Overview
Elise is a trial attorney who represents insurers and other commercial clients in complex insurance coverage disputes, commercial litigation, and national class action litigation and appeals.
Elise has handled a broad range of complex, high stakes coverage disputes. Her practice includes counseling and representing insurers in disputes involving asbestos, environmental, pharmaceutical, cyber coverage, event cancellation, travel insurance, and bad faith claims. Elise has litigated first-party property coverage claims arising from hurricanes, fires, floods, and other natural disasters, along with the novel complexities arising from current events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid epidemic. She has litigated before a variety of federal and state appellate and trial courts, as well as arbitration proceedings.
Elise has previously represented life, annuity, and long-term care companies and insurers in litigation and national class actions relating to sales practices and post-sale administration of insurance products. She has handled interpleader actions and cases related to the payment of benefits under life insurance, annuity, and long-term care insurance contracts. She has also represented insurance companies in wage and hour collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
A former prosecutor, Elise has tried more than 30 cases to verdict and managed heavy caseloads.
Elise also maintains a busy pro bono practice. She has represented incarcerated individuals in 1983 claims.
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- US District Court, Middle District of Florida
- US District Court, Southern District of Florida
- US District Court, District of Maryland
- Hon. Kenneth L. Ryskamp, Judicial Intern, US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, 2017
- J.D., University of Miami School of Law, 2017, magna cum laude, President of Miami School of Law’s Student Bar Association, Articles Editor, University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review
- B.S., Florida State University, 2014, magna cum laude, Criminology
Representative Matters
- Represent property insurer with respect to a multimillion-dollar opioid insurance coverage case in Illinois state court.
- Represent property insurer with respect to complex insurance issues arising from an asbestos and environmental-related bankruptcy.
- Successfully defended major commercial property insurers to resolve COVID-19 business interruption coverage claims throughout the country via dispositive motions at the pleadings or summary judgment stages. Most recently, prevailed on summary judgment on fraud claim involving agency issues as well as novel coverage issues regarding whether the suspension of a multi-state tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic involved multiple occurrences.
- Prevailed on a motion to dismiss bad faith and negligence claims brought against an excess property insurer for failure to settle an underlying wrongful death suit that had resulted in a $100 million-dollar excess verdict in Georgia state court.