Mr. Purdy is 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 forty 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.
Professional Memberships and Activities
· Steering Committee, Professional Liability Underwriting Society, Western Chapter
· 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
Distinctions
· AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated - Martindale-Hubbell
· Wiley W. Manuel Pro Bono Award
· 2012 Southern California Super Lawyer
· 2011 Southern California Super Lawyer
· 2010 Southern California Super Lawyer
· 2009 Southern California Super Lawyer
· 2008 Southern California Super Lawyer
· 2007 Southern California Super Lawyer
· 2006 Southern California Super Lawyer
· 2005 Southern California Super Lawyer
· 2004 Southern California Super Lawyer
Other Information
· Law Day Red Mass Advisory Committee
Speeches and Publications
· Co-author: California Property Insurance: Law and Litigation, California Continuing Education of the Bar, 2011
· "Insurance of Defects in U.S. Builders' Risk and UK CAR/EAR Policies," presentation at Kennedy's, London, October 2010
· "Update 2 - Climate Change Litigation in the US: Theories of Liability and Insurance Issues," December 2008
· "Case Studies Under Professional & Contracting Services Environmental Liability Policies," Plymouth Meeting, PA, November 2008
· "Update 1 - Climate Change Litigation in the US: Theories of Liability and Insurance Issues," June 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
Articles
12/23/2008, Update 2 - Climate Change Litigation in the U.S.: Theories of Liability and Insurance Issues
On April 30, 2008, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP presented a paper and seminar on the subject of Climate Change Litigation in the U.S.: Theories of Liability and Insurance Issues. The level of interest expressed about that subject at the time combined with ongoing developments relating to climate change litigation suggested the desirability of periodically updating that presentation. This is another in that ongoing series of updates.
6/20/2008, Update 1 - Climate Change Litigation in the U.S.: Theories of Liability and Insurance Issues
On April 30, 2008, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP presented a paper and seminar at the Old Library, Lloyds Building in London on the subject of Climate Change Litigation in the U.S.: Theories of Liability and Insurance Issues. The level of interest about this subject, as reflected by the attendance at the seminar, the number of inquiries following the seminar and the response of other insurers with whom we have shared our paper, combined with the rapid pace of new developments relating to climate change litigation in the short period since that seminar was presented, suggests the desirability of periodically updating that presentation. The purpose of this brief update is to do just that.
4/30/2008, Climate Change Litigation in the U.S.: Theories of Liability and Insurance Issues
Article written for MPP's London seminar, Climate Change Litigation in the U.S.: Theories of Liability and Insurance Issues.
Events
4/30/2008, Climate Change Litigation in the US: Theories of Liability and Insurance Issues
As scientists link evidence of climate change to human factors, a new era of risk management problems is emerging. A first wave of lawsuits seeking to assign liability and recover damages for alleged climate change losses is now proceeding through the U.S. courts. This seminar was designed to explore the factual and legal theories, the strategies being employed, and the liability insurance implications.