Trial Magazine

If you know me, you know how much I love California. I was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and have practiced law in California my entire career.

When I tell people where I’m from, they usually ask about earthquakes and fires—and for good reason. A 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Napa County in 2014 injured hundreds and led to fires and flooding. The 2018 Camp Fire, which raged for more than two weeks, killed more than 80 people and destroyed approximately 14,000 ­buildings, causing billions of dollars in damage. Of course, disasters aren’t limited to California—they can affect anyone.

The thought of a disaster harming the people we care about or destroying our homes and businesses is terrifying. But disasters are a reality, and we need to be prepared. One aspect of being prepared involves insurance, the theme of this month’s Trial. Not only do we need to carry adequate insurance for our homes and businesses, we need to be adept at handling our clients’ natural disaster claims. This issue of Trial includes articles on defeating defenses in natural disaster cases (p. 18); overcoming intentional acts exclusions (p. 26); assessing liability for home rental platforms such as Airbnb (p. 34); and ERISA disability claims (p. 44).

Beyond the pages of Trial, AAJ provides several insurance-related resources. Litigation Packets developed by AAJ staff attorneys and AAJ members include Litigating the First Party Bad Faith Insurance Claim, Bad Faith in Homeowners Insurance Claims, and Hurricane Claims. For more information, visit www.justice.org/litigationpackets.

AAJ’s Insurance Law Section and Bad Faith Insurance Litigation Group will hold a joint education program at the 2019 Annual Convention in San Diego (July 27–30). Topics include jury selection in bad faith cases, issues with property loss claims, and construction defect cases. These groups will also hold business meetings, where members can discuss litigation strategies, developing case law, and different case scenarios. To register, visit www.justiceannualconvention.org.

Last summer, these same groups held an education program at the 2018 Annual Convention, which included sessions on pursuing claims when coverage is wrongly denied, insurance-specific discovery methods and techniques, and deposing insurance adjusters. Members can purchase the program recordings at www.playbackaaj.com/4180-p08.

To learn more about AAJ’s Insurance Law Section, Bad Faith Insurance Litigation Group, or the recently formed Wildfires Litigation Group, visit www.justice.org/sections and www.justice.org/litgroups. These groups provide networking opportunities and have individual list servers and document libraries that are free to members.

If you want to dig deeper into the topic of insurance, use AAJ’s many resources so you’re ready when your clients and community need help.

Elise R. Sanguinetti is a partner at Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos in Oakland, Calif. She can be reached at elise.sanguinetti@justice.org.