Kelly E. Purkey
Associate
Kelly E. Purkey has acquired a wealth of knowledge and experience in a number of different areas of the practice of law. Although the focus of her work at McKenna is insurance coverage and insurance defense, her background includes representing clients in insurance coverage, personal injury and property damage cases.
Biography
Before joining McKenna as an associate in 2010, Kelly worked at an insurance defense law firm in St. Clair County handling personal injury, property damage, construction, toxic torts and insurance coverage cases at the trial and appellate levels. Today, Kelly focuses on insurance coverage, personal injury and appellate cases at McKenna in state and federal courts throughout Illinois.
While a law student at Southern Illinois University, Kelly was chosen as a member and an assistant editor of the Journal of Legal Medicine. She credits her work on the Journal of Legal Medicine for the fact that she is organized, thorough in her research and skilled at deciphering details in order to arrive at the correct answer to any problem presented to her.
Memberships
Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel
Education
- University of Arizona, BA, 1995
- Southern Illinois University, JD, 2004
Admissions
- State of Illinois
- State of Missouri
- USDC – Northern District of Illinois
- USDC – Central District of Illinois
- USDC – Southern District of Illinois
Matters
Insurance Coverage
Representation of the interests of insurance companies in litigation to determine coverage for a particular claim.
Personal Injury, Taxi Representation — Commercial Transportation Law
Designated by insurance companies to provide representation and defense against personal injury litigation brought against insured defendants stemming from motor vehicle accidents.
Construction — Insurance Defense, Construction Law
Defended construction sub-contractors in litigation filed by claimants alleging defectively performed work.
Publications
Standards for Physician’s Expert Endorsements in Advertisements: Are the Current Standards Adequate to Protect Consumers? (24 J. Legal Med. 379, September 2003)
Blog Posts and Articles
- Defending Bad Faith ActionsIn insurance coverage litigation, bad faith claims are somewhat common. Bad faith actions, under section 155 of the Illinois Insurance Code, provide a remedy to insureds for an insurance company’s vexatious and unreasonable refusal to honor its contract with the […]
- How is the Duty to Defend Determined in Insurance Coverage Cases?One of the most important considerations in insurance coverage cases is determining whether an insurance company has a duty to defend and a duty to indemnify its insured. But how is this determination of insurance coverage made?
- How Much Underinsured Coverage Is An Insurance Company Required To Pay When There Are Multiple Tortfeasors?Insurance coverage for underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage laws are often times confusing. One source of such confusion is the determination of coverage owed when there are multiple tortfeasors. The recent case of Illinois Emcasco Ins. Co. v. Tufano, 2016 […]
- Who Are Necessary And Indispensable Parties In Insurance Coverage LitigationWhen it comes to insurance coverage litigation, a key tool used in coverage disputes is the declaratory judgment action. Once an insurance company determines that a declaratory judgment action must be filed to determine insurance coverage under its policy, there […]
- Distinction Between the Duty to Defend and the Duty to Indemnify in Insurance Coverage LawIn determining insurance coverage, an insurer’s duty to defend its insured is much broader than its duty to indemnify. In order to determine whether the insurer’s duty to defend has arisen, the court must compare the allegations of the underlying […]
- Is There Insurance Coverage for a Loss Known By the Insured Before Purchasing Insurance?Whether there is insurance coverage for a loss known by the insured prior to purchasing an insurance policy depends on several factual issues. By its very nature, insurance is fundamentally based on contingent risks which may or may not occur. […]
- How Insurers Can Avoid Estoppel in Insurance Coverage CasesIn Illinois insurance coverage actions, an insurer can be estopped from asserting any policy defenses to coverage if the insurance company fails to take proper action. The general rule of estoppel provides that an insurer taking the position that a […]
- Insurance Defense and Bad Faith Actions: Requirements to Plead the Reasonable Probability StandardThose working in insurance defense litigation are familiar with bad faith claims which can arise when insurers breach the duty to act in good faith when responding to settlement offers. According to the Illinois Supreme Court: “The ‘duty to settle’ […]
- Why An Excess Insurer Cannot Seek Equitable Contribution From A Primary InsurerThere are many situations where one insurance coverage company will seek contribution from another insurance company for defense costs and indemnity payments. However, this does not give insurers a carte blanche to file lawsuits against each other seeking reimbursement.
- ABA Rule 8.4 Makes Discriminatory and Harassing Behavior Professional MisconductAlmost all women attorneys I know have been mistaken for the court reporter or the client. Once, opposing counsel asked if I was the court reporter, even though I had deposed his client several months earlier. Another time, opposing counsel […]
- Denial of Coverage and Reservation of Rights Letters Pose a Trap for Unwary CounselCounsel for insurance companies are frequently called upon to offer advice about or to actually draft a letter to an insured either denying coverage or providing a defense while reserving the carrier’s rights regarding coverage. This usually happens when it […]
- What Crimes Bar Inheritance?The Appellate Court for the First District has found that conviction of perjury and obstruction of justice in a murder case are not necessarily bars to inheriting form the murder victim. Darota Chaban married William Chaban in Las Vegas on […]
- Suicide Breaks The Chain of Causation, Barring Wrongful Death ClaimsCan suicide be the basis for a wrongful death case? Rarely says the Illinois Supreme Court. It almost always will be a superseding, intervening act ending causation. Plaintiff filed a wrongful death action following her husband’s suicide. In this particular […]
- Health Care Liens Paid Prior to Deduction of Attorney Fees and Costs from Plaintiff’s AwardWho gets paid first, the health care provider or the attorneys? The Illinois Supreme Court has held that the health care providers or professionals come first. Recently, in McVey v. M.L.K. Enterprises, LLC, 2015 IL 118143, 32 N.E.3d 1112 the […]
- Service Provider Ordered to Disclose Subscriber’s IdentityYou may not have the anonymity you think you have on the internet. In Illinois, the Courts are willing to require disclosure of the identity of internet subscribers. Recently, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court’s judgment that […]
- Social Media Sites Do Not Have to Produce Documents During Pretrial Criminal DiscoveryWhat appears to be a victory for protecting social media information from being hauled into court cases from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, is not as broad as it looks. The Courts have held open the possibility of requiring Facebook, Instagram […]
- Ethics and Social MediaKelly E. Purkey and Alexander Sweis will be speakers at the Spring Illinois Defense Counsel Seminar on April 17 talking about the ethical pitfalls of social media. Kelly and Alex will examine ARDC cases related to the use of […]
