Gregory L. Bentley Attorney

First Admitted: 1990, California

Professional Webpage: https://www.bentleymore.com/greg-bentley

Bar/Professional Activity:

CAL ABOTA Board, 2014-2016
Member, American Board of Trial Advocates
President, Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire, 2009-2012
Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
Riverside County Bar Association
President, Riverside/San Bernardino ABOTA Chapter, 2015
Consumer Attorneys of California, Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, 2016-2017
Board of Directors, Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire, Pres-2009-2012
San Bernardino County Bar Association
President, Consumer Attorneys of California
Orange County Bar Association
San Bernardino/Riverside Chapter, Executive Committee
Board of Directors, Consumer Attorneys of California
Orange County Trial Lawyers Association
Western San Bernardino County Bar Association

Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):

A staunch advocate for patient’s rights, Mr. Bentley took on a major HMO representing over 90 patients who lost kidney transplant opportunities following the forced transfer of their care for cost saving purposes. The litigation efforts resulted in a $17 million settlement and the transfer of all patient care back to qualified hospitals.
Nationally recognized e-cigarette injury lawyer First jury verdict against an e-cigarette company in the United States — recovering a $1.9 million verdict on behalf of an injured user. Over $44 million recovered to-date on behalf of injured users against manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of e-cigarette products. National leader handling 200 cases in California, Nevada, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. Educating consumer attorneys about the issue – Greg Bentley has repeatedly been published and appeared at Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles, Consumer Attorneys of California, Consumer Attorneys of Inland Empire, Orange County Trial Lawyers Association, and others regarding e-cigarette injuries. At the forefront of press coverage bringing attention to the harmful product – with appearances in the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Buzzfeed, Daily Journal, Sacramento Bee, ABC Los Angeles, NBC Los Angeles, CBS Los Angeles, KCAL 9 Los Angeles, Fox 11 Los Angeles, Seattle News outlets, New Jersey news outlets, and the Dr. Oz Show. You can read some of Mr. Bentley’s media coverage here regarding e-cigs here: E-Cigs Are Exploding In People’s Faces – Buzzfeed; E-Cigarette Users Sue Over Exploding Devices – Wallstreet Journal. Mr. Bentley was also a guest on the Dr. Oz show—bringing national attention to the widespread e-cigarette explosion problem. You can watch Mr. Bentley’s appearance here: https://youtu.be/ieexNnl9rDI.
January 2020, Mr. Bentley recovered $6 million on behalf of a mother who’s nineteen-year-old daughter was killed when her car careened down an embankment on the mountain winding Bouquet Canyon Road crashing into a tree, causing her tragic death. Through 39 depositions, numerous expert studies and analysis, and local resident declarations, Mr. Bentley and his team established that the road constituted a dangerous condition for it’s lack of a guardrail. As a result of the litigation, the County of Los Angeles has now installed a guardrail on this mountain winding road, which if it had been in place at the time, would have prevented the tragic death. (Parks v. County of Los Angeles), 2020
February 2020, Mr. Bentley reached a confidential eight-figure settlement on behalf of a wide-range of clients injured by alleged product defects suffering a variety of injuries., 2020
In December of 2020, Mr. Bentley obtained a confidential 8-figure settlement on behalf of multiple homeowners who lost their homes in the 2017 Northern California wildfires. Despite maintaining insurance with the same carrier for years, and despite the insurance company recommending and even selecting the policy limits, the devastating wildfires left the homeowners without adequate insurance to even begin rebuilding their lost homes. This underinsurance problem—all too common in the property insurance industry—was instigated by insurers falsely promising to conduct detailed estimates of replacement cost value, falsely claiming they revised that estimate yearly to account for changes in construction costs, and by relying on software that knowingly underestimated the cost to rebuild insureds’ homes. Despite the vast majority of homeowners believing they are adequately insured, these factors have combined to leave upwards of 80% of homes throughout the United States underinsured in the event of a total, catastrophic loss., 2020
In April 2014, Mr. Bentley, Matthew Clark and Clare Lucich teamed up on a pro bono basis with the Inner City Law Center in representing 28 people in a lawsuit that sought to seek change in horrible living conditions. Due to the team’s litigation efforts, the matter settled on the eve of trial for nearly $4 million, including a global recovery for the clients in the amount of $680,000 in monetary damages, relocation benefits of $93,150 and a full $3,000,000 renovation of the building, including 100 units of newly refurbished affordable housing in Los Angeles. Mr. Bentley donated his fee to the Inner City Law Center to help it advance its worthy cause (Villegas, et al. v. Vista Cahuenga)., 2014
In December 2012, Mr. Bentley was successful in obtaining a $2.3 million jury verdict in Glendale Superior Court on behalf of a 26-year Monterey Park Police Sergeant who suffered severe injuries after being struck by an Athens Services truck that pulled away from the curb directly in front of the client driving on the wrong side of the road. The client suffered significant orthopedic and urological injuries, including fractures of both wrists and a torn urethra (Wiese et al. v. Athens Disposal Company, Inc. et al.)., 2012
Jennifer Ries v. VAPCIGS
Believing that a Medical Group should not cut costs at the expense of medically necessary care, Mr. Bentley obtained a $820,000 jury verdict against a large Medical Group for their interference with a patient’s contractual rights to receive medical benefits under an HMO policy. His client suffered severe headaches for a long time and was wrongfully denied a timely brain MRI to diagnose what turned out to be a massive brain tumor (Medeiros v. Beaver Medical Group).
Bentley was lead counsel on behalf of 11 clients (2 adult church leaders and 9 high school students) involved in a tragic head-on collision on Highway 395, resulting in 4 deaths and major injuries to the survivors. Due to his litigation efforts, Mr. Bentley was able to uncover numerous Caltrans memorandums dating back to 1965 confirming Caltrans’ knowledge of the dangerous propensities of a 6” Type A dike along State highways, which caused wayward vehicles to violently “launch” back into oncoming traffic. This complex case resulted in 60 depositions, the production of thousands of documents and extensive expert workup. The matter settled against multiple defendants for an amount in excess of $20 million (Evans v. Caltrans, et. al.).
In July 2014, Mr. Bentley and Mr. More successfully obtained a $3.8 million jury verdict on behalf of a former student of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District who suffered severe injuries to his right hand during metal shop class (Zavala v Newport-Mesa Unified School District –OC Register article)., 2014
Bentley frequently represents clients whose insurance company fails to defend them or settle cases filed against them for amounts within their policy limits. Through an assignment of rights and covenant not to execute, Mr. Bentley obtained a Judgment against American States Insurance Company in the amount of $6,196,175 for their failure to settle a case on behalf of an insured who caused severe injuries, including wrongful death, following a head-on collision (American States Insurance Co. v. H.L.C.D, Inc.).

