18 W. 9th Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
P: 513.579.0080
F: 513.579.0222
RH PRACTICE AREAS
Zach joined Rolfes Henry while in law school and is now a Partner in the firm’s Cincinnati office. His practice primarily involves counseling and representing insurance companies and private companies of all sizes in fire science litigation, complex fraud and coverage investigations, and bad faith litigation. Zach’s extensive fire science experience includes fire and explosion causation investigations, prosecution and defense of Daubert expert witness challenges, catastrophic burn litigation, complex arson investigations, and chemical fires and associated industrial accidents.
Zach is one of a limited number of attorneys nationwide to receive a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator designation from the National Association of Fire Investigators. Zach uses the knowledge gained from this designation to provide value-added assistance to clients on matters involving fire science.
Representative matters include the following:
- Represented national property and casualty insurer in arson and insurance fraud investigation and associated bad faith litigation, with results featured on Dateline NBC and ABC 20/20.
- Represented national property and casualty insurer in relation to $12M residential fire loss and associated fire and claims investigation in Ohio.
- Represent LPG fuel gas system manufacturer in relation to products liability and catastrophic burn and fatality cases nationwide.
- Represented ultracapacitor manufacturer in relation to $90M resin factory explosion, fatality, and catastrophic burn incident in Ohio.
- Represented lighting fixture manufacturer in relation to $50M megachurch fire in New Jersey.
- Represented national environmental insurer in relation to $50M chemical fire in Georgia.
- Represented electrical switch manufacturer in relation to $4M electrical substation fire in Ohio.
- Represented subrogating commercial property insurer in relation to $15M hog barn electrical fire in Ohio.
- Represented engineering firm in relation to $9M total loss condo fire in Texas.
- Represented labeling/printing manufacturer in relation to $10M factory fire in Kentucky.
- Represented wealth management company in relation to $2M server room fire loss in New York.
- Represented prime contractor in relation to $20M condo construction fire in Connecticut.
- Represented homeowners in relation to firefighter death and catastrophic burn injury claims in New York.
- Represented homeowners in relation to lithium-ion battery/laptop fire and associated firefighter injury claims in New York.
- Represented medical practice in relation to firefighter injury claims stemming from multi-million-dollar fire in New York.
- Represented engineers in commercial roof, bad faith, and multi-million-dollar intentional tort claims in Oklahoma.
- Represented propane tank manufacturer in relation to explosion and products liability litigation in Georgia.
- Represented national environmental insurer in relation to H2S release fatalities in Texas.
- Represented oil and gas well site owner in relation to fatal explosion in Texas.
- Represented engineers in relation to spoliation claims stemming from multi-million fire in Montana.
- Represented national environmental insurer in relation to multi-million-dollar railroad tie fire and associated claims in North Carolina.
- Represented tenant in relation to $5M CNC cutting machine fire in Georgia.
- Represented excavating contractor in powerline contact fire in Kentucky.
- Represented propane supply company in relation to $2M propane leak fire at new construction build in Indiana.
- Represented propane supply company in relation to $6M propane tank explosion in Indiana.
- Represented electrical contractor in relation to $5M town mall fire in Indiana.
- Represented oil company in relation to $3M propane torch fire in Indiana.
- Represented restaurant in relation to $6M hood/grease fire in Washington DC.
- Represented restaurant in relation to $3M hood/grease fire in Ohio.
- Represented welder/hot work contractor in relation to $4M fulfilment warehouse fire in Arkansas.
- Represented builder in relation to $1M natural gas leak fire at new residential construction in Louisianna.
- Represented electrical contractor in relation to $20M residential fire in New York.
- Represented homeowners in chimney fire and catastrophic burn litigation in New Hampshire.
- Represented national reinsurer in coverage, tortious interference, and bad faith litigation in Ohio.
- Represented national property and casualty insurer and insurance agents in fire investigation, bad faith litigation, and agency E&O claims in Ohio.
- Represented national property and casualty insurer in commercial bad faith litigation in Ohio stemming from total loss fire.
- Conducted hundreds of fire investigation and coverage examinations under oath to include in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, New York, Florida, Mississippi, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, California, West Virginia, and Oklahoma.
EDUCATION
University of Cincinnati College of Law, Cincinnati, Ohio
Juris Doctor, 2010
University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, 2007
FEDERAL COURTS:
- Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio
STATE COURTS:
- State of Ohio
- State of New York
Presentations
- “Emerging Technologies for Use in Claim Investigation,” (2021), presented at the National Society of Professional insurance Investigators (NSPII) Annual Meeting
- “Case Study in Spoofing, Fraud, and Arson,” (2021), presented at the Greater Cincinnati Regional Arson and Fire Investigator Seminar (GRACFIS)
- “Case Study in Spoofing, Fraud, and Arson,” (2021), presented at the IAAI Illinois Chapter
- “Case Study in Emerging Technologies to Investigate Arson Losses,” (2021), presented at the IASIU Annual Seminar, Orlando, Florida
- “Case Study in Spoofing, Fraud, and Arson,” (2021), presented at IAAI Phoenix Chapter
- “Case Study: Spoofing, Masking, Framing and Fraud,” (2020), presented at the IASIU Annual Seminar, Dallas, Texas
- “Case Study in Framing and Fraud: How Spoofing and Masking Technologies Were Used,” (2019), presented at the NSPII Insurance Fraud Seminar, Lawrenceburg, Indiana
- “Strangest Arson Case Ever,” (2019), presented at the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud (CAIF) Midyear Membership Meeting, Orlando, Florida
- “How to Work With Vendors: A Vendor Expert Panel,” (2019), presented at National Society of Professional insurance Investigators (NSPII) Ohio Joint Insurance Fraud Seminar, Columbus, Ohio
- “Spoliation and Evidence Preservation,” (2018), Greater Cincinnati Regional Arson and Fire Investigator Seminar, Cincinnati, Ohio
- “Expert Preclusion Efforts and You – Betting Your Career on a Roulette Wheel,” (2018), 20th Annual Indianapolis Fire Investigator Conference; Indiana Chapter of International Association of Arson Investigators , Indianapolis, Indiana
- “Cellular Technology: A Useful Tool in Fraud Investigation,” (2017), presented at Claims and Litigation Management Alliance Southwest Ohio Chapter Educational & Networking Event, Amelia, Ohio
- “Drones are Changing the Game in the Construction and Insurance Realms,” (2017), presented at Claims and Litigation Management Alliance Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee
Membership
- Ohio State Bar Association
- Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
- Cincinnati Bar Association
- The National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators (NSPII)
Recognition
- Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (2019 – present)
- Named to the Ohio Super Lawyers-Rising Stars List for 2020 -2024
