Eliot L. Greenberg

Eliot L. Greenberg is a Partner in MKCI’s New York City office. He is a seasoned litigator, handling complex matters nationally, relating to insurance subrogation, commercial litigation, and construction with a special emphasis on recoveries for art insurers, galleries, museums, and private collectors for damage and loss to works of art, jewelry, and antiquities.

Eliot has successfully recovered millions of dollars for his insurance company clients in a variety of matters including construction accidents, electrical and natural gas explosions and fires, trucking accidents, flood losses, product liability, food recalls, and losses in transit. A sampling of his subrogation achievements include the following:

• Seven figure jury verdict in New York Supreme Court for damage resulting from the collapse of a prominent midtown New York theatre caused by negligent excavation
• Eliot recovered millions of dollars after trial by jury, as lead counsel to several insurance companies, for damage to a New York State Thruway bridge in Westchester County and lost toll revenues caused by a massive explosion and fire after a collision between a gasoline tanker and an automobile.
• Seven figure jury verdict in Nassau County Supreme Court in insurance coverage litigation involving personal injuries and wrongful death resulting from automobile collision with pedestrians.
• Eliot recovered millions of dollars from a food distributor for the supply of a product containing undisclosed allergens which adulterated other ingredients and resulted in a massive recall.
• Seven figure recovery for fire damage to building resulting from roofing work at adjacent building.

Some of Eliot’s diverse achievements in fine art recoveries include the following:

• Recovery from various fine art storage facilities for flood damage to multi-million-dollar art collections during Superstorm Sandy.
• Recovery for complete destruction of a $2.5 million museum exhibition damaged in transit in matter pending in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
• Recovery from airline and art packing company for destruction of $3 million painting, damaged in transit, caused by deficient packing.
• Recovery on behalf of gallery for severe damage to an $8.5 million painting caused by framer.
• Recovery on behalf of foundation for losses resulting from the theft of paintings from warehouse, valued in excess of $1.5 million, due to inadequate security.
• Recovery for severe damage to $2 million painting caused by water infiltration from adjacent building.

In a noteworthy published opinion, Eliot obtained a unanimous reversal from the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department in a matter which deemed that a limitation of liability and waiver of subrogation were unenforceable in a fine art storage agreement (XL Specialty Ins. Co. a/s/o Chowaiki & Co. Fine Art Ltd. v. Christies Fine Art Storage Services, Inc., 27 N.Y.S.3d 528, 137 A.D.3d 563, (First Dept. 2016)).

In addition to his insurance company clients, Eliot has recovered millions of dollars for private collectors and galleries in first party insurance coverage matters and other litigations and is proudly trusted as counsel to some of the world’s leading fine art packers, shippers, handlers, and warehousemen.

Eliot has lectured at The Sotheby’s Institute of Art on legal issues relating to art insurance and fine art packers, shippers, handlers, and warehousemen and has been quoted in Risk and Insurance magazine Art on the Move.

Since 2014, Eliot has been recognized as a top-rated Insurance Coverage attorney and selected to the New York-Metro Super Lawyers® list (a Thompson Reuters business).

In his free time Eliot enjoys sailing, skiing, cycling, and spending time with his family.

Eliot received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Miami School of Law. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics with honors from Clark University. In addition to bar admissions in New York and New Jersey and federal court admissions, Eliot has also been admitted pro hac vice in California, Massachusetts, Arizona, and Florida.