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Wayne J. Lee
Areas of Emphasis:
• Antitrust
• Commercial Litigation
• Insurance Coverage and Regulation
Mr. Lee joined Stone Pigman in 1974, is a member of the firm and chairs the firm's Commercial Litigation practice group. For the last 15 years, his practice has included a concentration in insurance and insurance class action lawsuits. Mr. Lee has experience in handling coverage issues, bad faith claims, mold claims, regulatory issues and class action claims with a myriad of substantial issues. He was admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1974.
Representative Matters
Representing small Louisiana insurance company in class action challenging its handling of first party total loss motor vehicle claims.
Defended major insurance company in a class action lawsuit that alleged that third-party claimants are automatically entitled to recover for diminished value of damaged automobiles. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court certified both a plaintiff and a defendant class. He succeeded in obtaining a reversal of that judgment on appeal.
Defended insurance company against class action lawsuits that alleged improper handling of claims arising out of a large hail storm in a three-parish area. After securing a consolidation of the cases filed in the Orleans Parish Court, he successfully defeated the plaintiffs' motion for class certification after an evidentiary bench trial.
Defended insurance companies in an array of claims alleging bad faith claims handling of property damage and/or personal injury claims.
Represented insurance company in the appeal of an adverse trial decision in a case filed by independent agents who challenged restrictions on their right to write new policies. Successfully reversed the decision on appeal and confirmed the insurance company's right to utilize restrictions in the effort to minimize losses.
Defended insurance company in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in two class action lawsuits in which the plaintiffs alleged that the insurance company's use of credit reports in analyzing certain insurance claims violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Education
Mr. Lee received his law degree in 1974 from Tulane University School of Law, where he was chosen to the Order of the Coif and was a member of the Tulane Law Review Board of Editors, 1972-74. He received his undergraduate degree from Tulane in 1971. Professional and Civic Activities
Mr. Lee is a past president of the Louisiana State Bar Association. Throughout his career, he has held numerous other positions within the LSBA including membership in the House of Delegates, 1997-present and in the Board of Governors, 1993-96; chair of the Practice Assistance and Improvement Committee, 1997-99; chair of the Continuing Legal Education Program Committee, 1991-93; and ad hoc member, Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Committee. He has received two President's Awards, first in 1993 for his work as chair of the Continuing Legal Education Program Committee, and again in 1998 for work as co-chair of the Practice Assistance and Improvement Committee. He has served as a member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates (2003-05) and is a former member of the American Bar Association Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. Mr. Lee is a frequent speaker at legal seminars.
In addition to his involvement with the bar association, Mr. Lee was appointed to the Board of Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund. Mr. Lee was a member of the Louisiana Indigent Defense Assistance Board and served as chair of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Group. He was appointed to the Louisiana Board of Regents for Higher Education, 1989-94. He is the Immediate Past Chairman of the Board of the Audubon Nature Institute, a member of the Board of Directors for Attorneys' Liability Assurance Society, Ltd., a member of the Tulane University Inn of Court and a member of the Advisory Board of Editors of the Tulane Law Review. He is also a member of the Louis A. Martinet Society and the Defense Research Institute. Mr. Lee is a member of the American, National, Louisiana, New Orleans and Fifth Federal Circuit Bar Associations. Mr. Lee is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has been named to The Best Lawyers in America in the field of business litigation and to Chambers U.S.A. America's Leading Lawyers for Business in the field of General Commercial Litigation. In 2006, the Louisiana Bar Foundation's Board of Directors selected Mr. Lee as the 2006 Distinguished Attorney in Louisiana.
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