Attorneys

Jay A. Christofferson

Partner

559-433-1300 (Phone)
559-433-2300 (Fax)

Fresno, California
5 River Park Place East
P.O. Box 28912
Fresno, CA 93720

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Concentrating in Insurance Coverage, Insurance Bad Faith, ERISA, Civil Litigation, and Subrogation matters.

Experience

Mr. Christofferson joined the Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Practice Group of McCormick Barstow in 1999.

Mr. Christofferson is admitted to practice law before all California State Courts. all U.S. District Courts of California, and U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal.

Honors and Awards

Mr. Christofferson has been selected as a 2009 Northern California Rising Star in the area of Insurance Coverage by the publishers of San Francisco Magazine and Law & Politics Magazine.

Professional Associations

Mr. Christofferson is a member of the State Bar of California. He was also a Board Member for the Fresno County Young Lawyers from 2003-2005.

Publications & Lectures

"The Constitutionality of State Laws Banning Government Contracts With Burma: Upholding Federalism’s Purpose," McGeorge Law Review

"Grand Jury Reform: Leveling the Playing Field, McGeorge Law Review and Migrant Farmworker Housing," McGeorge Law Review

Co-Author

“Coverage Alert: Schmitt v. NIC Insurance Co”, California Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters, January 2008.

Published Decisions - Insurance and Bad Faith

California Court of Appeal
American International Specialty Lines Ins. Co. v. Continental Casualty Ins. Co. (2006) 142 Cal.App.4th 1342 (settling insurers did not have a claim for equitable contribution based on a failure to notify the objecting insurer of its potential liability for contribution prior to a settlement.)

F & H Construction v. ITT Hartford Ins. Co. (2004) 118 Cal.App.4th 364 (a contractor could not recover the cost of modifying inadequate steel pile caps as property damage was not established by the mere failure of a defective product to perform as intended.)

St. Paul Mercury Ins. Co. v. Frontier Pacific Ins. Co. (2003) 111 Cal.App.4th 1234 (although a lessee had been dismissed from an action arising from an underlying tort claim, an insurer’s action for contribution from other carriers was remanded for determination of the lessee’s liability as necessary to allocate the contributions between the insurers.)

U.S. District Court - California
GBTI v. Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania (E.D. Cal. 2009) U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70368 (Dismissal of claim for punitive damages against insurer.)

New Hampshire Insurance Company v. Mendocino Forest Products, Co., LLC (N.D. Cal. 2007) U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76147 (negligence of an indemnitor is not required to establish the application of a general indemnity agreement).

Valley Air Conditioning & Repair, Inc. v. Beneficial Life Ins. Co. (E.D. Cal. 2007) U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70111 (successful 12b(6) motion to eliminate claims for breach of fiduciary duty, intentional interference with a protected property interest and violation of Insurance Code § 790.03)

U.S. District Court - Oregon
American International Specialty Lines Insurance Company v. KinderCare Learning Centers, Inc., (D. Or. 2010) U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78374 (granting AISLIC’s motion for summary judgment in establishing that KinderCare did not qualify as an additional insured as the loss did not arise out of AISLIC’s named insured’s ongoing operations).

Published Decisions - Non-Insurance

California Supreme Court
Utilities Cost Management v. Indian Wells Valley Water District (2001) 26 Cal.App.4th 1185 (the 120 day statute of limitations applied to an action by a public agency to recover amounts paid to a public utility for capital improvements barred plaintiff’s action.)

U.S. District Court - Oregon
American International Specialty Lines Insurance Company v. KinderCare Learning Centers, Inc. (D. Or. 2008) U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48635 (finding an indemnity agreement conspicuous and applicable based on its incorporation into the final contract between the toy supplier and KinderCare).

U.S. Court of Appeals - Ninth Circuit
American International Specialty Lines, Ins. Co. v. Kindercare Learning Ctrs., Inc. (9th Cir. 2010) U.S. App. LEXIS 2611 (Ninth Circuit reversed the District Court in finding that an indemnity agreement was inconspicuous pursuant to the Oregon version of the UCC).

Education

Juris Doctor, 1999 (with great distinction)
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
Commencement Speaker
American Jurisprudence Awards: Bankruptcy, Federal Courts, Property
Order of the Coif
Chief Symposium Editor McGeorge Law Review
Comment Staff McGeorge Law Review
McGeorge Law Review Legislative writer (Greensheets)
Traynor Honor Society
Tutor for McGeorge Academic Enhancement Program

Master of Science, History, 1995
University of Utah

Bachelor of Arts, History and Political Science, 1992
University of California, Santa Barbara
Captain Track & Field Team
Big West Scholar Athlete
Special Olympics Volunteer