NEW YORK -- Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C. has announced that the firm's founder and inspiration, Eugene R. Anderson, passed away on July 30, 2010, after complications arising from pneumonia.
A one-time U. S. prosecutor in the office of then-U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Robert M. Morgenthau, Mr. Anderson founded Anderson Kill in 1969 and was integral to the firm's success over four decades. Recognized as "the dean of policyholder's attorneys," as BusinessWeek dubbed him, he pioneered widely influential approaches to insurance coverage litigation on behalf of policyholders. That impact began with his landmark 1981 victory on behalf of Keene Corporation, which sought insurance coverage for millions of dollars in asbestos liabilities. Mentoring dozens of the nation's leading policyholder's attorneys, he built Anderson Kill into "a national giant in insurance law," as Best's Review dubbed the firm in 1998.
A tireless advocate on behalf of all policyholders, individual as well as corporate, Mr. Anderson took on a long succession of pro bono clients in insurance matters. Working in partnership with the nonprofit advocacy group, United Policyholders, he led Anderson Kill to file over 250 amicus briefs on behalf of policyholders in key insurance coverage cases. Many of these had a major impact on insurance law, including a brief cited in the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Humana v. Forsyth (1999), which subjected the insurance industry to liability under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
Mr. Anderson also authored hundreds of articles on insurance coverage matters, as well as the definitive two-volume reference for insurance recovery attorneys, Insurance Coverage Litigation (Aspen Publishers; Second edition, 1999).
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of a mentor whose boundless energy, creativity, tenacity and zeal on behalf of policyholders has inspired those of us now working at Anderson Kill, as well as hundreds of attorneys in practice throughout the nation," said Robert M. Horkovich, Anderson Kill's managing partner.
"While Gene is truly irreplaceable, few attorneys have imparted what they know with as much passion and impact as Gene did," said William G. Passannante, co-chair of Anderson Kill's insurance recovery group. "He has left behind a firm strongly committed to his ideals and infused with his work ethic and methods."
Mr. Anderson was a member of the New York City Mayor's Task Force on Automobile Insurance, chairman of the Amicus Committee of United Policyholders, director of Citizens Against Unfair Insurance Practices and a director of the Police Athletic League. He was a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles, Harvard Law School and New York University.
Mr. Anderson is survived by his wife, Jenny Morgenthau, executive director of the Fresh Air Fund; by his son, Matthew R. Anderson, and by three grandsons.
Funeral services will be held on Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel, 1076 Madison Avenue at 81st Street, NY, NY.
Source: Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C.