Overview

Clients rely on Leah Renee Bartlome to guide high-profile, complex insurance-related litigation and commercial disputes with precision and sound judgment. Clients trust Leah to provide excellent advocacy, develop targeted solutions, deliver outstanding results, and protect their broader business interests.  

Leah Renee Bartlome handles prominent complex insurance-related litigation and commercial disputes that often receive significant media attention. She has more than a decade of experience representing insurers, business entities, and individuals in insurance coverage, breach of contract, and consumer fraud actions, as well as mediation and arbitration. She also provides insurance coverage and allocation analysis and opinions. Leah is known for her detail-oriented approach and her ability to distill complicated procedural and substantive legal considerations into effective decision and action points that are aligned with a client’s broader business objectives.

Leah advises clients at all stages of legal disputes, including coverage analysis and pre-litigation assessment, strategy, and resolution, where appropriate. She is valued for her thoughtful judgment, candid advice, and steady approach to high-stakes matters. Leah’s practice is grounded in a practical understanding of the business and risk considerations that drive major commercial litigation, which she translates into strong and effective advocacy for her clients.

Leah is recognized for her expertise in litigating complex commercial actions that intersect with bankruptcy activity, which is a quickly growing and developing area of insurance law. For many years, she has guided and advocated for clients in insurance coverage disputes over environmental clean ups, environmental mass tort, and products liability, which typically involve complex scientific, regulatory, and factual issues and the intersection of multiple state and federal laws.

Clients entrust Leah with crafting solutions that are detail-oriented, legally sound, efficient, and tailored to their priorities and business interests.

Representative Experience

  • Represented insurance carrier in high-profile New York state court coverage action involving a well-known professional sports organization. Navigated the impact of multiple related first-party lawsuits, which were ongoing in state and federal courts across the country, on case resolution.
  • Represented multinational insurance carrier in coverage litigation filed in New Jersey state court by its policyholder. The action concerned $500 million in environmental cleanup costs and focused heavily on uncharted insurance coverage issues and expert testimony on fate and transport and state-of-the-art waste disposal practices.
  • Represented one of the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance carriers in coverage litigation brought by its policyholder, a quasi-governmental business entity, in the Eastern District of New York. Policyholders sought coverage for $67.2 million in environmental cleanup costs. Litigated novel choice of law considerations necessitated by the absence of binding authority by the highest local court, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
  • Defended high-profile chemical and additive supplier against $17 million claim by multinational corporation for breach of contract and consumer fraud.
  • Obtained summary judgment for a regional facility services provider in defense of negligence, respondeat superior, and other claims brought by dozens of office workers in New Jersey. In a separate action, obtained summary judgment for same client, in connection with negligence claims brought by a national retailer.
  • Represented a New York City-based architectural firm in AAA arbitration for breach of contract against construction contractor and its related alter ego entities.
  • Obtained dismissal of numerous products liability actions against client, a household-name manufacturer.
  • Affected pre-litigation settlement of clients’ claims against a residential contractor for thousands of dollars in damages related to breach of contract, negligence, consumer fraud, and other statutory claims.
  • Counseled and represented numerous skilled trade contractors seeking liens against real property to secure unpaid work, including the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Professional & Community Activities

  • South Brunswick Shade Tree Commission – Vice-Chairperson
  • Wills For Heroes – Volunteer
  • Carnegie Business Collaborative – Member

Representative Experience

  • Represented insurance carrier in high-profile New York state court coverage action involving a well-known professional sports organization. Navigated the impact of multiple related first-party lawsuits, which were ongoing in state and federal courts across the country, on case resolution.
  • Represented multinational insurance carrier in coverage litigation filed in New Jersey state court by its policyholder. The action concerned $500 million in environmental cleanup costs and focused heavily on uncharted insurance coverage issues and expert testimony on fate and transport and state-of-the-art waste disposal practices.
  • Represented one of the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance carriers in coverage litigation brought by its policyholder, a quasi-governmental business entity, in the Eastern District of New York. Policyholders sought coverage for $67.2 million in environmental cleanup costs. Litigated novel choice of law considerations necessitated by the absence of binding authority by the highest local court, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
  • Defended high-profile chemical and additive supplier against $17 million claim by multinational corporation for breach of contract and consumer fraud.
  • Obtained summary judgment for a regional facility services provider in defense of negligence, respondeat superior, and other claims brought by dozens of office workers in New Jersey. In a separate action, obtained summary judgment for same client, in connection with negligence claims brought by a national retailer.
  • Represented a New York City-based architectural firm in AAA arbitration for breach of contract against construction contractor and its related alter ego entities.
  • Obtained dismissal of numerous products liability actions against client, a household-name manufacturer.
  • Affected pre-litigation settlement of clients’ claims against a residential contractor for thousands of dollars in damages related to breach of contract, negligence, consumer fraud, and other statutory claims.
  • Counseled and represented numerous skilled trade contractors seeking liens against real property to secure unpaid work, including the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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