History 
Kevin M. Pugliese
| PH: | 312.635.1814 |
| FAX: | 312.322.9977 |
| EMAIL: | kpugliese@nzalaw.com |
Current Employment Position(s):
Partner
Areas of Practice:
Subrogation
Workers Compensation Subrogation
First-Party Property Coverage
Casualty Defense
Construction Litigation
Bar Admissions:
Illinois State Bar
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Trial Bar, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
Pro hac vice throughout the United States
Education:
DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois 1994, J.D.
Honors: Dean’s Scholar
Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1991, B.A.
Major: Journalism
Minor: Business Administration
Professional Associations and Memberships:
Chicago Bar Association
National Association of Subrogation Professionals
Seminars and Presentations:
Landlord/Tenant Subrogation- American Family Insurance
Good Faith Claims Handling Practices- Zurich North American
Mr. Pugliese’s practice principally involves representing insurance clients in large loss subrogation, workers’ compensation subrogation and first-party property claims. He has extensive litigation experience throughout the United States, and has been involved in all phases of litigation of such claims.
Mr. Pugliese has conducted and supervised numerous site investigations of catastrophic losses, including the retention of experts and preservation of evidence in subrogation and workers’ compensation matters. He has obtained favorable jury verdicts and arbitration awards on behalf of his clients, including a $2.45 million award in 2013 for a large water loss due to faulty repairs by a roofing contractor. In addition, Mr. Pugliese has successfully argued before the Appellate Court of Illinois. He has also resolved numerous matters through mediation, including: a $2.99 million settlement arising out of a fire at a food processing facility in Indiana; a $2.7 million fire loss recovery involving faulty construction in Florida; a $1.3 million settlement related to a water loss in Minnesota; and an $800,000 recovery arising out of a fire that destroyed a historic building in Texas.
Representative subrogation cases include issues involving fire causation and spread, construction defects, product liability, warranty claims, breaches of contract, complex damages and catastrophic injuries. Mr. Pugliese’s first-party practice includes loss investigation and providing legal opinions in property insurance coverage matters including issues related to employee dishonesty, bad faith, business interruption, arson, builder’s risk, contamination and environmental claims. Following the 2005 hurricanes, Mr. Pugliese advised insurers with respect to various coverage issues and conducted numerous presentations on claims handling practices in Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Alabama. He has extensive experience in litigating complex first-party coverage disputes through trial.
Prior to his litigation practice, Mr. Pugliese was the staff attorney for the chief judge and civil division judges in the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court. His responsibilities included extensive research and drafting of legal memoranda for numerous judges, including Illinois Supreme Court Justice Robert R. Thomas, former Illinois Supreme Court Justice Louis S. Rathje, and former Federal District Court Judge Jack Darrah.
