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Biography
John, a founding partner of the firm, is an AV rated attorney with extensive experience litigating insurance coverage, bad faith, construction defect, professional liability, medical malpractice, employer’s liability, bodily injury, property damage, and product liability cases. John has acted as regional counsel for various insurers, including responsibility for a major insurer’s environmental coverage litigation in the Western United States and national counsel for latex glove and fen-phen coverage litigation. He has tried wrongful death, medical malpractice, bodily injury, defamation, Jones Act, auto, water rights, and coverage litigation before juries and judges in both Federal and State court. Additionally, John has acted as lead counsel in complex litigation, including representation of developers in multimillion dollar landslide litigation and various general contractors, design professionals, and trades in both construction defect and accident litigation. Appellate decisions include Stonewall Ins. Co. v. City of Palos Verdes Estates and Pruyn v. Agricultural Ins. Co., seminal California insurance law opinions.
John’s interests outside of the practice of law are sailing, skiing, scuba diving, and fly fishing.
Education
- Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, California
- J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence - 1983
- California State University, Northridge, California
- B.A., Bachelor of Arts - 1980
- Honors: cum laude
Representative Cases
- Stonewall Ins. Co. v. City of Palos Verdes Estates
- Pruyn v. Agricultural Ins. Co.
Professional Associations
- Defense Research Institute
- San Diego Defense Lawyers
- Association of Southern California Defense Counsel
- San Diego County Bar Association
Representative Clients
- Admiral Insurance Company
- Interstate National Corporation
- Physicians & Surgeons Underwriters
- Sears, Roebuck & Co.
Practice Areas
- Insurance Litigation
Honors
- American Jurisprudence Award
- San Diego Magazine - Best Lawyers in San Diego - Most Recent Listing: 2017
- Martindale-Hubbell® AV Rating
- 2015 Top Attorney in the San Diego Daily Transcript
- 2013-2015 Top Lawyer in the region for civil and insurance litigation listed by San Diego Magazine, American Lawyer Media and The Legal Network
Bar Admissions
- California, 1983
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1983
- U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1983
- U.S. Federal Courts, 1984
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court Southern District of California
- U.S. District Court Western District of California
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan
Current Employment Position
- Retired