worked to pay for his college education and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. While hitchhiking
Hitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long...
cross country, he was picked up one day by a lawyer who helped him gain admission to Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
. He received an LL.M. degree from New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....
.
Legal career
He worked his way up to partner at the law firm of Chadbourne & ParkeChadbourne & Parke
Chadbourne & Parke LLP, founded in 1902 by Thomas L. Chadbourne, currently has some 400 lawyers and tax advisors in 13 offices in ten countries...
, but left to become an Assistant United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the Southern District under Robert M. Morgenthau
Robert M. Morgenthau
Robert Morris Morgenthau is an American lawyer. From 1975 until his retirement in 2009, he was the District Attorney for New York County, the borough of Manhattan.-Early life:...
. He started his own practice in 1969, which was ultimately known as Anderson Kill & Olick.
Anderson represented companies that had been the targets of lawsuits by individuals claiming that they had been exposed to material like asbestos or toxic waste
Toxic waste
Toxic waste is waste material that can cause death or injury to living creatures. It spreads quite easily and can contaminate lakes and rivers. The term is often used interchangeably with “hazardous waste”, or discarded material that can pose a long-term risk to health or environment.Toxic waste...
, who often became ill and filed claims many years after they had first come into contact with the material. Companies that tried to make claims to cover their costs found that business insurers would pass the buck. A company that had used different insurers over the years would find that firms would say that the insurer who should be responsible was either the one who insured the company when the individual was exposed, or the one that was the insurer when the person became ill, or the one who provided coverage when the person filed suit or sought coverage. Each insurer would point the finger at the other and no one company would accept responsibility. In lawsuits filed on behalf of corporations, Anderson helped establish the principle in federal appellate court of the "triple trigger", which would allow a company to be covered at any of the points where an individual was either exposed, turned ill or filed a claim.
A resident of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, Anderson died at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital
NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital
NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital is a prominent university hospital in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools: Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and Cornell University's Weill Medical College. It is composed of two distinct medical centers, Columbia...
/Weill Cornell Medical Center at age 82 on July 30, 2010, due to double pneumonia. He was survived by his wife, a son and three grandsons.