Dennis Neil Jonesdjones@mwgjs.com  Dennis Neil Jones, an A-V rated partner in the Multi-Jurisdictional law firm of Myers, Widders, Gibson, Jones & Schneider, LLP, has been practicing insurance coverage and other civil litigation in California and Nevada for more than 20 years. During that time, he has acted as coverage counsel for insurers, policyholders and plaintiffs. Mr. Jones has also served as a retained expert witness on insurance coverage, regulatory and standard of care issues. Retired Judges have retained him as an independent coverage expert in large construction defect mediations. He is a civil trial attorney who has recovered more than $50 million for his clients. Mr. Jones was recently named 2007 "Super Lawyer" by Law & Politics signifying that he is in the top 5% of all attorneys, based upon voting by his peers. Mr. Jones graduated with honors from the University of Southern California in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism/Public Relations. After receiving a USC Graduate Fellowship and a William Randolph Hearst Foundation National Journalism Award, he obtained a Masters Degree in Public Administration and a Certificate in Judicial Administration in 1978. Mr. Jones worked in the field of Court Administration from 1977 to 1980 for the District Court in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was the Director of the Clark County Jail Overcrowding Project, founded a Pretrial Services agency and testified as an expert witness in a Federal class action jail overcrowding trial. He then matriculated to the University of San Diego School of Law on a full WICHE Fellowship, graduating in 1983. Upon his admission to the California and Nevada Bars, Mr. Jones joined the Los Angeles branch of a large, national law firm. After practicing primarily in Los Angeles for sixteen years, he formed a law partnership now known as Myers, Widders, Gibson, Jones & Schneider, LLP. Mr. Jones' legal publications include Ten...No Make That Eleven Additional Insured Cases You Should Know - The Verdict - Spring 2004; Tips On Handling Fire And Smoke Damage Claims - Ventura County Star December 6, 2003; What's All The Fuss About Mold? Citations July 2002; Do Pollution Exclusions Apply to Mold Claims? Columns-Mold (Harris Martin) April 2002; Sharing the Additional Insured's Defense In Construction Defect Litigation - California Insurance Law and Regulation Law Reporter - December, 1996; Expanded and re-published in Insurance Litigation Reporter, February 15, 1997 and Multiple Punitive Damage Awards for a Single Course of Wrongful Conduct: The Need for a National Policy to Protect Due Process - 43 Alabama L Rev. 1, 1991. Mr. Jones' reported decisions include Valentino v. Elliott Sav-on-Gas, Inc. (1988) 201 Cal. App. 3d 692; People ex rel Garamendi v. American Autoplan, Inc. (1993) 20 Cal. App. 4th 710; Adler v. Western Home Insurance Co., 878 F.Supp. 1329 (C.D.Cal 1995); S. Bravo Systems v. Environ Products, Inc., 78 F. 3d 603 (Fed. Cir. 1996), Harry S. Low as Insurance Commissioner v. Golden Eagle (Metabolife International) 99 Cal.App.4th 109 (2002) and Burnett v. Chimney Sweep 123 Cal.App.4th 1057 (2004). Mr. Jones' speaking engagement include Tri-Counties' Local Government Attorneys - "Joint Powers Insurance Agreements" (April 2007); VCBA Business Litigation Section - "What Every Business Litigator Should Know About Insurance Coverage" (February 2007); West Coast Casualty's Construction Defect Seminar - "Is The Gravy Train Slowing? Insurers New Policy Forms Limit Coverage for Owners, Developers and General Contractors" (May 2005); The American Indoor Air Quality Council, Los Angeles Chapter Workshop - "Prosecuting and Presenting A Consumer's Claim for Mold Damage: A Coordinated Approach Between Attorneys and Environmental Professionals" (October 2004); The American Indoor Air Quality Council, Santa Barbara Chapter Workshop - "Medical Effects of Mold: What Does The Latest Research Show? What Is Admissible In Court?" (September 2004); CPA Law Society of Ventura and East Ventura Chapters - "The Use and Abuse of Expert Witnesses" (July 2004 & February 2005); The Journal Of Light Construction "Insurance Coverage and Liability - What Contractors Need To Know" (May 2004); Roto Rooter Franchise Association National Conference - "Avoiding Liability For Mold Claims" (March 2004); Tolman & Wiker - "Avoiding Insurance Broker Errors & Omissions Claims In An Era Of Shrinking Markets And Coverage" (January 2004); National Business Institute - "Emerging Issues in California Indoor Air Quality and Toxic Mold Litigation" (January 2004); Nevada Independent Insurance Agents Construction Defect Seminar - "Additional Insured Issues" - Reno and Las Vegas (April 2003); Bench & Bar & Tri-Counties Paralegal & MCLE Conference - "Litigating the Toxic Mold Case" (October 2002); Santa Barbara Real Property Association - "Legal Aspects of Toxic Mold" (July 2002); Santa Barbara Contractor's Association - "Mold Claims In Construction Defect Litigation" (May 2002); Ventura County Trial Lawyers Association - "Litigating The Toxic Mold Case" (May 2002); Community Associations Institute - Channel Islands Chapter - "Mold, Mayhem and Life in the Post-September 11 Marketplace" (April 2002); Community Associations Institute - Los Angeles Chapter - "The Mold Epidemic - Come Find Out The Truth" (February 2002); Santa Barbara Association of Realtors - "Mold Contamination In Buildings: Health, Legal and Remedial Issues" (December 2001); Tri-County Government Lawyers Association - "The Additional Insured, Not a Second Class Citizen Anymore" (February 2001); Environmental Inspections and Solutions Mold Seminar - "Recovery of Damages for Injuries to Persons and Property Caused by Mold" (February 2001); West Coast Casualty Company's Seventh Annual Construction Defect Seminar, Anaheim, CA - "A Paradigm For Insurance Coverage: What's The Defect? What's the Repair Methodology? Is It Covered?" (April 2000); Community Associations Institute (Mid-California Chapter) - "Anatomy of a Construction Defect Case" (March 2000); Swerdlow, Florence & Sanchez, APLC - "Spotting Insurance Coverage Issues In Employment Litigation" (January 1998). Same lecture presented to LEFTJAW (plaintiff's employment lawyer organization) October 1998; Construction Law Breakfast Group, Pomona, CA - "An Introduction to What Every Construction Defect Lawyer Should Know About Insurance Coverage" (May 1997). Same lecture presented to Verboon, Hartman, Whitaker & Peter (April, 1997); Wolf, Rifkin & Shapiro (June, 1997) and Koletsky, Mancini, Feldman & Ryan (September 1997); West Coast Casualty Company's Fifth Annual Construction Defect Seminar, Anaheim, CA, "An Introduction To What Every Claims Representative and Attorney Should Know About Insurance Coverage for Construction Defect Claims" (October 1997); West Coast Casualty Company's Fourth Annual Construction Defect Seminar, Anaheim, CA, "Sharing the Additional Insured's Defense" (October, 1996); West Coast Casualty Company's Third Annual Construction Defect Seminar, Hollywood, CA, "Status of the Additional Insured" (October, 1995); Northland Insurance Company, St. Paul, Minn., "Recent Developments in California Tort Law" (February, 1995); Civitan Club of the San Gabriel Valley - "The Ballot Initiatives - What's In A Number?" (1988). Mr. Jones resides in Ojai, CA with his wife, two daughters, two horses, three dogs and "too many cats." |
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