A Half Century Partnership with Insurers in California

One of the ten largest insurance states in the nation, California also relies upon insurance industry investments and tax revenues as reliable capital for the General Fund and essential infrastructure projects. Since the end of the Second World War, Archer Norris has counseled and represented global, national and California-domiciled insurers.

Focus on Defending Insurance Litigation

From business torts to environmental contamination and catastrophic injuries, our insurance litigation background touches nearly every coverage area insurers provide.   We regularly manage high-volume and high-demand cases involving complex claims of causation and liability.

Focus on Coverage Issues

Insurance coverage is an emerging area of law and Archer Norris attorneys play an integral and influential role in its development. We have litigated hundreds of coverage disputes and interpreted coverage across the full spectrum of insurance policies. These include claims-handling strategies, endorsements and issues of bad faith and contribution.

Promoting Quality California Counsel

Archer Norris attorneys hold leadership positions in preeminent defense bar associations and peer-elected groups, including ABOTA, DRI and the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada. Our presentations and participation in industry seminars and organization shape our commitment to client communication, awareness of pertinent issues and promotion of best practices.

Bad Faith

• Bad Faith/Construction Business Dispute - Defended a general contractor by persuading the court that the plaintiff, a bonding company, failed to act in good faith toward our client. We shifted the burden for over $2 million of construction costs from the contractor back to its bonding company.
• Bad Faith/The Beatles - Obtained favorable appellate opinion regarding a $100 million bad faith claim brought by Apple Computer arising out of a failure to defend a trademark infringement action prosecuted by The Beatles. The case was particularly difficult as it involved underlying litigation in Britain and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Judgment was rendered for the defense.

Catastrophic Injury

• Brain Injury - Removed a California brain injury case to Australia and assisted Australian counsel in achieving the first structured settlement ever entered into in the Queensland, Australia court.
• Construction Catastrophic Injury - Drastically reduced the verdict against a national general contractor in the re-trial of a case that had previously resulted in a $20.7 million verdict. The case involved an accident, which rendered the plaintiff paraplegic, that occurred at a four-building office park project on the former site of the Bay Meadows Racetrack in San Mateo, California. During the five-week retrial, the Archer Norris trial team applied a novel argument involving alternative safety and design measures. After a single day of deliberation, the new jury's verdict reduced our clients' liability to a fraction of the original award.
• Stunt Work Injury - Defended film production company in claim made by a catastrophically injured water ski stunt performer; claim was resolved with low monetary payout by the insurer.

Construction Defect

• Mold Injuries/Construction - Represented three property management/ownership clients facing plaintiffs' allegations that they became asthmatic from mold caused by an undiagnosed roof leak in the clients' building. We undermined expert testimony on the linkage between mold and serious permanent physical injury, and obtained a defense verdict in the three-week trial.

Contribution/Subrogation

• Contribution/Subrogation - West Coast Fire v. Financial Pacific Ins. Co. (2006) 2006 WL 1076756: This unpublished opinion addressed the doctrines of contribution and subrogation (and their differences) in the context of a dispute between co-insurers.

Coverage - D&O, E&O

• D&O Coverage - Numerous disputes representing insurers in Directors and Officers high-demand coverage disputes, including ongoing representation of an insurer in $50 million coverage case with the board of directors of a bankrupt national retailer.
• Errors & Omission -Defend numerous E&O claims including involving highly contentious real estate-based claims.

Employment Litigation

• Employment - Defended a client who suffered financial setbacks and laid off numerous employees, including the plaintiff who claimed that she was selected because she was an older, African-American female. The case settled after discovery established plaintiff was marginally competent at best and was a very reasonable candidate for termination.

Environmental and Toxic Torts

• Asbestos - Successful defense in a high volume of asbestos claims against individual, multiparty and class action defendants, including extensive experience defending construction contractors and subcontractors in asbestos claims.
• Environmental Response Cost Recovery - Represented owner of property on San Francisco Bay in action for recovery of environmental response costs in action against ship scrapping operators, the federal government, oil company and railroad operator. Contamination included lead, copper, mercury, asbestos and other contaminants.
• Groundwater Contamination - Represented insurer in dispute with California city municipality over coverage cost of investigation and remediation of groundwater contamination. This complex case, which involved arguments before the California Supreme Court, multiple defendants and federal environmental regulatory law, was successfully resolved.
• Insureds' Privacy - Connecticut Indemnity Co. v. Superior Court (2000) 23 Cal.4th 807: The opinion addressed the propriety of the issuance of legislative subpoenas to insurance carriers to obtain records pertaining to their insureds allegedly responsible for environmental contamination.
• Toxic and Environmental Torts - Extensive experience defending claims of injury caused by exposure to benzyne, toluene, silica, tetrachloroethylene (PCE), water contamination and welding fumes.

