Tanya M. Mascarich

Of Counsel

973-631-6069
350 Mount Kemble Avenue
P.O. Box 1917
Morristown, NJ 07962

Tanya Mascarich is Of Counsel in the Firm’s Commercial Litigation, Insurance and Reinsurance Services, and Estate, Trust and Taxation Groups. 

Tanya is a skilled courtroom veteran whose experience includes commercial litigation, insurance coverage, and estate and corporate matters.  She has merged two decades of legal practice and strategic acumen with real-world business experience gained prior to her career in the law to become an effective representative for her clients.  She has represented insurers in complex coverage disputes throughout the United States, achieving successful outcomes in cases arising out of  environmental contamination, asbestos liabilities, disability and death benefits under ERISA, and business and property losses after Superstorm Sandy.  Tanya has also represented individuals and companies in business disputes, commercial real estate matters, and landlord-tenant actions.  She has been appointed by the court to serve as a guardian ad litem in probate matters, and she served three years as co-general counsel for a statewide non-profit organization. 

Known for her meticulous attention to detail and zealous advocacy, Tanya has harnessed her experience to become an accomplished appellate counsel appearing before New Jersey’s Appellate Division and Supreme Court, as well as the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.  Most recently, she secured a successful ruling by the Appellate Division on a matter of first impression in New Jersey, in which the Court affirmed her Chancery Court win defeating a motion to compel arbitration of a complex estate accounting action based upon an arbitration clause in the decedent’s Last Will and Testament.

Prior to joining Coughlin Midlige & Garland, Tanya spent over 18 years practicing insurance coverage and commercial litigation at Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf and Cuyler Burk after working in management in a large national rental car company in New Orleans, Washington D.C., and the New York metropolitan area.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

  • Prevailed before the New Jersey Appellate Division on the non-enforceability of an arbitration clause in a Last Will and Testament.
  • Argued before the New Jersey Supreme Court and Appellate Division on the issue of policy assignment by a corporate successor to the named insured.
  • Co-chaired an 8-day trial on liability for millions of dollars of environmental cleanup at a former manufacturing facility in South Carolina.
  • Obtained summary judgment for a group plan administrator regarding death benefits under ERISA, which was affirmed by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Obtained summary judgment for a client dismissing $50 million in claims for PCB contamination at a manufacturing plant in Mississippi.
  • Secured summary judgment for a client dismissing claims for environmental cleanup at a hazardous waste tank farm in Massachusetts.
  • Obtained summary judgment in favor of a client dismissing claims for a fuel oil spill caused by Hurricane Irene.
  • Represented clients at mediation to resolve disputes relating to insurance coverage, will contests, and the administration of complex estates comprised of business assets, trusts, and real estate.
  • Served as a court-appointed guardian ad litem.
  • Managed the funding of an off-site investigation to identify other potentially responsible parties and decrease a policyholder’s liability for groundwater contamination

Experience

Tanya was involved in the following matters with reported decisions:

  • Continental Ins. Co. v. Honeywell International, Inc., 234 N.J. 23 (2018)
  • Givaudan Fragrances Corp. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 227 N.J. 322 (2017)
  • Givaudan Fragrances Corp. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 442 N.J. Super. 28 (App. Div. 2015)
  • Chubb Custom Ins. Co. v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America, 195 N.J. 231 (2008)
  • Chubb Custom Ins. Co. v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America, 394 N.J. Super. 71 (App. Div. 2007)

Awards and Honors

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for Insurance Law (2017-2024).  (Their selection methodology is available here.  No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.)

Named a New Jersey Super Lawyer (2017-2018, 2024) and a Super Lawyers "Rising Star - New Jersey" for Insurance Coverage (2010-2011). (This list is published by Super Lawyers.  Their selection methodology is available here.  No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.)

Memberships

Co-Chief Operating Officer, New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (2023-Present)

Co-General Counsel, New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (2020-2023)

Secretary, New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (2018-2020)

Marketing Committee Co-Chair, New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (2013-2018)

Member, New Jersey State Bar Association 

The Worrall F. Mountain American Inn of Court (2005-2006)

 

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