Overview

Rachel Olney is a litigator who focuses her practice on a broad range of complex insurance coverage litigation including first and third party no-fault litigation, medical malpractice defense, business and commercial litigation, and mass tort defense of asbestos cases.

Rachel's representative client work includes:

• Defending insurers in first and third party no-fault litigation
• Examining priority insurers for the payment of first party personal injury protection benefit claims.
• Defending against uninsured and underinsured motorist claims
• Evaluating "threshold" injuries
• Analyzing liability and causation issues
• Reviewing complex insurance policies for exceptions and exclusions
• Providing pre-litigation/claims stage advice to insurers
• Defending large volume asbestos cases, representing various suppliers and manufacturers of asbestos-containing products

Honors & Recognitions

Affiliations

Memberships & Affiliations

Legal Affiliations: 

• State Bar of Michigan
• Oakland County Bar Association
• Michigan Defense Trial Counsel

Experience

Representative Matters

• Won appeals in the Michigan Court of Appeals
• In April 2023, had trial victory in Wayne County Circuit Court. It was a challenging case involving a no-fault domicile issue and the verdict (after only 15 minutes of deliberation) resulted in a $900,000 savings for the client. 
• Successfully secured summary disposition in numerous cases in favor of insurance companies in claims for first and third party no-fault benefits.  Most notably: 
• Secured summary disposition in favor of an insurance company where the injured party was seeking $1,000,000+ after the Court determined that an insurer of higher priority was responsible for the first party no-fault benefits.
• Secured summary disposition in favor of an insurance company where the injured party was seeking $1,000,000+ after the Court determined that the injured party committed a fraudulent insurance act.
• Secured summary disposition in favor of an insurance company where medical providers were seeking $500,000+ after the Court determined that the medical providers did not have standing.
• Secured summary disposition in favor of an insurance company after the court determined that the injured party was barred from first party no-fault benefits for failing to reasonably cooperate in the investigation of her claim.
• Secured summary disposition in favor of an insurance company after the court determined the injured party was barred from third party no-fault benefits because she was negligent in causing subject motor vehicle accident.
• Secured summary disposition in favor of an insurance company after the court determined the injured party was barred from third party no-fault benefits because she failed to satisfy conditions precedent to the insurance policy.

Communications

Publications

• Is the Fraud Defense in First-Party Litigation a Thing of the Past?, Foster Swift Litigation News Update E-blast, July 16, 2020

News & Events

Speaking Engagements

• Coverage for Defective Subcontractor Work: Learning from Skanska v. MAP, Insurance Alliance of Michigan (IAM) Claims Conference, September 19, 2022

News

• Preparing Women Business Leaders for 2024 Legal Challenges, Meltwater Newswire, February 20, 2024
• Foster Swift Best Lawyers® 2024 "Ones to Watch", Best Lawyers in America, August 17, 2023
• 17 Attorneys Selected to 2023 Michigan Super Lawyers and “Rising Stars”, Michigan Super Lawyers, August 11, 2023
• Foster Swift Best Lawyers® 2023 "Ones to Watch", Best Lawyers in America, August 18, 2022
• 21 Attorneys Selected to 2022 Michigan Super Lawyers and “Rising Stars”, Michigan Super Lawyers, August 12, 2022
• New Virtual Program Addresses Legal Strategies for Women Business Leaders, Michigan Business Network, March 28, 2022
• Foster Swift Elects Four Shareholders, January 10, 2022