Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP

Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP protects policyholders—whether individuals or businesses—from insurance companies that refuse to pay claims.

The boutique firm’s decades of work to ensure insurance companies act in good faith has helped set precedents benefiting millions of insurance consumers, said senior and founding partner William M. Shernoff.

“I got into this niche 45 years ago. I’ve probably seen every kind of insurance dispute,” Shernoff said. “I would like to say insurance companies treat their customers better than they used to, but that’s not true.”

Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP employs 11 attorneys between offices in Beverly Hills and Claremont. They specialize in insurance bad faith law and catastrophic personal injury claims.

Shernoff said the firm’s trial lawyers take on challenging cases to pursue both successful outcomes and justice for their clients. Recent wins include a three-year, two-trial case against a title insurance company that denied a couple’s claim when they wanted road access to a Temecula hilltop parcel to build their dream home. Jones v. Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company, RIC1612837 (Riverside Sup. Ct., filed Oct. 3, 2016). A Riverside County Superior Court jury ultimately awarded the property owners $2.537 million.

“It’s just fine when you’re paying premiums,” Shernoff said. “But when you file a claim, the insurance company is looking for a way to get out of paying.”

Consumers should know the finer details of their policies, but policy jargon can be tough to interpret, he said. For example, homeowners today are often unclear to what extent their policies cover disasters like earthquakes and wildfires, and whether it will be enough to rebuild.

Mandates to contain the spread of COVID-19 have caused some businesses to experience huge losses or to shutter altogether. Business interruption insurance claims are sometimes wrongfully denied with policyholders left feeling like they’re out of options.

“That’s where we come in,” Shernoff said.

A recent case in Yolo County took a three-and-a-half-month mid-trial hiatus as a safety precaution. Singh and Rani v. Capay Inc., P017-2105 (Yolo Sup. Ct., filed Dec. 12, 2017).

The trial resumed with strict masking, spacing, and sanitation requirements. Two jurors were excused for health and family concerns, so the remaining 12 jurors completed the trial with no alternates, ultimately awarding $10.5 million to a former truck driver whose leg was severed in a forklift accident.

Partner Ricardo Echeverria, lead trial counsel for the plaintiff, said he will never forget the nuances of moving forward on that case in-person despite lockdowns.

“We were kind of the guinea pigs,” he said. “It was a little eerie because we were the only thing going on in the courthouse those days.”

Echeverria credits Judge Samuel McAdams with keeping the lawyers and jurors motivated to fulfill their civic duties.

“The jurors realized that everyone put a lot of effort into it,” Echeverria said. “They were invested in the outcome.”

—Jennifer McEntee