Blane A. Smith

Mr. Smith began the practice of law in 1980 and has devoted his career to the specialty of insurance law. His work includes consultation and litigation related to the duties of insurers to their insureds and bad faith claims. After eight years as a partner in the firm of Thompson Heller, he became a partner in Farmer Murphy Smith & Alliston in 1996 and founded Farmer Smith & Lane, LLP along with Craig Farmer and David Lane in 2007. In 2020, he formed the Law Office of Blane A. Smith.

Mr. Smith’s insurance practice includes high-profile cases and legal matters with significant exposure for insurance issues in these areas:

• Civil Rights
• Construction Site Injury
• Wrongful Death
• Construction Defect
• Sexual Assault and Harassment
• Major Automobile Injury
• Life Insurance and Disability
• Insurance Fraud Investigation
• Bad Faith

Skilled Litigator:

Mr. Smith has conducted litigation in State and Federal Courts throughout California at the trial and appellate level and has served as counsel of record in significant published appellate opinions concerning insurance law issues. He is frequently retained in an advisory capacity concerning insurance coverage and claims handling and has served as a consultant and expert witness in these fields.

General Civil Litigation:

Lawyers at the Law Office of Blane A. Smith have experience from litigating a wide variety of liability, property and contract disputes involving both commercial/business and individual/personal circumstances of the firm’s clients. The firm provides guidance regarding costs of litigation to assist our clients in planning and decision-making to handle their legal disputes on a budgeted basis. Its principal attorneys have counseled and represented clients in disputes involving construction defect issues, real estate misrepresentation, professional and business commercial contracts, tort claims, bodily injury and property damage involving motor vehicle use, homeowners and renters claims, residential property management and ownership issues including pollution, indoor air quality complaints and landlord-tenant disputes, among others.

Educator:

Mr. Smith has presented over thirty seminars since 1995 for attorneys and insurance professionals and participated in training for major corporations, on these topics:

• Bad Faith
• Claims Handling
• Fraud Investigation
• Policy Interpretation
• Uninsured Motorist Claims
• Insurance Coverage Analysis
• Insurance Litigation

Mr. Smith has been a featured speaker for California’s Continuing Education of the Bar program and a panelist on the Northern California Association of Defense Counsel. He served on the Continuing Education of the Bar Advisory Panel for Real Estate Law. He has authored periodic reviews of case developments in insurance law since 1984. He is a contributing author of the CEB text "California Property Insurance, Law and Litigation". While attending law school, he was an associate comment editor for the Pacific Law Journal. He is the author of “The California Legislature Steers the Antitrust Cart Right Off the Illinois Brick Road”, generally regarded as incorporating the most obscure pun of any scholarly work on antitrust law.

Mr. Smith is also certified by the California State Department of Insurance as a continuing education provider on the Fair Claims Practices Regulation.

Expert Witness:

For more than 25 years, Blane Smith has been retained by attorneys, both in the capacity of confidential consultant, and as a disclosed expert witness, on the subjects of insurance coverage and claims handling in the property/casualty field. His opinions have provided evidentiary support in litigation. His consulting services have frequently uncovered overlooked sources of coverage. In addition he can confirm counsel’s due diligence in the pursuit of insurance sources.

Associations, Training, Background:

Mr. Smith has presented over thirty seminars since 1995 for attorneys and insurance professionals and participated in training for major corporations.

Education:

• B.A., Western Washington University, 1977
• J.D., University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, 1980

Bar/Court Admissions:

• All California Trial and Appellate Courts, U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit, and U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Northern and Central Districts of California.

Representative Matters:

Insurance Coverage and Good Faith / Bad Faith

• California Casualty Indemnity Exchange v. Frerichs, 74 Cal App 4th 1446, (3rd District Court of Appeals, 1999) - This published opinion resolved issues concerning an adult child’s asserted status as a resident “insured” under a homeowners policy, the proper rules of construction that apply to the expectation of persons other than named insureds and the distinction between judge issues in insurance coverage disputes.
• Allstate Ins. Co. v. Chubb Group, 141 F3d 1173 (9th Circuit Court of Appeals, 1998) - Holds that acts of volunteer chief usher at gubernatorial inaugural ceremony did not qualify as covered "occurrence".
• California Casualty Ins. Co. v. Quinney, 2009 WL 775096 (1st District Court of Appeals) -
  Dismissal at trial of bad faith suit in "Negligent Homicide" case affirmed.
• Allied v. Dick Harris, Inc., 2013 WL 2145961 (United States District Court of Eastern District of California, 2013) - (Represented Insurance Broker) Case held insurance broker not liable for coverage of equestrian accident that did not "arise out of" excluded premises.
• Newland v. Progressive, 2006 WL 2536625 (United States District Court for Eastern District California, 2006) - Holds Consumer Legal Remedies Act inapplicable in bad faith suit arising out of denial of suspected fraudulent auto claim.

Environmental Coverage

• East Quincy Services District v.Continental Insurance Company 864 F Supp 976 (United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, 1994) - Foundational published opinion concerning environmental insurance coverage under standard general liability policy for claims of infiltration of contaminants into public agency’s groundwater.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

• Explorer v. Gonzalez, 164 Cal.App. 4th 1258 (3rd District Court of Appeals, 2008) - Holds that no underinsured motorist claim allowable where tortfeasors' combined single limit of bodily injury and property coverage is not exceeded by UM/UIM limit.
• Encompass Ins. Co. v. Bernhard, 2006 WL 2536625 (United States District Court for Eastern District of California, 2006) - Holds that policy unambiguously withholds UIM coverage from single vehicle accident.