Richard S. Nichols

Richard S. Nichols, Esq. is certified as a Civil Trial Attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. He graduated from Southern Methodist University Law School, after obtaining his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. He has had considerable trial experience before and since becoming associated with the firm. He has successfully tried many first-party coverage defense and third-party liability matters. Mr. Nichols is a member of the state and federal bars of New Jersey and a member of the Morris County Bar Association. He is a licensed attorney in the State of New York. He has also served as Municipal Prosecutor for the Town of Morristown, the Borough of Rockaway, the Township of Roxbury, and the Borough of Mount Arlington.

Mr. Nichols has successfully represented insurance carriers, including State Farm, Chubb, AIG, Aspen American, Greenwich Insurance, Indian Harbor, Cigna, Ace, USLI and the New Jersey Insurance Underwriters Association, in numerous reported court decisions. In Thomas v. New Jersey Ins. Underwriting Association, 277 N.J. Super. 630 (Law Div. 1994), he obtained a ruling that fraud in a first-party claim, discovered while in litigation after a claim is denied on other grounds, may invalidate coverage. Cobra Products, Inc. v. Federal Ins. Co., 317 N.J. Super.. 392 (App. Div. 1998) held the “employee dishonesty” exclusion found in a Chubb policy to be unambiguous and enforceable. In Sherwood Products v. Connecticut Indemnity Co., 359 N.J. Super. 510 (App. Div. 2002), New Jersey’s Appellate Division upheld the dismissal of an insured’s claim for failure to abide by the record-keeping requirements of a jeweler’s block policy. Also of note is Orlick v. J.D. Carton & Son, Inc., 144 F. Supp. 2d 337 (D.N.J. 2001), in which Mr. Nichols successfully argued that plaintiff’s claim against a moving company was governed by the federal Carmack Amendment.  In Cusamano v. N.J. Insurance Underwriters Association (App. Div. 2020), he obtained a reversal of summary judgment for the policyholder under a water damage exclusion.

He has also represented numerous nationally-known insurers on property subrogation claims.

In keeping with the firm’s commitment to continuing education, Mr. Nichols has given seminars to insurance carriers on subjects including compliance with New Jersey’s Unfair Claims Practices Act and protecting subrogation interests. Rich is married with two daughters and enjoys running and traveling.