Videos:

CalPERS Class Action News Stories, 2013

Honors/Awards:

Trial Lawyer of the Year, Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire, 2012
Fellow, International Society of Barristers
Top Gun Trial Lawyer of the Year (Government Entity) by the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association, 2013
Consumer Attorneys of California Chapter President Award, 2010
William M. Shernoff Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire, 2012
Top Gun Trial Lawyer of the Year (Products Liability) by the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association, 2016
Jennifer Brooks Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Western San Bernardino County Bar Association, 2013
Top 100 Trial Lawyer, The National Trial Lawyers Association, 2011-2017
Selected as a Top 100 Lawyer by the Daily Journal
Consumer Attorney of the Year Award by Consumer Attorneys of California, 2014
International Academy of Trial Lawyers

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

Speaker, Insurance bad Faith and Personal Injury Matters
Speaker, Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire Palm Springs Seminar, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles Las Vegas Convention
Speaker, Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire Palm Springs Seminar, Consumer Attorneys of California Annual Convention
Speaker, Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire Palm Springs Seminar, Rutter Group
Speaker, Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire Palm Springs Seminar, Pasadena Bar Association
Speaker, Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire Palm Springs Seminar, University of La Verne College of Law
Speaker, Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire Palm Springs Seminar, Orange County Trial Lawyers Association

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