Calfee Insurance Coverage Attorney Tae Andrews Quoted in Law360 Insurance Authority Article on Smoke Damage Coverage Ruling

Mentioned and Quoted

Calfee Insurance Coverage Senior Counsel Tae Andrews was quoted in the July 31, 2025, Law360 Insurance Authority article, "Top Property Insurance Decisions So Far In 2025," which highlights several significant property insurance rulings from the first half of 2025, including a California appellate decision in Gharibian et al. v. Wawanesa General Insurance Co. that has sparked debate over coverage for smoke damage resulting from wildfires. 

In the article written by Eli Flesch, Tae commented on the implications of the Gharibian decision, which denied coverage for debris from the 2019 Saddle Ridge fire. "This Gharibian decision — I view this as a molehill that the insurer side of the bar will try to turn into a mountain," Andrews said. "This case will be factually distinguishable from many other policyholders' wildfire claims."

The ruling has drawn concern from policyholder advocates who fear it could be used to deny smoke damage claims that would typically be covered. Andrews emphasized that the decision should not be seen as broadly applicable, noting the unique facts of the case and the potential for future litigation to clarify the scope of smoke damage coverage. 

Read the full Law360 Insurance Authority article.

Note that this publication may require a subscription to access the referenced article. If you need assistance, contact info@calfee.com.

---

Calfee’s Policyholder Insurance Coverage practice group has helped its clients manage and protect nearly $2 billion in insurance assets in recent years. The team serves corporate insurance policyholder clients in Ohio and nationwide, helping to manage and minimize the risks, losses, and liabilities that pose threats to clients. Calfee’s Insurance Coverage attorneys provide advisory and claims services, assisting clients with the placement and enhancement of their insurance policies, reviews of their existing policies, shaping and pursuing claims to get losses paid by their insurance companies, negotiating resolutions to disputed insurance claims, litigating coverage lawsuits against their insurers, and finding solutions for insurance coverage issues in corporate M&A deals. The team has experience with a wide array of policy types, from newer products such as cyber and M&A representations and warranties insurance, to more traditional policy forms such as commercial general liability (CGL), umbrella, excess, property, D&O, professional liability, and EPL policies, to more specialized policies such as builder’s risk, liquor, and aviation. Calfee's Insurance practice is ranked by Chambers USA 2025 in Band 1 in Insurance: Policyholder Law in Ohio. 

Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP is a full-service corporate law firm with 160 attorneys and professionals and five offices in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Washington, D.C. Calfee serves clients in the Midwest, nationally and globally in the areas of Corporate and Finance, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, Energy and Utilities, Estate and Succession Planning and Administration, Government Relations and Legislation, Intellectual Property, Investment Management Law, Labor and Employment, Litigation, and Real Estate Law. Calfee has been recognized as a leading law firm by Chambers USA 2025 in Antitrust, Banking & Finance, Construction, Corporate/M&A, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation, Energy & Natural Resources, Environment, Government Relations, Insurance, Intellectual Property, Investment Funds: Regulatory & Compliance, Labor & Employment, Litigation: General Commercial, Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, and Real Estate, and by Chambers HNW 2024 in Private Wealth Law. A founding member of Lex Mundi, Calfee offers international representation through a network of independent law firms with access to 22,000 attorneys located in more than 125 countries. Additional information is available at Calfee.com.