Kurt M. Zitzer

Mr. Zitzer is a litigation attorney. Kurt was recently honored by his peers by being selected once again as one of the Top 50 attorneys in the Southwest by Southwest Super Lawyers®. Additionally,AZ Business magazine recently selected Kurt as one of Arizona’s top 100 lawyers and a top 10 lawyer in the area of Employee Benefits and Insurance Law. Kurt is also included in The Best Lawyers in America® in the areas of Insurance Law and Products Liability Litigation – Defense. His practice focuses on writing coverage opinions for a wide variety of insurance product lines. When these positions are disputed, he defends them. The cases I enjoy most are those that derive from one-of-a-kind commercial insurance policies----cases that present brand-new issues to the courts and create new law. He has defended commercial insurance cases in 14 states----in mediation, arbitration, litigation, on trial and on appeal. Kurt also has experience serving as an arbitrator in private arbitrations involving insurance coverage disputes, and as an expert witness involving coverage and bad faith claims.

Kurt also engages in reinsurance coverage opinion writing, mediation and arbitration----focusing primarily on facultative reinsurance agreements for property and casualty insurers.

In addition to insurance coverage and commercial litigation, he defends clients----especially lawyers and accountants----faced with professional liability claims. He represents accountants confronted with disciplinary proceedings and malpractice claims, as well as other professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, real estate and insurance. As an active member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society, Kurt regularly speaks at this group's seminars on emerging issues in professional liability.

Kurt’s practice includes the defense of product liability claims involving the manufacturing, distribution and sale of vehicles and their component parts, small machinery, household products, HVAC equipment, construction materials and other consumer products. Mr. Zitzer has successfully defended serious bodily injury and wrongful death claims as well as property damage claims in Arizona and other jurisdictions. He has resolved suits through trial, arbitration, motion practice and mediated settlement, and Kurt is regularly called upon to defend the interests of those companies accused of manufacturing, distributing or selling a dangerous of defective product.

He also represents real estate developers, with a focus on projects that include hospitality, medical and professional office buildings. He uses his knowledge of insurance coverage to advise clients on risk management issues----including procurement of insurance and drafting of construction contracts.