Practice Areas

Description of Practice Areas

Aviation

Mr. von Ohlen has responded to the legal and counseling needs of the aviation community for over a quarter of a century on a wide variety of matters ranging from mass disasters to baggage claims. He is a private pilot and he has worked with countless aviation industry professionals including professional pilots, aerospace engineers, accident investigators, aviation insurance underwriters, and airport and air traffic control personnel. His experience as an actual participant in the aviation community helps him not only to understand the technical aspects of an aviation case but also to understand the business of his clients.

A sampling of the issues that Mr. von Ohlen has been privileged to serve the aviation community on includes matters involving:

Air Carrier Operations

Regional Airlines

Airport Liability

General Aviation Aircraft

Airworthiness Directive and Service Bulletin Counseling

Helicopters

Passenger Loading Bridges

Agricultural Spraying

Fixed Based Operator (FBO) Exposures

Domestic and International Cargo

In-Flight Fires

Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act Counseling

Aviation Insurance and Reinsurance

Additional Insured Coverage Issues

Insurance Policy Wordings

Lessor/Lessee Liability

FAA Certificate and Enforcement Actions

Disaster Response Planning

Negligent Entrustment, Training, and Supervision

Avionics

Foreign Object Debris

Bird Ingestion

Air Traffic Control

Product Liability

Premises Liability

Warsaw Convention Matters

Frequent Flier Programs

Aircraft Purchase Agreements

Warranty Issues

Toxic Torts

Travel Agents and Consolidators

Airline Ticketing

Ground Service Providers

Denied Boarding

Air Carrier Access Act

Mr. von Ohlen’s experience enables him to provide counseling following difficult and sometimes tragic accidents as he helps his clients navigate the investigative maze that inevitably follows such events. He has experience dealing with the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and local authorities. He has assisted with the development and implementation of Disaster Plans which are designed to ensure that his client’s personnel are equipped to respond to the dynamic needs of an event.

Mr. von Ohlen has experience dealing with aviation events that occur worldwide. Early in his career, he helped develop the law as it addressed the notion of what the term “United States” meant in the context of an aviation insurance policy. That case resulted in the seminal holding of the Illinois Appellate Court in Monarch v. Castellano which found that the “United States” ended for insurance coverage purposes at the three-mile territorial limit off the shore of the United States. Ever since those early days of his career, Mr. von Ohlen has advised the aviation community on “international” cases in Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, including the investigations and litigation that evolve from those events. He is adept at keeping cases out of jurisdictions where they should not be litigated and in challenging “forum shopping” claimants on both jurisdictional and forum non conveniens bases.

Finally, Mr. von Ohlen has acted as a risk management adjunct and resource for his clients. His experience provides a valuable baseline for making informed recommendations with the goal of providing his clients with guidance to achieve a favorable outcome, or at least, a reasonably predictable outcome. He has “reserved” thousands of cases for his clients and takes pride in distilling and communicating information in a format that is conducive to quick, efficient, and comprehensible consumption.

Business Litigation

Mr. von Ohlen has represented businesses and individuals in a wide variety of commercial litigation matters involving partnership issues, trademark disputes, contract disputes, ERISA issues, intentional business torts, defamation, unfair competition, non-compete covenants, trade secret misappropriation, breach of fiduciary duty, and misrepresentation and fraud.

Employment Litigation

Mr. von Ohlen has litigated matters involving wrongful termination; age, race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religious and disability discrimination, retaliatory discharge, and hostile work environment.

ERISA/ Employee Benefits Litigation

Mr. von Ohlen has extensive experience in representing employee benefit plans, plan fiduciaries, and third-party administrators on a broad range of ERISA-related issues, including asserted breaches of fiduciary obligations, ERISA preemption, and benefit claims. He has experience representing insurers, employers, and plan administrators with regard to claims made against them by plan participants and benefit recipients seeking recovery in the form of benefits, declaratory or injunctive relief, or other damages. His experience in navigating the complex world of employee benefit law enables him to often obtain early favorable resolution via Motions to Dismiss or Summary Judgment, thereby avoiding the need for a costly trial and business interruption to his client. When early resolution is not possible, Mr. von Ohlen’s experience as a trial attorney is the ultimate backstop enabling him to effectively vindicate his client’s interests at trial.

Insurance and Reinsurance Practice

Mr. von Ohlen provides a broad range of legal services directly to the insurance community. He is experienced in providing advice and coverage opinions on personal, commercial, and professional lines of insurance, arising in both first-party and third-party contexts. Mr. von Ohlen has dealt with a wide breadth of coverage issues, including third-party tenders, the status of additional insureds, late notice, pollution exclusions, trigger of occurrence issues, errors and omissions claims, allocation issues, and completed operations issues.

Mr. von Ohlen has extensive experience representing insurers, managing general agents, and third-party administrators in matters relating to life, health, disability, and accident insurance issues evolving from ERISA employee benefit plans.

He has provided coverage opinions and follows up his guidance, as necessary, either prosecuting or defending declaratory judgment actions in state and federal courts and in arbitrations. He has provided his clients with guidance on extra-contractual and bad faith issues and defended their interests from the trial through the appellate courts.

Mr. von Ohlen’s reinsurance practice includes representing reinsurers and cedants in various reinsurance matters, including insolvency issues, coverage litigation, disputes with third party administrators, and managing general agents in both litigation and arbitration forums.

Product Liability

Mr. von Ohlen has experience in handling a wide range of product liability cases. He not only defends against the allegations involved in a particular case but also is keenly aware of the need to defend the reputation of his client and their product line. He has litigated cases involving a wide range of industrial and consumer products including aircraft, tanning beds, coffee makers, electrical devices, and baking equipment. He often seeks aggressive resolution by challenging allegations based upon “junk science” and Motions to Strike Expert testimony.

Toxic Torts

Mr. von Ohlen has defended his clients against both real and perceived toxic tort claims. His experience ranges from cases involving a single claimant to those involving groups of individuals alleging a common toxic exposure. He has experience with cases alleging hazardous material spills, chemical drift, aerial application of herbicides, multiple chemical exposure, and insurance coverage for environmental claims.