Mark G. Cooper

Mark is partner-in-charge of Taft Detroit, responsible for the strategic direction for the firm’s Southfield and Detroit offices. He counsels a diverse set of clients nationwide on a variety of matters, including risk management, commercial disputes, real estate litigation, business torts and construction and contract disputes, and all aspects of insurance, from both a legal and business perspective.

Mark brings considerable first-chair experience in all facets of litigation, including numerous trials, and is skilled at alternative dispute resolution. He is a trained mediator and arbitrator. From mediating and arbitrating business insurance coverage disputes to advising on a broad range of commercial and business matters, Mark is frequently selected by peers for the most complex disputes. He advocates for his clients through various approaches depending on the client’s desired objective.

• Administered overall risk management and insurance programs for publicly traded owner and operator of manufactured home and recreational vehicle resorts throughout North America; managed a team that analyzed and resolved general liability claims throughout the U.S. and Canada on a daily basis; litigated and coordinated the defense of such cases in many states; and managed the company’s overall property and general liability program.
• Lead counsel nationally in multiple fire and water-related damage claims on behalf of large restoration contractor, including complete fire loss of a registered historical structure at the University of Michigan.
• Served as insurance coverage counsel to several law firms in coverage disputes arising out of professional liability matters for multi-million-dollar claims.
• Represented a national underground contractor in an American Arbitration Association proceeding in a multi-million-dollar dispute with the City of Montgomery, Ala. concerning a sewer rehabilitation project claiming scores of manholes and miles of linear pipe was defective while the contractor claimed that the project was improperly designed and specified by the owner.
• Professional design claim against an architect on behalf of the owner of multi-floor, 300-plus unit senior living complex for multiple design deficiencies, including failure to meet ADA compliance.
• Represented a contractor in multiple claims by federal government alleging defective work on several public buildings throughout Michigan.
• Lead defense counsel in lawsuit by condominium association against national residential builder alleging numerous defects in construction of several hundred condominium units.
• Defended regional and national residential home builders in numerous lawsuits by homeowners alleging defects in construction of homes resulting in moisture infiltration and mold issues.
• Represented homeowner of the first LEED-certified home in Michigan — project value of roughly $7 million — in construction defect claim against construction manager and architect.
• Represented the surety in matters associated with the dispute over further construction of the Ambassador Bridge.
• Tried to verdict an arbitration matter in Atlanta, Ga. on behalf of a national contractor alleged by a subcontractor that it improperly specified and supervised the project and failed to appropriately manage a member-protégé development agreement sponsored by the county.
• Served for many years as national coordinating counsel for mid-sized insurer for all construction-related insurance coverage matters and handled several class actions involving building materials in multiple states.
• Lead counsel in construction and insurance coverage matters related to the collapse of a high-profile structure in downtown Flint, Mich. while under construction.
• Represented an underground contractor in a claim action for personal injuries and other damages brought by a group of homeowners near the Macomb Interceptor project and 15 Mile Road sinkhole.
• Served as lead trial counsel in Michigan and Massachusetts in product liability actions involving claims regarding the improper manufacture and design of bullet-resistant vests.
• Handled and tried to verdict multiple construction site accident cases with serious injuries.
• Tried more than 50 bench trials, jury trials, and arbitration proceedings to verdict as lead counsel.
• Lead counsel in matters in Michigan, Montana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington, California, Florida, and Kansas, among others.

• Rioters Are Wrong to Say: Don’t Worry, Insurance Will Bail Out Small Businesses, Forbes.com!, Sept. 16, 2020.
• “Will Business Interruption Insurance Cover Coronavirus-Related Losses? Experts Say the Future is Cloudy?,” Corp! Magazine, July 14, 2020.
• “Early Expert Evaluation, ADR in the Context of Insurance Coverage and Indemnity,” Mark G. Cooper and Hal O. Carroll, ADR Quarterly, Vol 19 No. 4, Jan 2012.
• “The Whole Truth: Full Disclosure Essential When Completing an Application for Insurance,” Michigan Lawyers Weekly (2010).
• “Most Contracts Have Indemnity Agreements,” Michigan Lawyers Weekly (2009).
• “Adventures in Construction Joint Ventures: Insurance and Indemnity,” The Journal of Insurance and Indemnity Law (2008).
• “Insurance Law, Survey of Michigan Law,” Wayne Law Review (2001).
• “A New Approach to Medical Malpractice: The Liability of HMOs For Member Physician Negligence,” Det. C.L. Review (1994).
• “Liability of the Physician in Charge,” Michigan Bar Journal (1994).
• “When Doctors Go Bare: Compensation Beyond the Underinsured Physician,” Michigan Bar Journal (1994).