Practice Areas
Education
Bar and Court Admissions
Past Professional Experience

Catherine M. Colinvaux

Partner
Boston
950 Winter Street
Suite 1300
Waltham MA 02451
TEL: (781) 466-0704
FAX: (781) 466-0701
{ mail } ccolinvaux@zelle.com
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Catherine represents both plaintiffs and defendants in complex disputes and appeals, including insurance coverage matters, reinsurance arbitrations, and class actions. Catherine has extensive first- and third-party insurance coverage experience, including more than fifteen years serving as national counsel in multi-million dollar environmental, asbestos and product defect insurance disputes. In recent years, Catherine has devoted much of her time to 9/11 World Trade Center property insurance matters, including serving as trial and appellate counsel in the Silverstein insurance coverage litigation. Catherine’s advocacy experience also includes direct involvement with regulatory authorities and Congressional staffs. Catherine served as the firm's Diversity Coordinator from 2006-2009.

Representative Matters

Port Authority 9/11 Litigation (lead counsel for major insurer in lawsuit and appraisal relating to multi-billion dollar insurance claims made by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for property damage and business interruption caused by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack)

Allianz Insurance Company v. World Trade Center Properties LLC (Insurance coverage action, including two month jury trial, and related appraisal involving destruction of World Trade Center complex on 9/11 and claims in excess of $7 billion for property damage and time element losses)

Fiber Optic Class Action Litigation  (More than fifty coordinated class actions in which class members alleged trespass by multiple telecommunication company defendants on class members' property via the construction of nationwide fiber optic networks, and sought hundreds of millions of dollars in damages)

Pollution Insurance Claims - representation of a major third-party insurer in all aspects of insurance coverage claims arising out of policyholder pollution liability, including litigation and settlement of multi-million dollar claims

Articles & Presentations

"The Assignment Clause in First-Party Property Insurance Policies: Are Postloss Assignments of Policy Proceeds Enforceable?," The Brief, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, Winter 2010 issue, co-author

"Practice Note: Protecting Decisions of the Arbitration Panel," Massachusetts Reinsurance Bar Association's Cover Notes, Winter 2009 issue, co-authored with Jubilee Menzies

"Experts and Ethics: Are the Rules Changing?," presentation to the ABA's Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section, 2005

"Y2K: A Litigator's Perspective," seminar presented to insurance claim adjusters group, speaker, 1999

"Coverage for Environmental Claims," Minnesota Institute for Legal Education, co-author, 1995

Professional Affiliations

Noteworthy

Catherine was named one of the Top 50 Female Massachusetts Super Lawyers in 2004. She is also AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer from 2004-2009 (each year since inception).

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