First Admitted: 1962, Wisconsin

Professional Webpage: https://shernoff.com/attorneys/william-m-shernoff/

Bar/Professional Activity:

U.S. District Court, Central District of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
U.S. Court of Appeals
Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the State of California
American Bar Association
American Association for Justice
Beverly Hills Bar Association (Order of Distinguished Attorneys)
Consumer Attorneys of California - Inland Empire
Consumer Attorneys of California, Former President
Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
Consumer Watchdog
Eastern Bar of Los Angeles
Los Angeles County Bar Association
Trial Lawyers for Public Justice

Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):

$5 million insurance bad faith settlement on behalf of Northridge, CA earthquake victims, 1997
$86.7 Million insurance bad faith verdict (including $57 Million for punitive damages) on behalf of the American-Samoan government against Affiliated FM Insurance Co. involving hurricane damage, 1995.
$19 million verdict for paraplegic Marine whose insurance company overruled his treating doctor on the medical necessity of his 109-day hospital stay, 2011.
$5 Million insurance bad faith settlement on behalf of Northridge earthquake victims, 1997
$25 Million punitive damages award in insurance fraud case against a carrier that allegedly misrepresented the scope of a health insurance policy and denied benefits to a cancer victim, 1993.
$1 million verdict in punitive damages in an insurance bad faith case involving the disability claims of a truck driver who was denied coverage after being injured when his truck jack knifed, 1981.
$4.5 Million punitive damages verdict against an insurer who refused to pay a $48 claim for medicine and a hearing test, 1976.
$86 Million settlement for MGM Grand on insurance case involving hotel fire in Las Vegas hotel, 1985.
$3.7 million arbitration award to a Kosher food distributor over claims the insurance company illegally refused to pay for damages caused by a fire, 2012.
$9 Million punitive award to hairdresser who had health policy rescinded, 2008.
$1.5 million bad faith verdict for federal judge over fire loss in his home, 1994
$8 million verdict in a double-indemnity insurance bad faith case involving a disputed life insurance policy provision, 1985.
$3.7 million settlement over insurance proceeds for stolen jewelry and art, 1979
$5 Million punitive damages verdict for a roofer whose disability payments had been cut off (the seminal case that established the bad faith tort against insurers), 1974.
Participated in securing $5 Billion settlement of Holocaust Insurance claims, 2009.
$2 million settlement for a woman who had her health insurance rescinded, 2010.
$65.75 Million insurance settlement for entertainment industry companies in lawsuit over earthquake damage, 1995
$23 Million insurance bad faith verdict (including $13 Million punitive damages) for the owners of a hotel over the failure of its insurer to settle a personal injury case, 1987.
$50 Million insurance settlement for Southern California Physicians group over malpractice insurance program for overcharging on premiums, 1981.

Honors/Awards:

Charles Althouse Lifetime Achievement Award, Western San Bernardino County Bar Association, 2021
Top Health Care Attorney in California, Daily Journal, 2019
Excellency in Advocacy Award, Beverly Hills Bar Association, 2017
Top 25 Plaintiff Lawyers in California, Los Angeles Daily Journal, 2015 - 2017
Loyola Law School Champion of Justice, 2014
Top 100 Lawyers, American Trial Lawyers Association
Trial Lawyer of the Year, Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association
Trial Lawyers of the Year, Consumer Attorneys of California
Trial Lawyer of the Year, Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire
Best Lawyers’ 2014 Riverside Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year”
Super Lawyer, Law & Politics Magazine, 2004 - 2023
Hall of Fame, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
Lifetime Achievement Award, Consumer Watchdog
Top 100, Southern California Super Lawyers, 2005
Senior Statesman, Chambers USA - Insurance: Policyholder, 2016
Senior Statesman, Chambers USA - Insurance: Policyholder, 2017
Dean of Insurance Bad Faith, “60 Minutes.” Chambers USA

Educational Background:

University of Miami, B.B.A.

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

"Insurance Bad Faith Litigation", Co-Author
"How To Make Your HMO Pay Up", Co-Author
"How to Make Insurance Companies Pay Your Claims and What To Do If They Don’t", Co-Author
"Payment Refused", Co-Author
The Shernoff Insurance Bad Faith Seminar, Rutter Group Seminar

William M. Shernoff