As Co-Chair of the firm’s Insurance Services Practice, Todd leads the group’s efforts throughout the Northeast, guiding strategy, as well as handling and overseeing matters involving insurance coverage, extra-contractual exposure, and bad faith litigation. In his role, Todd also drives key initiatives, supports practice development, and ensures the group delivers comprehensive, results-driven representation to insurers facing complex coverage disputes and high stakes bad faith claims. With nearly three decades of extensive experience, Todd has litigated a wide variety of claims at the trial and appellate levels of both the state and federal courts. Admitted to practice in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, he splits his time between our Philadelphia and Mount Laurel offices.
Todd is particularly experienced in managing cases that involve sophisticated "risk shifting" issues, including both additional insurance coverage and contractual indemnification. He has worked on a wide array of insurance coverage matters, spanning a broad base of first- and third-party claims and policy types. Todd has counseled insurers, third-party administrators and self-insureds throughout the life cycle of a matter, from the drafting of policy language to pre-suit investigation to the drafting of coverage opinions to litigating matters through the trial and appellate courts.
Todd lives with his wife, two children, pug (Lola) and French Bulldog (Beau) in Bucks County, PA. In his spare time, he is an avid fan of Philadelphia's professional sports teams and Rutgers basketball and football, and he plays in a modified fast-pitch, wood bat softball league. Todd is active in his synagogue, Shir Ami in Bucks County, and is a former member of its Board of Directors.
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Thought Leadership
Legal Updates for Insurance Services
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Holds That Public Policy Does Not Prevent Insurance Coverage for Sex Trafficking Claims
July 22, 2026
On July 21, 2026, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued an opinion emphasizing the limited circumstances in which courts may invoke public policy to bar insurance coverage, holding in Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd. (U.S. Branch) v. RI Settlement Trust that Pennsylvania public policy does not preclude coverage for claims alleging that insureds enabled or profited from human sex trafficking. The decision rejects a line of federal district court decisions predicting otherwise and reinforces that Pennsylvania courts will invoke the public policy doctrine only in the clearest of circumstances. RI Settlement is particularly significant because it arose on certified questions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, giving the Supreme Court the opportunity to resolve an issue on which federal courts had predicted Pennsylvania law differently. RI Settlement arose out of four separate civil complaints in which the underlying plaintiffs alleged that, as minors, they were the victims of human sex trafficking at various hotels in Philadelphia. The plaintiffs claimed that the hotel owners were negligent in failing to stop the sex trafficking from happening at their hotels. After the filing of the lawsuits, the hotel owners sought coverage under their Commercial General Liability policies. The insurers initially defended the hotels under Reservation of Rights letters, though the carriers later filed Declaratory Judgment actions seeking declarations that they did not owe a duty to defend or indemnify. In short, the insurers argued in the alternative that they did not owe any obligation to provide coverage based upon Pennsylvania public policy (because the claims violated the Human Trafficking Law – 18 Pa.C.S. § 3011) and the terms and conditions of the policy. On motions for judgment on the pleadings, the District Court found for the insurers on the basis of public policy: There is no duty to defend or indemnify against actions arising out of an insured's criminal conduct related to the sex trafficking of minors. The Court appreciates that it may make public policy the basis of a judicial decision only in “the clearest of cases.” See Minnesota Fire & Cas. Co. v. Greenfield, 589 A.2d 854, 868 (Pa. 2004) (quoting Hall v. Amica Mut. Ins. Co., 648 A.2d 755, 760 (Pa. 1994)). Yet, the Court strains to imagine a clearer case than the one presented here in which the facts alleged indicate that Policyholders engaged in criminal conduct in violation of Pennsylvania's Human Trafficking Law. The hotel owners appealed the matter to the Third Circuit, which petitioned the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to grant review of two certified questions of law: (1) whether Pennsylvania law had an “overriding public policy” against sex trafficking, such that an insurer’s duty to defend and/or indemnify is abrogated when an insured is alleged to have enabled or profited from such trafficking; and (2) if yes, is that duty abrogated whenever the insured’s alleged conduct would constitute a violation of the Pennsylvania Human Trafficking statute. Importantly, the certified questions did not ask the Supreme Court to determine whether the policies afforded coverage under their terms. Rather, the court was asked only whether Pennsylvania public policy independently barred coverage. As a result, the court assumed for purposes of answering the certified questions that the insurers otherwise owed a duty to defend and addressed only the public policy issue, leaving all policy-based coverage defenses for further proceedings. Because the court concluded that the answer to the first certified question was “no”, it did not reach the second issue. In reaching its determination that Pennsylvania public policy does not prohibit insurance coverage for sex trafficking claims, the court limited the impact of its decision in Minnesota Fire & Cas. Co. v. Greenfield, 855 A. 2d 854, 855 (Pa. 2004), which the RI Settlement opinion emphasized as having been an “Opinion Announcing Judgment of the Court” – or a plurality opinion. In Greenfield, the insured homeowner was sued by the estate of his houseguest who overdosed from heroin that he sold to her. The matter wound its way to the Supreme Court, which determined that the insurer did not owe a duty to defend or indemnify based upon Pennsylvania public policy, which criminalized the sale and use of heroin as a Schedule I narcotic. In RI Settlement, the court “decline[d] the invitation” to extend the rationale of the three-justice plurality in Greenfield beyond cases involving Schedule I controlled substances. In so holding, the justices in RI Settlement refused to “divine an overriding public policy pronouncement by the General Assembly by virtue of its enactment of the Human Trafficking Law.” The opinion further states that it is not “within the purview of this Court to rank the magnitude of the public policy underlying the various crimes defined in the Crimes Code. It is sufficient for the work of the courts to know that the General Assembly has identified conduct it deems harmful and dangerous to the maintenance of an orderly society and criminalized it.” While the court declined to declare that Pennsylvania public policy prohibits coverage for sex trafficking claims, the opinion in RI Settlement expressly states that insurers are free to include appropriate exclusionary language for such causes of actions in their policies if they desire to do so. It will certainly be interesting to see whether the insurance industry accepts the court’s invitation, or perhaps whether the Pennsylvania legislature steps in to clarify that sex trafficking claims are indeed of the type or magnitude that they should not be covered by insurance. In any event, we will, of course, continue to monitor this and other insurance coverage issues that arise before courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and throughout our firm’s geographic footprint and around the country.
