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Douglas C. Purdy

Of Counsel

Douglas C. Purdy was a founding partner of Morris Polich and Purdy LLP. He has a long track record of trial successes but, above all, he relishes finding solutions to complex problems.

The primary focuses of his practice are professional liability, construction law and insurance coverage. He has given speeches and presented seminars in each of these areas and has a wide range of trial experience, having tried more than fifty cases to verdict or judgment. He has testified as an expert witness in the areas of professional liability and insurance coverage and has acted as an arbitrator and settlement officer for the Los Angeles Superior Court.

In the construction law field, he has counseled and represented architects, engineers, contractors and owners in virtually every type of construction project, ranging from major high rise commercial construction to complex processing facilities to large water transmission projects involving pipelines, canals and reservoirs to residential development. His clients include both public entities and private firms, many of them industry leaders with a national and international presence.

He has litigated and advised clients in literally hundreds of insurance coverage disputes, including many high profile cases in the field of environmental insurance coverage. As national counsel to a major commercial insurer he played a significant role in the coordination of its countrywide environmental insurance coverage litigation and he currently acts as national counsel to a major multi-national corporation in connection with asbestos claims against the company.

When he can find time, he pursues a wide range of interests, including opera, gardening, medieval theology and pretending that he can still surf.

Education

Los Angeles School of Law, 1969
Los Angeles, University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, California, 1966

Recognitions

AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated – Martindale-Hubbell

Wiley W. Manuel Pro Bono Award

For sixteen consecutive years (2004-2019) Douglas Purdy has been named a Southern California Super Lawyer in a survey distributed by Thomson Reuters, a distinction honoring the top 5% of lawyers in the region

Memberships

Legal Affairs Committee, Geoprofessional Business Association

ACEC California Attorneys Roundtable

Insurance and Construction Committees, Defense Research Institute

Bench and Bar Committee, Los Angeles Superior Court

Southern California Defense Counsel Association

Los Angeles County Bar Association

State Bar Licenses

California

Court Admissions

U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
U.S. District Ct., C.D. of California
U.S. District Ct., E.D. of California
U.S. District Ct., S.D. of California

Articles

  • Co-author: California Property Insurance: Law and Litigation, California Continuing Education of the Bar, 2011
  • “Update 2 – Climate Change Litigation in the US: Theories of Liability and Insurance Issues,” December 2008
  • “Update 1 – Climate Change Litigation in the US: Theories of Liability and Insurance Issues,” June 2008

Presentations

  • “Stump the Lawyers” and “Deposition Dos and Don’ts”, Geotechnical Business Association, Phoenix, October 20, 2017
  • “The Evolving Practice of Design: New Opportunities and Challenges,” June 2, 2014
  • “Insurance of Defects in U.S. Builders’ Risk and UK CAR/EAR Policies,” presentation at Kennedy’s, London, October 2010
  • “Case Studies Under Professional & Contracting Services Environmental Liability Policies,” Plymouth Meeting, PA, November 2008
  • “Climate Change Litigation in the U.S.: Theories of Liability and Insurance Issues,” Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, April 2008 (seminar and article)
  • “Architectural Contracts and the Impact of BIM,” UCLA School of Architecture, April, 2007
  • “2006 California Update and Legal Ethical Issues,” Insurance Society of Philadelphia, November, 2006
  • “Ethical Issues and the Burning Limits Policy,” Insurance Society of Philadelphia, November 2003
  • “Legal and Ethical Developments Affecting Environmental & Design Professional Claims,” Insurance Society of Philadelphia, November 2003
  • “Liability for Failure to Design to Owner’s Budget,” Lorman Education Services, Pasadena, CA, October 2002
  • “Construction Liability Issues,” Construction Section of Los Angeles County Bar Association, May 1996
  • “Limitation of Liability: Alive and Well,” Cornerstone, April, 1995
  • “Emerging Environmental Coverage Issues,” Mealey’s Seminar, 1992
  • “Construction Project Policies,” DPIC Seminar, 1988

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