FOUR REID COLLINS PARTNERS NAMED TO THE LAWDRAGON 500 LEADING GLOBAL PLAINTIFF LAWYERS
Four Reid Collins senior partners – Craig A. Boneau, Joshua J. Bruckerhoff, Nathaniel J. Palmer, and William T. “Bill” Reid, IV – have been named to Lawdragon’s exclusive list of The 500 Leading Global Plaintiff Lawyers, its guide to the “global gladiators bringing a newfound and empowered voice to claimants throughout the world.”
Craig, Josh, Nate, and Bill have an extraordinary track record handling international and cross border insolvency and financial fraud-related litigation. From representing foreign liquidators in the U.S., to pursuing fraud and bankruptcy-related claims in U.S. overseas territories, to setting critical precedent to hold foreign actors and entities accountable in U.S. courts, they have won several billion dollars in settlements and judgments in a vast array of complex commercial matters here and abroad.
Congratulations to Craig, Josh, Nate, and Bill on building a robust and thriving international practice.
Click here to view Lawdragon’s list of the 500 Leading Global Plaintiff Lawyers.
REID COLLINS OBTAINS FOURTH CIRCUIT REVERSAL ALLOWING CLAIM FOR OVER $100 MILLION TO PROCEED
On March 10, 2025, Reid Collins won a unanimous reversal by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that will allow JW Aluminum Company’s (“JWA”) claim for over $100 million related to insurance coverage for losses resulting from a catastrophic accident at one of the company’s production facilities to move forward.
JWA is one of the largest producers of flat-rolled aluminum in the United States. On August 4, 2020, a small splash of molten aluminum from a production line at JWA’s Goose Creek, South Carolina plant kicked off a chain of events that nearly destroyed the facility. The molten metal landed on a beam supporting the facility’s roof and ignited highly flammable aluminum dust. The fire then spread to the roof, grew, and moved towards gas lines. To avoid a major explosion, JWA shut down gas and electric service, causing molten aluminum to harden inside the company’s equipment, rendering it inoperable. The facility also sustained water damage during hours of firefighting efforts that followed. Although no workers or first responders were injured, the incident caused tens of millions of dollars of property damage and hundreds of millions in lost profits.
JWA’s insurers argued that they were only required to pay for a small fraction of these losses under a policy endorsement that reduced coverage for “direct physical loss or harm caused by heat from Molten Material” from the policy limit of $250 million to just $10 million. The District Court for the District of South Carolina granted the insurers’ motion for summary judgment on the issue, finding that the endorsement unambiguously applied. The Fourth Circuit reversed, finding that the endorsement was ambiguous in several respects and instructing the District Court to interpret the policy “liberally in favor of the insured and strictly against the insurer[s]” on remand.
Congratulations to the Reid Collins team – Craig Boneau, Scott Saldana, Dylan Jones, Morgan Menchaca, and Julia DiFiore.
The Fourth Circuit case is captioned JW Aluminum Co. v. ACE American Insurance Co., et al., No. 24-1229 (4th Cir.). A copy of the decision can be downloaded by clicking here.
Press coverage:
- Click here to read “4th Circ. Reverses $10M Coverage Cap For Aluminum Co” at Law360.com
ERIC MADDEN NAMED U.S. BANKRUPTCY LITIGATOR OF THE YEAR BY BENCHMARK
Reid Collins senior partner Eric D. Madden was named the 2025 U.S. Bankruptcy Litigator of the Year, at the Benchmark Litigation Awards, besting a group of finalists from the nation’s top Big Law corporate defense firms.
Founding partner William T. Reid, IV (the 2020 and 2023 winner) was also a Finalist for U.S. “Plaintiff Litigator of Year” (for the seventh consecutive year), and the firm was again shortlisted for U.S. Plaintiff Firm of The Year (for the seventh consecutive year), as well as a Finalist for U.S. Bankruptcy Firm of the Year (for the second consecutive year – Reid Collins won last year).
The Benchmark awards celebrate the leading litigators and most impactful disputes across the United States. The shortlists are the culmination of months of research, surveying thousands of referees, and interviewing hundreds of lawyers.
Click here to view Benchmark’s award winners.