Defense Digest
On the Pulse… Profile of the Insurance Services – Coverage and Bad Faith Litigation Practice Group
June 30, 2026
The Insurance Services – Coverage and Bad Faith Litigation Practice Group delivers comprehensive, end-to-end litigation and advisory services to national and global insurance carriers. While the group is deeply experienced in coverage and bad faith litigation, its capabilities extend well beyond traditional legal defense. Through its broader Insurance Services practice, the firm has built a dynamic suite of innovative, client-focused solutions tailored to the evolving needs of insurers operating in complex and high-risk environments. With attorneys present in jurisdictions spanning from Florida to New York, the practice group approaches each matter with a strategic, solutions-oriented mindset. Its attorneys focus not only on resolving disputes, but on proactively managing risk by developing creative strategies to control exposure, avoid litigation where possible, and transfer risk effectively. In doing so, the group remains mindful of the broader business implications for its clients, including the protection of brand integrity and competitive positioning within the insurance industry. The group’s experience encompasses the full spectrum of insurance products, including commercial, personal property, and casualty policies, professional liability coverage, health and life insurance, and workers’ compensation policies. This breadth allows the team to provide nuanced, industry-specific counsel across a wide array of coverage issues and claims scenarios. Leadership within the practice group reflects both geographic reach and subject-matter depth. Todd Leon, who has offices in Philadelphia and Mount Laurel, serves as the Northeast head, with Allison Krupp of the Camp Hill office serving as vice-chair. Michael Packer, based in Fort Lauderdale, oversees operations in the Southeast, with Danielle Robinson, also of Fort Lauderdale, as the vice chair. Together, they guide a team of approximately 20 attorneys who provide consistent, coordinated legal services across jurisdictions. The Southeast team, in particular, brings a sophisticated understanding of the unique legal and regulatory challenges associated with Florida’s insurance landscape. Across all offices, attorneys are supported by a strong network of associates, paralegals, and professional staff, enabling the group to efficiently manage even the most complex coverage disputes, including first-party property and automobile litigation. The group also benefits from the leadership and insights of Jim Cole, the former group chair, who is now the Director of the firm’s Professional Liability Department. The practice group has a proven track record of successfully representing insurers in both state and federal courts in first-party and bad faith litigation and in providing opinions on coverage issues in jurisdictions around the country. Its attorneys are well-versed in the intricacies of institutional discovery, including corporate designee, apex, and employee depositions, as well as the litigation tactics often employed by plaintiffs to drive settlement pressure. By offering strategic guidance at every stage – both pre-litigation and during active disputes – the group helps clients evaluate coverage positions, mitigate risk, and make informed decisions about resolution or trial. When litigation is unavoidable, the firm’s seasoned trial attorneys are prepared to vigorously defend even the most complex and high-exposure matters. Beyond litigation, the group offers a wide array of services designed to support insurers’ operational and strategic objectives. These include coverage consultation, coordinating counsel services, catastrophe (CAT) operation coverage strategies, and specialized support for first-party property and automobile claims. The team also provides SIU and fraud-related investigation and litigation services, indemnification and risk transfer strategies, and comprehensive bad faith evaluation and defense. Additional offerings include policy language review, representation before administrative and insurance departments, claims practices consultation, and institutional discovery support. The group also works closely with clients to develop best practices, internal guidelines, and customized training and educational programs tailored to the full range of insurance products. With 19 offices across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Florida, Ohio, and Connecticut, and an active presence in neighboring jurisdictions such as Maryland, West Virginia, and Kentucky, the Insurance Services Practice Group is positioned to provide seamless, regional, and national support. Its integrated approach ensures that clients receive not only skilled legal representation but also practical, forward-looking guidance designed to meet the demands of today’s insurance landscape.
