Michael D. Mulvaney

Michael Mulvaney is a Shareholder and member of Maynard Nexsen’s Litigation Section and its Insurance and Financial Services Practice group. An attorney, speaker, and storyteller, Michael has been called upon as lead trial counsel since he was a senior associate, either hired at the outset of cases or parachuting into existing high-risk cases in every tort hell jurisdiction in the United States since the early 1990s.

Michael's track record spans various high-exposure cases across the country, resulting in complete defense verdicts and client wins in fraud and bad faith cases for numerous companies in the United States, including California, West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Delaware, Nevada, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Missouri, and others.

Recent Trial Wins and Experience

2025

• Currently serving as lead class action and trial counsel for Principal Financial in a case alleging UCL claims in Marin County, California, filed in March of 2025.
• Lead trial counsel for insurance carrier in Las Vegas for $750,000,000 underlying judgment in UIM bad faith excess set up case.
• Lead class action and trial counsel defeating class certification in trial court and 9th Circuit for carrier in life insurance matter alleging damages of $900,000,000.
• Obtained complete defense verdict in January 2025 in Los Angeles bench trial for equitable claims against private equity fund manager seeking in excess of $175,000,000 in damages.
• Obtained summary judgment and defeat of class certification in the Central District of California for New York Life as lead class action counsel in a case alleging almost half a billion in damages in a lapse class action and individual matter.
• Retained as lead counsel in the only two separate mass/class actions and antitrust cases filed for both carriers, and the California Fair Plan in California, claiming damages for thousands of policyholders arising out of the historic January 2025 wildfires. Separately retained in multiple individual cases against carriers alleging fraud and under insurance, also arising out of the Jan 2025 wildfires.
• Retained in 2025 to parachute in as lead counsel in bad faith trials set for 2025 in Michigan, Oklahoma, and Colorado.

2024-2021

• Defense jury verdict for bad faith, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees after a five-week trial in San Diego involving a landmark issue for the life insurance industry.
• Complete defense jury verdict following a one-month trial in Los Angeles, representing a private technology fund client against complex claims of breach of contract, conversion, constructive trust, and promissory estoppel, alleging damages of more than $150,000,000.
• Defense verdict in a property insurance jury trial involving claims of bad faith, fraud, and punitive damages.
• Complete defense win in an excess bad faith setup case in Missouri, seeking damages in excess of $20,000,000.
• Successfully defended claims for bad faith and over $20,000,000 in damages in a trial in Philadelphia Federal Court.
• Successfully defended client in nationally followed trial in Delaware Supreme Court (Abromowitz v. Palantir, et. al.) Palantir is one of the most successful emerging technology companies globally.  The case involved claims of $300,000,000 in compensatory damages, alleging securities fraud and breach of fiduciary duties.
• Obtained complete affirmance before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in a landmark and landscape-altering case involving mental anguish damages.
• Argued as lead counsel and won a defeat of class certification in the Southern District of California in a case alleging damages exceeding $500,000,000.
• Defended and resolved COI class action in the Fifth Circuit of Texas.
• Obtained a defense jury verdict at trial on a life insurance breach of contract claim, as well as defeating claims for bad faith and punitive damages in federal court.
• Tried a total disability case in one of the most dangerous federal court venues in the country. The plaintiff sought bad faith and punitive damages from the jury of more than $50,000,000.  The jury returned a defense verdict rejecting all those damages sought, finding for his client on bad faith, emotional distress, and punitive damages.

More Defense Wins

Michael has obtained summary judgments for insurers in several high-stakes cases, including a $ 60,000,000 Fidelity/Crime coverage and bad faith case affirmed by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as a $10,000,000 suicide case in Nevada. He served as national trial and class action counsel for several companies in their IRS §412 [i] and §419 (A) (F) (6), and VEBA litigation. Michael has led the industry in groundbreaking litigation involving Stranger Owned Life Insurance and premium finance cases, securing summary judgments in multiple states.

Recent Commercial Plaintiff Examples

As a commercial plaintiff's counsel, Michael has achieved record-setting verdicts and resolutions for his corporate clients, including:

• Securing a settlement in excess of $125,000,000 in a commercial fraud dispute for a longstanding client.
• Obtaining a $13,000,000 verdict after a three-week trial, which was upheld on appeal in the state Supreme Court, in a precedent-setting commercial dispute.
• Achieving a $75,000,000 resolution for the law firm's longest-standing commercial client resulting from fraud in the sale and acquisition of emerging technology companies.

Recognition

Michael's achievements have earned him numerous accolades, including:

• Recognized by Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Alabama, Litigation: General Commercial (2009-Present).
• Super Lawyers “Top 50 Lawyers in Alabama” (2018).
• The Best Lawyers in America© for Insurance Law, Commercial Litigation, and Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions: Defendants (2007-Present).
• Mid-South Super Lawyers for Insurance Coverage (2016-Present).
• Alabama Super Lawyers for Insurance Coverage, Personal Injury Defense: Products, Class Action/Mass Torts (2008-2015).
• Named "Top Insurance Lawyer" by Birmingham Magazine (2011).
• Named "One of America's Top Lawyers®" by Corporate Counsel.
• Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent Rating.
• American College of Trial Lawyers Award.
• Recognized as a "Litigation Star" by Benchmark Litigation.