Charles E. "Chuck" Spevacek
Chuck has over 30 years of experience litigating complex commercial cases, with particular emphasis on the trial and appeal of insurance coverage disputes, including breach of contract, declaratory judgment and bad faith actions. Chuck was named by The Best Lawyers in America as its 2016 Minneapolis Mass Tort Litigation/Class Action - Defendants "Lawyer of the Year" and as its 2014 Minnesota Insurance Law “Lawyer of the Year.” He has twice been recognized by Minnesota Lawyer as an “Attorney of the Year”, in 2013 and in 2006. He was chosen as one of Minnesota’s 10 best appellate lawyers and has been recognized since 2003 as a Minnesota Super Lawyer, earning Top 100 distinction in twelve of those years. Since 2013, he has been identified byChambers USA as one of America's Leading Litigation Lawyers for Business. Chuck is the national coordinating claims counsel for the cyber-liability program of a major commercial insurer. He has shared his expertise on insurance issues in testimony before the Minnesota Legislature. Chuck serves on Meagher & Geer’s Management Committee and is co-head of the Insurance Practice Group. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Center of the American Experiment having previously served as Chair. Chuck also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Ridgeview Hospital Foundation and has served on the Board of Directors of The Purdue Alumni Association.
Representative clients include American Financial Group, AIG, Bituminous Insurance Company, Certain Underwriters at Lloyds of London, CNA Insurance Companies, Federated Mutual Group, The Guilford Specialty Group, Hartford Casualty Insurance Company, Liberty Mutual Insurance Companies, OneBeacon Insurance Group, Ltd., Riverstone Claims Management Services, Inc., Swiss Re Reinsurance Company, The Travelers Companies, Inc., and Westfield Insurance Companies.
Major cases include Land O' Lakes v. Employers Ins. Co. of Wausau, 2013 WL 4559813 (8th Cir., Aug. 29, 2013) (no coverage for cleanup of contaminated refinery); Engineering & Construction Innovations, Inc. v. L. H. Bolduc Co., Inc., 825 N.W.2d 695 (Minn. 2013) (additional insured coverage applies only to vicarious liability); Cynosure, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 645 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2011) (no coverage for TCPA claims under MA law); Cargill, Inc. v. ACE American Ins. Co., 784 N.W.2d 341 (Minn. 2010) (recognizing an equitable right to contribution for defense costs paid by a defending insurer against a non-defending insurer); West Bend Mut. Ins. Co. v. Federated Mut. Ins. Co., 598 F.3d 918 (7th Cir. 2010) (holding insurer's absolute pollution exclusion valid under Indiana law); Anderson v. Minnesota Insurance Guaranty Association et. al., 534 N.W.2d 706 (Minn. 1995), reh’g denied (Sept. 20, 1995) (rejecting “regulatory estoppel” as a means of invalidating the “sudden and accidental” pollution exclusion); Northern States Power Co. v. Fidelity and Casualty Co., 523 N.W.2d 657 (Minn. 1994) (announcing a pro-rata by time on the risk rule for allocation of indemnity amongst consecutively triggered insurance policies); and Federated Mutual Insurance Company v. Concrete Units Inc., 363 N.W.2d 751 (Minn. 1985) reh’g denied (March 29, 1985) (establishing that the term “property damage” as defined in the standard general liability policy did not include “diminution in value”). These decisions have been cited as significant precedent in over 300 published opinions and scholarly papers.
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402
