Michael R. Blankshain

Michael Blankshain is Of Counsel in the Litigation Department of Wildman Harrold. Mike represents large insurance companies such as CNA, Great American, AIG, GEICO, and Kemper in class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country. Mike’s cases tend to be complex, multi-defendant class actions, typically involving allegations of conspiracy and claims of violations of federal and state antitrust laws, federal and state RICO laws, and consumer fraud. With significant experience in insurance industry business practices and law, while aggressively pursuing victory on the merits, Mike looks for opportunities for early resolution through dispositive motions, limiting claims being asserted through motion practice, and defeating class certification. In addition, Mike counsels his clients on antitrust issues relating to distribution, marketing, pricing, and compliance programs.

Representative Experience:

Represents CNA in a pending nationwide class action brought by commercial insurance purchasers against the insurance industry—a high profile case with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake and virtually every significant property and casualty insurance carrier and broker in the United States as defendants. Plaintiffs are challenging the insurance industry’s practices for compensating insurance brokers, and are also alleging an industry-wide customer allocation and price fixing conspiracy. The case followed on the heels of an investigation by New York Attorney General Elliott Spitzer, which resulted in many industry figures pleading guilty to criminal charges. In re: Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1663, Civil Action No. 04-5184, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Defends Great American Insurance Company in a pending high profile class action suit brought by a nationwide class of purchasers of personal lines automobile insurance against nearly every personal lines automobile insurer, along with three software vendors. Plaintiffs assert bad faith claims handling, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment; they also assert that defendants conspired to adjust bodily injury claims using computer software that intentionally undervalues claims. The plaintiffs request injunctive relief that would alter the way the industry does business as well as hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Georgia Hensley v. Computer Sciences Corporation, No. 2005-59-3, Circuit Court of Miller County, Arkansas.
As lead lawyer for Infinity Property and Casualty Company, represented an insurer in a nationwide consumer fraud class action suit brought by automobile insurance policyholders. The defendants were a software vendor and most major personal lines automobile insurers. Plaintiffs alleged that the insurers conspired with a software vendor to undervalue automobiles that were total losses. Tens of millions of dollars were at stake for the industry, as well as requested injunctive relief that would have forced the industry, at a high cost, to change the way it handled total loss claims. Successful motion practice resulted in the dismissal of several cases, and a nationwide class settlement received final approval in Illinois state court. In re: Total Loss Class Action Litigation, No. 01 L 157. Circuit Court for Madison County, Illinois.
Represented CNA, Kemper, and Great American in national class action litigation brought by purchasers of workers’ compensation insurance policies in a high-stakes suit where plaintiffs were seeking millions of dollars in damages. Litigation involved 15 cases, in state and federal courts, asserting the same basic claims: that carriers engaged in an industry-wide conspiracy to include unauthorized charges when calculating workers’ compensation insurance premiums, as well as violations of state and federal antitrust laws, state and federal RICO statutes, and state law claims for fraud and unjust enrichment. Successful motion practice resulted in the dismissal of many individual cases, the elimination of high-exposure antitrust claims in other cases, and the denial of motions for class certification in those cases where the court addressed the issue. Nationwide class settlement recently received final approval in Georgia state court.
Represented an insurance company in antitrust investigations by various state attorneys general, including investigation concerning whether industry participants engaged in unlawful bid rigging and group boycott.

Professional Associations:

Illinois State Bar Association

Bar Admissions:

Illinois, 1981

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 1981

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, 1997

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 2003

U.S. Supreme Court, 1992

Personal Information:

Mike lives in Wilmette, Illinois, with his wife and three children.

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