Education

• Centre College of Kentucky, B.S., 1985
• University of Notre Dame, J.D., 1988

Experience

• Served as lead counsel in litigation which obtained a preliminary injunction against the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services to provide adequate due process for a physician prior to revoking Medicare billing privileges
• Obtained a reversal on appeal of a trial court's refusal to enforce an arbitration clause in a contract for the purchase of a car
• Obtained a reversal on appeal of a trial court's decision to force a workers' compensation insurance carrier to provide deliberate intent insurance coverage to an employer that had never purchased such coverage
• Obtained a reversal on appeal of a trial court's decision to force an insurance company to provide liability insurance to the State of West Virginia for an injury sustained by a child on State property
• Obtained a reversal on appeal of a trial court's misapplication of the "reasonable expectations" doctrine as a basis for striking exclusions from an insurance policy in an insurance coverage dispute involving a sunken marina
• Preserved on appeal a trial court's grant of summary judgment to an insurance company due to the preservation of governmental immunity enjoyed by the insured
• Obtained a reversal on appeal of a jury verdict in favor of a mentally disabled plaintiff alleging serious physical injuries as a result of being struck by a car while exiting a WMATA bus
• Extensive experience representing insurance companies in insurance coverage and bad faith disputes in West Virginia
• Experience representing defendants before appellate courts in West Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia on a wide range of insurance and tort law issues
• Experience representing defendants as first chair in trials for insurance and bad faith litigation, general tort defense litigation, and the prosecution in criminal cases
• Experience handling a high volume of medium-exposure tort cases for a large self-insured entity (WMATA)
• Former Assistant General Counsel, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Washington, D.C., 1993 - 1998
• Former Deputy City Attorney for the City of Inglewood, California, Criminal Division, 1989 - 1992
   
  

Reported Cases

• Penn Virginia Operating Co., LLC v. Yokum, 829 S.E. 2d 747 (2019)
• BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Company v. Zurich American Insurance Company, 240 W. Va. 414, 813 S.E. 2d 67 (2018)
• First Mercury v. Russell, 239 W. Va. 773, 806 S.E. 2d 419 (2017)
• BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Company v. Zurich American Insurance Company, 2017 WL 2804913 (U.S. Ct. App. 4^th Cir. June 28, 2017)
• GEICO v. Sayre, 239 W. Va. 300, 800 S.E. 2d 886 (2017)
• Schumacher Homes of Circleville, Inc. v. Spencer, 237 W. Va. 379, 787 S.E. 2d 650 (2016)
• Odom v. Partners for Payment Relief, 2015 WL 3676713 (W. Va. Sup. Ct. App. June 12, 2015)
• Arrow Financial Services, LLC v. Morrissey, 2015 WL 2365361 (W. Va. Sup. Ct. App. May 15, 2015)
• Schumacher Homes of Circleville, Inc. v. Spencer, 235 W. Va. 335, 774 S.E. 2d 1 (2015), vacated and remanded by Schumacher Homes of Circleville, Inc. v. Spencer, 136 S. Ct. 1157, 194 L. Ed. 2d 164, 84 USLW 3129 (2016), reversed upon remand by Schumacher Homes of Circleville, Inc. v. Spencer, 237 W. Va. 379, 787 S.E. 2d 650 (2016)
• Rose v. State Farm, 766 F. 3d 532 (6^th Cir. 2014)
• Odom v. Partners for Payment Relief, 2014 WL 2579321 (W. Va. Sup. Ct. App. June 6, 2014)
• Kenney v. Independent Order of Foresters, 744 F. 3d 901 (4^th Cir. 2014)
• SER AIG Domestic Claims, Inc. v. Starcher, 2014 WL 683963 (W. Va. Sup. Ct. App. Feb. 21, 2014)
• Graham v. National Union Fire Ins. Co., 556 Fed. Appx. 193 (4^th Cir. 2014)
• Cavalry SPV I, LLC. v. Morrisey, 232 W. Va. 325, 752 S.E. 2d 356 (2013)
• Cava v. National Union Fire Ins. Co., 232 W. Va. 503, 753 S.E. 2d 1 (2013)
• Credit Acceptance Corp. v. Front, 231 W. Va. 518, 745 S.E. 2d 556 (2013)
• Combs v. National Union Fire Ins. Co., 2013 WL 2157821 (W. Va. Sup. Ct. App. May 17, 2013)
• Jenkins v. City of Elkins, 230 W. Va. 335, 738 S.E. 2d 1, 2012 (2012)
• New Hampshire Insurance Company v. RRK, Inc., 230 W. Va. 52, 736 S.E. 2d 52 (2012)
• National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh v. Miller, 228 W. Va. 739, 724 S.E. 2d 343 (2012)
• Graham v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., 474 Fed.Appx. 956 (4th Cir. 2012)
• West Virginia Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company v. Summit Point Raceway Associates, Inc., 228 W.Va. 360, 719 S.E. 2d 830 (2011)
• Loudin v. National Liability & Fire Insurance Company, 228 W. Va. 34, 716 S.E. 2d 696 (2011)
• WMATA v. Reading, 109 Md. App. 89, 674 A. 2d 44 (1996)
• Chapman v. Kamara, 118 Md. App. 418, 702 A. 2d 977 (1997)

Distinctions

• Nominated by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Insurance Law
• Named the Best Lawyers® 2014, 2018 & 2023 "Lawyer of the Year" for Insurance Law in Charleston, West Virginia
• Listed in West Virginia Super Lawyers 
• BV® Distinguished™ Peer-Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Admissions

• West Virginia State Bar
• Kentucky State Bar
• Ohio State Bar
• Maryland State Bar
• District of Columbia Bar
• California State Bar inactive
• United States Supreme Court
• All federal courts in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland, District of Columbia and California
• United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Sixth, Ninth and District of Columbia Circuits

Memberships

• American Bar Association
• Defense Research Institute
• Former Member, Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia Board of Governors
• Former Chair, Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia Insurance Law Committee

Publications & Presentations

• Co-Author, "Court Decision Important to Future of Insurance Industry in W.Va.," December 2011
• "Taking Effective Depositions," Lorman Educational Services, January 1999 and January 2000