William Shernoff
Encyclopedia
William M. Shernoff is a prominent American
trial lawyer based in Beverly Hills/Claremont, California
, USA. He is one of the pioneers of a branch of law known as "insurance bad faith
", in which he investigates the alleged bad faith and misconduct of insurance companies. This began in 1971 with his first insurance case. He has since become a senior/managing partner of Shernoff Bidart Darras & Echeverria LLP, heading a team of 10 litigation lawyers who are widely known as the "bad faith insurance lawyers". Shernoff is also the author and co-author of several books on law, including Bad Faith (1984), Payment Refused (1986), How to Make Insurance Companies Pay Your Claims and What to Do If They Don't (1990) and Fight Back & Win (1999). He has also served on the United Policy's first Board of Directors.
when the insurance company failed to meet its obligations after the fire which devastated the hotel.
His most successful case was in the early 1990s related to Hurricane Val, a hurricane that devastated American Samoa
in December of that year. In 1991, American Samoa had purchased a $45-million "all risk" insurance policy from the firm Affiliated FM Insurance. However, the firm would only pay up $6.1 million for the damages, arguing that the insurance did not cover water damage, only that driven by the wind. Shernoff investigated and discovered that the insurance company had altered American Samoa's insurance policy to exclude damages caused by "wind-driven water", despite it still covering hurricanes.The case was taken to court and in 1995 the jury awarded the American Samoa Government $28.9 million, and then doubled that amount to $57.8 million in respect to punitive damages. The total award in the final judgment was $86.7 million, which is stated to be the largest insurance bad faith judgment in the state of California, in 1995.
In 2004, he was named "Super Lawyer" by Law & Politics and Los Angeles
magazine and was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Attorneys in California.
, the son of a lawyer whom he admired and wanted to follow in the legal profession. Shernoff married Jilda Trolio in Beverly Hills in the 1990s. They have one daughter, Summer.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
trial lawyer based in Beverly Hills/Claremont, California
Claremont, California
Claremont is a small affluent college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population as of the 2010 census is 34,926. Claremont is known for its seven higher-education institutions, its...
, USA. He is one of the pioneers of a branch of law known as "insurance bad faith
Insurance bad faith
Insurance bad faith is a legal term of art that describes a tort claim that an insured person may have against an insurance company for its bad acts. Under the law of most jurisdictions in the United States, insurance companies owe a duty of good faith and fair dealing to the persons they insure...
", in which he investigates the alleged bad faith and misconduct of insurance companies. This began in 1971 with his first insurance case. He has since become a senior/managing partner of Shernoff Bidart Darras & Echeverria LLP, heading a team of 10 litigation lawyers who are widely known as the "bad faith insurance lawyers". Shernoff is also the author and co-author of several books on law, including Bad Faith (1984), Payment Refused (1986), How to Make Insurance Companies Pay Your Claims and What to Do If They Don't (1990) and Fight Back & Win (1999). He has also served on the United Policy's first Board of Directors.
Notable cases
In 1979, Shernoff won a landmark case amounting to $86 million for the MGM Grand Hotel in Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
when the insurance company failed to meet its obligations after the fire which devastated the hotel.
His most successful case was in the early 1990s related to Hurricane Val, a hurricane that devastated American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
in December of that year. In 1991, American Samoa had purchased a $45-million "all risk" insurance policy from the firm Affiliated FM Insurance. However, the firm would only pay up $6.1 million for the damages, arguing that the insurance did not cover water damage, only that driven by the wind. Shernoff investigated and discovered that the insurance company had altered American Samoa's insurance policy to exclude damages caused by "wind-driven water", despite it still covering hurricanes.The case was taken to court and in 1995 the jury awarded the American Samoa Government $28.9 million, and then doubled that amount to $57.8 million in respect to punitive damages. The total award in the final judgment was $86.7 million, which is stated to be the largest insurance bad faith judgment in the state of California, in 1995.
Acclaim
Shernoff is highly acclaimed in the legal profession in the United States and has ranked on the The Best Lawyers in America, every year since its first edition in 1983.In 2004, he was named "Super Lawyer" by Law & Politics and Los Angeles
Los Angeles (magazine)
Los Angeles magazine is a monthly regional magazine of national stature. Published by Emmis Communications and produced monthly since the spring of 1961, LA Magazine is a combination of award-winning feature writing, investigative reporting, service journalism, and design, the definitive resource...
magazine and was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Attorneys in California.
Personal life
Shernoff grew up on a rural farm in WisconsinWisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, the son of a lawyer whom he admired and wanted to follow in the legal profession. Shernoff married Jilda Trolio in Beverly Hills in the 1990s. They have one daughter, Summer.