Aaren R. Host

Aaren has experience representing and defending insurance companies in a wide range of coverage issues in state and federal courts. She has handled appeals from both state and federal court judgments at each level, including all technical briefings, oral arguments, en banc reconsiderations, and discretionary appeals to the Ohio Supreme Court. Additionally, Aaren's experience extends to various employment discrimination claims, public utility disputes and professional liability lawsuits.  

Aaren also has handled and assisted in all levels of civil litigation, including initial suit analyses, litigation strategy development, settlement recommendations, written discovery, fact and expert depositions, discovery motions, dispositive motions, and trial preparations. In addition to her diverse litigation background, Aaren assists in managing regulatory investigations and counseling regulated companies in implementing business strategies.

She earned her Juris Doctorate degree from Cleveland State University College of Law where she was an award-winning member of the Moot Court Team and was the recipient of the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Constitutional Law. While at Cleveland State University College of Law, Aaren worked as a judicial extern to the Honorable Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, learning and observing the Ohio Supreme Court’s discretionary review process firsthand. Aaren earned her B.S. degree in Journalism from Ohio University in 2015. There, she worked on several Ohio University publications, including Thread Magazine and The Post.

Prior to joining Calfee in 2021, Aaren was a litigator in the Cleveland office of a large, regional law firm.

Honors & Recognitions

• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Appellate Practice and Insurance Law (2022-2024)
• Ohio Super Lawyers, Ohio Rising Stars, Appellate (2021-2024)

Education

J.D., cum laude, Cleveland State University College of Law, 2018

B.S., cum laude, Journalism, Minor in History, Ohio University, 2015

Experience

Representative Energy and Utilities Matters

• Calfee is providing direction on legal and regulatory strategy, draft filing, and pre-filed testimony and assisting in regulatory compliance and discovery processes for an independent organization that manages and administers significant energy markets in North America. Specifically, Calfee manages the stakeholder processes and presentations and assists with the client’s compliance with FERC Order No. 2222 directing RTOs to allow distributed energy resources (DER) to participate in wholesale electricity markets. This matter is of high importance to the client and involves FERC’s direction in Order No. 2222 and removes barriers to allow DERs to participate in wholesale markets, therefore expanding the grid to previously precluded resources. The rules developed through the stakeholder engagement and filings related to this FERC’s mandate will allow the expansion of wholesale market participation to aggregations of smart residential devices like thermostats and electric vehicle chargers.

Representative Insurance Coverage Matters

• Calfee’s client, a publicly traded, global company, has faced claims in multiple states from both government regulators and private claimants alleging that its chemical emissions have resulted in injury. Calfee is serving as the client’s lead insurance coverage counsel, designing and implementing a coverage strategy to secure defense and indemnification from certain of the client’s insurers. This matter is important because of the high-profile public nature and alleged public health hazards. The insurance coverage issues involve challenging questions surrounding the interpretation and application of key insurance policy provisions. There is a reasonable likelihood the newly filed lawsuit will set a precedent that will be cited and relied upon by courts nationwide on the scope of pollution exclusions appearing in commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policies.
• Calfee is serving a chemical distributor client as its insurance coverage counsel in connection with its efforts to obtain defense and indemnity from various insurance companies in connection with a series of third-party claims alleging serious bodily injuries, with each claimant seeking millions of dollars. Calfee’s services include litigating against the client’s historical liability insurers in U.S. federal court regarding their failure to honor the client’s allocation of its losses among its insurance policies and related bad faith claims handling by the insurers. The litigation is important because it includes first-impression insurance coverage issues that, if ruled upon by the court, will set key legal precedents under Ohio law regarding the application of Ohio’s “all sums” and equitable contribution doctrines for long-tail toxic tort and environmental pollution insurance coverage claims.
• Calfee is serving as outside insurance coverage counsel for a privately held, billion-dollar U.S. and Canadian manufacturing company. Calfee is guiding the client through two separate disputes alleging damage resulting from alleged product defects. These matters present unique and challenging issues pertaining to the interpretation and application of commercial general liability coverage grants and retentions.
• Calfee is serving as insurance coverage counsel for a privately held client’s efforts to recover its losses from its insurer, a publicly traded, Fortune 1000 company. In 2020, the client company sustained extensive property and business interruption losses as a result of violent protests that occurred in the wake of the George Floyd protests. This matter involves key questions about how to interpret and apply property insurance policies in the context of civil unrest and rioting, which has become increasingly common in the U.S.
• Calfee is serving as insurance and indemnification counsel in connection with a state-court lawsuit involving the allegedly homicidal death of a young minor at the hands of his parents, with allegations that the client nonprofit entity's employee failed in their duties and engaged in a scheme to improperly obtain the family’s social assistance program benefits. Calfee also serves as trial counsel for a related federal lawsuit filed by an excess insurer regarding the existence and scope of insurance coverage for the matter. This matter is important because it involves key questions of law pertaining to the scope of self-insurance programs, additional insured rights, and indemnification rights under Ohio common and statutory laws.
• Calfee's client, a university in Ohio, faces continuing business interruption losses and related extra expenses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Calfee is leading the university’s continuing efforts to recover millions of dollars for these losses from their property insurer. This matter is important because insurance coverage for COVID-19 business interruption losses has been a critical issue facing many U.S. companies. Notably, Calfee helped many other clients with their COVID-19 business interruption insurance coverage claims, including two additional Ohio universities, a publicly traded Fortune 500 company, two professional sports organizations, and various companies in the hospitality industry, which was one of the hardest-hit industries.

Representative Business, Corporate, and Commercial Litigation Matters

• Calfee is representing a mutual health insurance company in several litigation matters, specifically: (1) a class action lawsuit challenging the client's practices in connection with "value-based contracting" with medical providers; (2) a class action lawsuit challenging the client's practices also in connection with "value-based contracting" by medical providers but with a larger putative class; (3) an action alleging the breach of our client's agreements with two national insurance providers.

Professional & Community

• Cleveland State University College of Law, Moot Court Team, Coach (Fall 2019-present)
• Ohio State Bar Association Litigation Committee, Secretary (Spring 2021-present)
• Ohio State Bar Association Litigation Committee, Learning Liaison (Fall 2019-Spring 2021)
• Cleveland State University College of Law Alumni Association, Trustee (June 2021-present)
• Autism Speaks U, Recruitment Chair (September 2013-Present)