Alan Barbanel
Alan.Barbanel@kennedyslaw.com
+1 415 323 4445
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Profile
Education
- University of San Diego, JD, 1982
- Northeastern University, BS (magna cum laude), 1978
Alan Barbanel is a partner in the Los Angeles office, his practice focuses on insurance coverage and bad faith on behalf of commercial insurers and reinsurers. His clients include several foreign and domestic excess and surplus lines insurers and reinsurers, for whom he handles a wide variety of complex third-party and first-party coverage involving financial lines insurance including professional liability, employment practices liability, and directors’ and officers’ liability. In addition Alan has the same high level of experience in other insurance lines including commercial general liability, specialty liability, commercial property, homeowners’ and a variety of specialty coverages including contingent liability and product recall policies. Alan has experience in a wide variety of policy formation issues and insurance fraud.
For over 15 years, Alan served as a claim administrator for a range of professional liability programs in the Lloyd’s of London insurance market. These programs include coverage for lawyers, insurance agents and brokers, real estate and mortgage brokers, architects and engineers, and miscellaneous professions. In this capacity, he handled more than 1,300 professional liability claims across most states in the United States.
Alan is routinely engaged by carriers to draft policy language, provide training, serve as an expert witness in insurance coverage and attorney malpractice actions and lecture on insurance coverage and bad faith matters.
Memberships
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association
- Member, San Diego County Bar Association
- Member, Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS)
- Member, California State Bar Insurance Law Committee (January 2012 – Present)
- California State Bar Insurance Law Committee (Member, 2012 – Present, Vice-Chair, 2014 – Present )
- Member, University of San Diego School of Law Alumni Board (2021 – Present)
Qualifications and admissions
- California
Market recognition
- AV Peer Rating from Martindale-Hubbell – Southern California Legal Leader 2015
- Recognized in Best’s Recommended Insurance Attorneys (2014)
- Recognized for inclusion in the Southern California Super Lawyers list for insurance coverage (2004, 2006 – Present)
Work highlights
- Golden Eagle Insurance Co. v. William D. Evans, etc., et al., Los Angeles County Superior Court Case No. BC 351301; (Retained by Golden Eagle Insurance Company, May 2007 (Testified at trial re: obligations of independent defense counsel pursuant to California Civil Code Section 2860)).
- Lexington Insurance Company v. Powers, McNalis Torres & Teebagy; Retained by Powers, McNalis Torres & Teebagy (PMT&T) re: whether Florida law firm fell below the applicable standard of care in defense of bad faith action entitled Saewitz v. Lexington Insurance Company.
- Yarpezeshkan v Lewin, etc., et. al., San Diego County Superior Court, Case No. GIC 850949 (Retained by Jeffrey D. Lewin re: whether lawyer fell below applicable standard of care by failing to tender the Qualmag Litigation to the liability carrier before March 3, 2004).
- Ecolite Concrete USA v. G.S. Levine Insurance Services Union, San Diego County Superior Court, Central Branch Case No. 37-2011-00098582-CU-PN-CTL (Retained by Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz).
Report decisions
- National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v General Star Indemnity Co., Slip Opinion, 2007 WL 495018 (C. A. 3d (Pa., February 16, 2007));
- National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v. General Star Indemnity Co., 2005 WL 1389252 (U.S.D.C. E.D. Pa., June 9, 2005);
- General Reinsurance Corporation v. St. Jude Hospital, 107 Cal. App 4th 1097 (2003);
- QSP, Inc. v. The Aetna Casualty and Surety Co., 256 Conn. 343, 773 A.2d 906 (2001);
- Reliance National Indemnity Co. v. General Star Indemnity Co., 85 Cal. Rptr. 2d 627 (1999);
- Jamestown Builders, Inc., v. General Star Indemnity Co., 77 Cal.App.4th 341 (1999);
- General Star Indemnity Co. v. Superior Court (Hard Rock Café), 47 Cal. App. 4th 1586 (1996);
- Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. v. McDonald, Hecht & Solberg, 30 Cal. App. 4th 1373 (1994);
- North Star Reinsurance Corporation v. Superior Court, 10 Cal. App. 4th 1815 (1992).
- Spa De Soleil v. General Star Indem. Co., 787 F.Supp.2d 1091 (C.D.Cal.2011).
- Zurich Specialties London, Ltd. v. Bickerstaff, Whatley, Ryan & Burkhalter, Inc., 650 F.Supp.2d 1064 (C.D.Cal.2009), affirmed, 425 Fed.Appx. 554 (9th Cir. 2011)
- Dietz Int’l Public Adjusters of Calif., Inc. v. Evanston Ins. Co., 796 F.Supp.2d 1197 (C.D.Cal.2011)
- F.D.I.C. v. General Star Nat. Ins. Co., 2012 WL 398352 (C.D.Cal. Feb. 7, 2012)
Insurance and reinsurance