David A. Shaneyfelt, Esq.
David A. Shaneyfelt has been litigating complex civil matters in state and Federal courts across the country for nearly four decades. He served in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and as a shareholder with the New York-based law firm of Anderson Kill. With this experience, he represents insurance policyholders in claims against insurance companies having recovered millions of dollars in benefits for individuals and corporate clients.
He handles virtually every kind of insurance dispute – commercial, homeowner’s, life, accidental death, disability, director and officer, professional malpractice, and public entity insurance. He also represents individuals and entities who have been sued and who have need for defense and indemnity from their insurance carriers.
His litigation experience also extends across a broad array of civil litigation, including contract disputes, real estate litigation, entertainment, insurance broker malpractice, workers' compensation audits, trust litigation, conservatorship, and probate litigation.
He takes every case as if it will go to trial and yet is singularly focused on the most efficient and economic way to do so.
He has practiced extensively in state and Federal courts, including the Central, Southern, and Northern Districts of California, the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois, the Western District of Washington, the Southern District of Mississippi, the District of Hawaii, the Ninth and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is also admitted to, but an inactive member of, the bars of Oregon and Illinois.
He is a 1981 graduate of Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California. He received his J.D. in 1984 from the Willamette College of Law in Salem, Oregon, where he was senior editor of the Law Review.
He is a frequent speaker for several continuing legal education groups at conferences and webinars on insurance coverage issues. Among the webinars he leads are those sponsored by the National Constitution Conferences, the American Law Institute, the Strafford Company, and Bridgeport Continuing Education.
Recent topics include:
Employment Practices Liability Insurance: Preserving, Defending, and Pressing Your Rights To Coverage (Bridgeport)Insurance Coverage Issues for Wage and Hour Class Actions (Bridgeport's Annual Wage & Hour Litigation Management Conference - Los Angeles)
Insurer's Bad Faith in the Absence of Coverage (Strafford Company)
Getting Insurance Claims Paid: What Every Lawyer Needs to Know (National Constitution Conferences)
Publications:
"Claims Against The Claims Handlers Under Large Deductible Workers' Compensation Insurance Policies," The State Bar of California, Business Law News (Summer, 2017)
"When The Church Defames Her Priests," Homiletic and Pastoral Review (July 21, 2017) (with Joe Maher)
“Are Negligent Supervision Claims 'Occurrences'?," Law360, New York (Nov. 8, 2016)
"Insurance Bad Faith: Strategies for Avoiding or Pursuing Claims,” American Law Institute CLE (May 28, 2015) (with Melissa O’Loughlin White and Raymond J. Tittman)
“Sacrificing Priests On The Altar Of Insurance,” Homiletic and Pastoral Review (Feb. 24, 2015) (with Joe Maher)
“Cyber Insurance: What Your Corporate Client Needs To Know,” Ventura County Bar Ass’n (Jan. 2015)
“Avoiding Headaches with Certificates of Insurance,” Risk Management Magazine (Dec. 15, 2014)
“Finding Coverage for Wage and Hour Class Actions,” Practice Tips, Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine (June, 2014)
“Signs Your Insurance Company is Leaving You Twisting In the Wind (And How You Can Protect Against It),” Anderson Kill Policyholder Advisor (Nov./Dec. 2013)
“Mortgage Lenders' Next Crisis: Insurers’ Denials of Repurchase Demands,” DSNews.com (Sept. 25, 2012)
“Finding Coverage for Wage and Hour Class Actions: Better to Split Hairs, Than Pull Them,” Enforce: The Insurance Policy Enforcement Journal, Volume 9, Issue 1 (May 2011)
“10 Tips for When You Receive a Reservation of Rights Letter,” Risk Management Magazine (May 2010)
“Why a Reservation of Rights Letter Is a Reservation for Trouble,” The John Liner Review (Spring 2010)
“‘So, You Might Not Accept Defense Of Our Claim?’ Using The Reservation Of Rights Letter To Your Advantage,” Corporate Counsel Magazine (May 2009)
“When Your Insurance Carrier Must Provide You A Second Attorney – Appointing No. 2 To Look Out For No. 1,” (Part II) Enforce, The Insurance Policy Enforcement Journal (2008) Vol. 6, Issue 1.
“When Your Insurance Carrier Must Provide You A Second Attorney,” (Part I) Enforce, The Insurance Policy Enforcement Journal (2007) Vol. 5, Issue 1.
He is also co-author of the guide, Corporate Policyholders' 50-State Guide: The Right to Independent Counsel, the first state-by-state guide that equips in-house counsel to address the legal conflicts that may occur when a policyholder needs legal representation and the insurance company selects the attorney.