Mr. Frantz's 40 years of legal experience includes litigating catastrophic injury claims, tractor-trailer collisions, amusement park accidents, products liability, motorcycle, and automobile collisions, aviation accidents, fire and explosion related injuries and wrongful death claims, mass transit accidents, construction accidents, industrial accidents, complex business disputes, class actions, and mass torts. Mr. Frantz currently serves on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the Porter Ranch Gas Leak litigation (one of the largest mass tort litigation in U.S. history), as well as the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the wildfire litigation against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE). Mr. Frantz served as President of the Meadows Del Mar Homeowners Association for eight years (Meadows Del Mar consists of 134 homes with an estimated total value of $500 million in real estate).
Achieving Landmark Court Victories
Mr. Frantz and co-counsel have trial-tested their extensive experience securing landmark verdicts and settlements, including:
1. $55.4 million jury verdict* ** awarded to the families of four marines who were killed as a result of the negligence of San Diego Gas & Electric Utility (no pre-trial offer was made by defendants).
2.Jury verdict of $223 million* (top pretrial offer was $100,000) in a professional negligence case. **
3. Verdict of $18.5 million* **- Mr. Frantz's expertise was sought by Congress where he testified as a product liability expert with respect to the litigation he prosecuted against a drug manufacturer whereby he won (with co-counsel) an $18.5 million verdict. Within months after Mr. Frantz’s congressional testimony the product was banned by the federal government due to significant safety concerns.
4. $13.5 billion* against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) on behalf of thousands of victims harmed in the 2017 and 2018 Northern California wildfires (FLG represents 4,400 victims). Mr. Frantz played an integral role in obtaining this landmark settlement.
5. $800 million* against MGM Resorts International on behalf of victims of the 2017 Las Vegas Shooting at Mandalay Bay (Frantz Law Group represented 201 victims). Mr. Frantz played a very important part in achieving this historic settlement.
The Daily Transcript honored Mr. Frantz as one of the Top 10 Attorneys. Mr. Frantz has been nominated for Top Attorneys in the insurance and personal injury category 2010 - 2020. Mr. Frantz has also been honored as a Super Lawyer and Tier One Best Lawyers of America for twelve consecutive years.
Mr. Frantz is a cum laude graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara and a graduate of Thomas Jefferson School of Law. He represented the San Diego County Bar Association as a Delegate to the State Bar of California and has served as a Special Master for the State Bar of California for the past 30 years. He has also been an Arbitrator for 30 years. He is a Master of the William B. Enright Chapter of the American Inns of Court. He is a Fellow and Associate of the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates and is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbel.
Honors & Recognition
• One of the largest Southern California jury verdicts for an individual client in a professional negligence claim ($223 million) * **
• Largest San Diego verdict against drug manufacturer ($18.5 million) * **
• Largest helicopter aviation jury verdict in U.S. history against a public utility ($55.4 million) * **
• Daily Transcript's Top 10 Attorneys
• Outstanding California Trial Lawyer nomination, 2003
• Super Lawyers, 2008 - 2021
• Best Lawyers of America, 2010 - 2021
• AV Preeminent* by Martindale Hubbell, 2012 - 2021
• Top Lawyers in San Diego by San Diego Magazine, 2012 - 2021
• Best California Trial Attorneys by Best Lawyers, 2012 - 2021
• Tier 1 ranking for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions-Plaintiffs by U.S. News
• Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” Tier One Rankings, 2010 - 2021
• Top Attorneys in San Diego by The New York Times & Los Angeles Magazine, 2013 - Present
• Top 100 Verdicts in the Nation for 2008
Community Involvement
James P. Frantz, is also a proud Board Member of Impact Teen Drivers. Since 2007, Impact Teen Drivers (ITD) has emerged as a leading non-profit organization dedicated to reversing the pervasive yet preventable crisis of distracted driving by minors (cell phone use). ITD’s mission is to change the driving habits of minors thereby saving lives not only in this generation of drivers, but in future generations as well. ITD is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the driving culture to one that is distraction-free.
ITD accomplishes its goal through a nationwide educational program that confronts the dangers and consequences of reckless and distracted driving, as well as, vaping while driving. Impact Teen Drivers (ITD) partners with schools, first responders, health care organizations, and state agencies to spread the message of safe, distraction-free driving and achieve real impact in communities throughout California. ITD works with family members of teens killed by reckless and distracted driving and uses real stories of teens who have lost their lives or caused the loss of life in preventable car crashes to connect emotionally and motivate young people toward attitude and behavior change.
James Frantz works alongside the following fellow board members of Impact Teen Drivers:
• Beau Brown - Chairman & CEO California Casualty
• Carolyn Doggett - Executive Director California Teacher's Association
• Dwight Helmick – Former Commissioner California Highway Patrol
• Jack O’Connell – Former CA State Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Jon Hamm - CEO, California Association of Highway Patrolmen
• Margarita Cuizon - Director of Member Services and Support ACSA
• Warren Stanley – Former Commissioner California Highway Patrol
• Amanda L. Ray – Current Commissioner California Highway Patrol
• Distracted and reckless driving is a multifaceted public health crisis that requires a multi-faceted response, so while Impact’s message remains the same—to end it—the formats and venues to spread it vary. • Automobile crashes are the #1 killer of teens in America, and they are preventable. Impact has developed evidence-based curricula and guides for different professional fields, and for different target audiences. • Impact Teen Drivers offers myriad free resources to educators, first responders, healthcare professionals, parents, community members, and teens and teen organizations.
Associations & Memberships
• The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation
• American Bar Association, (20-year member of the Tort, Trial & Insurance Sections)
• San Diego County Bar Association (SDCBA)
• Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA)
• American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
• Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC)
• Consumer Attorneys of San Diego (CASD)
• Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA)
• American Association for Justice (AAJ)
• Association of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America
• Master, William B. Enright Chapter of The American Inns of Court (EIOC)
• State Bar of California, Delegate
• State Bar of California, Special Master
• Superior Court, Arbitrator, 1982 - Present