Products and Premises Liability

• Agribusiness - Representing various nationwide insurance carriers in the agricultural industry including farmers, shippers and suppliers.
• Foodborne Illness - Managed complex coverage issues for insurers involved in high-profile E.coli outbreak traced to spinach salads in a Wendy's fast-food restaurant. The case, which involved three deaths and 80 injuries, was resolved by negotiating favorable terms of coverage on behalf of the insurers for the produce grower and shipper.
• High Profile Clients - Represent well-known individuals in Los Angeles and Orange County involving their disputes with property and personal staff. Discreetly counsel on a range of matters including landslide damage, pet attacks, car accidents, domestic staff claims and property damage.
• Product Liability Class Action - Class action products liability defense in defective design and manufacturing claims against a window maker involving 80,000 potential homes and millions of windows. Structured a favorable settlement with a nominal cash payout and an extended warranty.
• Public Entity/Premises Liability - Defended a public entity in a complex multimillion-dollar lawsuit resulting from a catastrophic injury that rendered a diver quadriplegic.
• Premises Liability - Defended scores of actions involving slip and fall claims and other negligence claims for national retailers, obtaining many defense verdicts and favorable negotiated settlements for clients.
• Shopping Center Security - Called to the case after the trial had already commenced, we represented a shopping center owner, on behalf of his excess insurer, in a case involving armed rape and robbery at the shopping center. A previous court had issued an affirmative ruling to the owner to hire security. Our persuasive arguments resulted in a verdict favorable to the defendant that was considerably lower than policy limits.

Professional Malpractice

• Professional Liability/Malpractice - Defend engineers and design professionals in construction defect claims, personal injury claims and contractual fee disputes.
• Real Estate Appraisal / Arbitral Immunity – Represented a real estate appraiser who performed work as a party appointed appraiser in a fire insurance claim, obtaining a defense judgment based upon arbitral immunity that was affirmed by the California State Court of Appeal. Plaintiffs' petition for review by the California Supreme Court was denied.

Public Entities

• Earth Movement - Manage multiple cases involving landslides and other earth movement-related damage claims. Our representation includes defending insurers in policy owners claims and in claims against government authorities. Issues include maintenance of properties, road cut and vineyard construction in cases across Northern and Southern California.
• Government Tort Claims - Representing appeal on behalf of a contractor against the City of Berkeley connected to defective construction claims involved with a city library.

Real Property

• Dry Cleaning/Environmental Remediation - Represent various owners of real properties formerly used as dry cleaning facilities, or near dry cleaners, in connection with remediation activities.
• Indemnity - In a case involving a plaintiff, a cable installer who slipped and fell from a utility pole jointly owned by PG&E and Pacific Bell, Archer Norris attorneys represented both utilities. Liability and damages were disputed. The case settled. A cross-complaint filed on behalf of PG&E and Pacific Bell against Viacom for indemnity under the use agreement was referred to binding arbitration. The arbitrator awarded PG&E and Pacific Bell attorneys' fees and settlement contributions, plus attorneys' fees to pursue indemnity.

Regulatory Issues

• ADA Claim - Urhausen v. Longs Drug Stores California, Inc. (2007) 155 Cal.App.4th 254: Opinion addressed the application of the California Disabled Persons Act.
• No Action - Safeco Insurance Co. of America v. Superior Court (1999) 71 Cal.App.4th 782: The opinion addressed the application of the "no action" clause of a CGL policy.

Transportation

• Public Transit - Significantly reduced damages awarded to plaintiff following $1.2 million demand involving personal injuries sustained from a bus window falling into the bus and hitting the plaintiff on top of her head. Effective use of expert testimony and computer animation, along with vigorous discovery and successful motions in limine, limited theories of liability permitted for use by plaintiff at trial, and limited non-economic damages awarded to plaintiff.
• Transportation - Defense of foreign and domestic common carriers in cargo damage/non-delivery claims, including pertinent federal and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit precedents covering interstate air cargo and over-the-road truck transit, including the Warsaw Convention and Carmack Amendment.

Vertical Transportation

• Vertical Transportation - Defended an elevator maintenance company in a complex injury and negligence case involving an infant's death on Christmas Eve in an older elevator. We successfully reduced our client's liability to a nominal amount.

Fast Facts

• We manage cases to meet client expectations for timely and cost-effective resolution and deliver insights to minimize exposure.
• The power to defend - Archer Norris is a Martindale-Hubbell A-V rated firm with the well deserved reputation for providing technically sound and aggressive representation in complex, high-stakes cases.