CONSTRUCTION DEFECT EXPERIENCE
As a practitioner, Mr. Smithson typically represented general contractors and real estate developers in residential, commercial and industrial construction defect lawsuits, including some of the largest such companies in California (Forrest City Enterprises, Lewis Homes, Turner Construction, Tutor-Saliba ) and the Western U.S. As lead counsel, he gained the requisite experience in evaluating the entirety of a construction project and its post-construction problems in order to successfully defend clients and to prosecute cross-actions against trades whose work was directly related to the claims. He is an expert in the analysis of contractual indemnity provisions and has won multiple judgments in contractual indemnity trials.
Additionally, Mr. Smithson has extensive experience in the analysis and trial of complex insurance coverage issues. He has successfully tried coverage cases in state and federal court and has written materials for the California Continuing Education of the Bar regarding liability coverage. As both a practitioner and a mediator, he brings to bear his extensive experience in these overlapping disciplines in order to determine where the liability for construction defects lies and to determine the effect of both contractual indemnity and insurance coverage provisions on the ultimate resolution of these complex cases.
Finally, Mr. Smithson engages in both pre-mediation and post-mediation follow-up in order to make certain that the parties’ time and money is expended judiciously and successfully. His pre-mediation work involves telephonic conferences aimed at assuring that all parties are fully prepared to engage in meaningful settlement discussions
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so that time and money are not wasted on premature mediation efforts. He has been known to help parties mediate discovery disputes so that the gathering of information necessary to one or more parties’ meaningful evaluation of its exposure can be accomplished, thus enabling the affected parties to participate fully in the mediation process. Post-mediation follow-up is premised upon the idea that a mediation should not end if the case is not settled at the mediation hearing. With full understanding that parties often must address issues raised at the mediation in order to complete settlement discussions (often by conducting additional discovery and/or investigation), Mr. Smithson utilizes the full gamut of communication avenues to continue negotiations after the hearing until the case is settled. He is firmly of the belief that his work is not finished until the case is settled.
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EDUCATION & TRAINING
 J.D., 1984, Boston College Law School
B.S., 1980, University of Oregon (Political Science)
Mr. Smithson is available throughout the U.S..
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