Dawn B. Williams

Insurance Litigation

A dedicated adviser to insurance industry clients, Dawn has particular experience in cases related to the adequacy of disclosures in illustrations and marketing materials; sales practices; grace, lapse and other notices; and the administration of life insurance and annuity policies.

Most recently, she has secured the following for her clients:

• A federal Court of Appeals affirmance of the dismissal, at the pleading stage, of life insurer in a case alleging that a universal life policy was difficult to understand and was unsuitable for the owner’s financial goals.
• A victory at the federal and state appellate courts on a certified question concerning the assignment of life insurance benefits, resulting in an affirmance of the dismissal of the life insurer in a case challenging the lapse notice.
• Grant of summary judgment for insurer in putative class action challenging whether assisted living facilities qualified for long-term care benefits.
• Denial of class certification in a putative nationwide class action involving an auto insurer’s subrogation of medical payments.
• Dismissal at the pleading stage in a case regarding representations made during the sale and premium financing of a multimillion-dollar whole life policy.
• Denial of class certification of a putative nationwide class alleging improprieties in the way the insurer calculated nonguaranteed benefits.

Dawn also represents insurers in local and regional matters, such as individual consumer and agent sales practice actions. She has a keen interest in insurance-related issues in the District of Columbia and is an active member of the D.C. Insurance Federation.

A thought leader, Dawn frequently writes and speaks about hot-button topics in the industry. Her recent articles have covered indexed universal life insurance litigation, lapse notifications, elder abuse, cybersecurity and defeating class certification. Dawn shares her industry insight with clients to help them reduce risk and avoid costly disputes. She also serves as the leader for the Thought Leadership initiative of the firm's insurance industry group.

Dawn clerked for the Honorable Johanna L. Fitzpatrick, Chief Judge at the Court of Appeals of Virginia (2005-06).

Recent Representative Matters

Life & Annuity Decisions

• Graff v. Brighthouse Life Ins. Co., 109 F.4th 1118 (8th Cir. 2024), affirming 2023 WL 6845211 (D. Minn. Oct. 17, 2023) (affirming dismissal with prejudice of a case involving the language used and premiums paid for a universal life insurance policy, finding, inter alia, that the claims were barred by the statute of limitations and that the policy adequately disclosed its operation).
• Brettler v. Allianz Life Ins. Co., 40 N.Y.3d 450 (N.Y. 2023) (answering certified question in favor of insurer), 98 F.4th 83 (2d Cir. 2024) (affirming dismissal of life insurer in case alleging improper lapse notification where plaintiff was the assignee and the insurer was not notified of the assignment prior to the lawsuit)
• Zoulias v. MassMutual Life Ins. Co. (Va. Cir. Ct., 2022) (order sustaining insurer’s demurrer with prejudice in case involving suitability and alleged misrepresentations in sale and premium financing of multimillion-dollar whole life policy).
• Small v. Allianz Life Ins. Co. of N. Am., 2020 WL 5884757 (C.D. Cal. 2020) (order staying putative California class action claiming that the life insurer was required to comply with California’s grace and lapse statutes that post-dated the issuance of their policies).
• Thompson v. Allianz Life Ins. Co. of N. Am., 2019 WL 337587 (D. Minn. Jan. 2019) (order declining certification in a putative nationwide class alleging improprieties in the way the insurer calculated nonguaranteed benefits).
• Blau v. Allianz Life Ins. Co. of N. Am., 2018 WL 949222 (E.D.N.Y. 2018) (summary judgment for insurer in lawsuit alleging improper lapse notification provided to owner).
• Jakobovits v. Allianz Life Ins. Co. of N. Am., 2017 WL 3049538 (S.D.N.Y. 2017) (partial summary judgment for insurer in case involving allegations of improper grace notification for long-lapsed life insurance policies).
• LincolnWay Community Bank v. Allianz Life Ins. Co. of N. Am., 2015 WL 7251931 (N.D. Ill. 2015) (granting summary judgment for insurer and finding that STOLI policy was void at inception for lack of insurable interest).

Other Class Action Victories

• Garland v. Money One, Case No. C-02-CV-23-002619 (Md. Cir. Ct. 2024) (dismissing third-party defendant at pleading stage in putative state-wide class action alleging improper notices provided in auto repossessions).
• Rain v. New York Life, Case No. 17-30015 (D. Mass. July 24, 2023) (granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment in putative class action, finding that the assisted living facility in which plaintiff resided did not qualify for coverage under the long-term care group policy).
• Keister v. Allstate Fire & Cas. Ins. Co., 2023 WL 2930296 (W.D. Mo. Mar. 21, 2023) (order denying plaintiff’s motion for certification of a nationwide class in case alleging the insurer improperly subrogated medical payments made following an auto accident).
• Terry v. Corporate America Family Credit Union, et al., No. 19-1065 (D. Md. 2019) (order granting motion to dismiss without leave to amend on behalf of insurer in putative nationwide class action involving allegedly improper calculation of GAP insurance on personal vehicles).
• Logan v. Union Security Ins. Co., 2015 WL 3745047 (C.D. Cal. 2015) (order dismissing ERISA section 1132(a)(3) claim and other claims against insurer in putative class action concerning payment of accidental death and dismemberment benefits).
• Patel v. Specialized Loan Servicing, 2016 WL 1663827 (S.D. Fla. 2016) (dismissal with prejudice of lender-placed insurance class action complaint on grounds of fixed-rate doctrine).
• Meyer v. One West Bank, FSB, 2015 WL 1222402 (C.D. Cal. 2015) (order dismissing at pleading stage insurer in lender-placed insurance class action involving RICO and state statutory and common law violations).