Steven M. Schuetze

Steven Schuetze has worked at Shernoff Bidart Echeverria, LLP since 2006, working on a variety of insurance bad faith and serious personal injury/wrongful death cases.

Mr. Schuetze was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1989, and the State Bar of Washington in 1990. He has briefed and argued numerous appeals, including matters before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as well as the Second, Fourth, and Sixth Appellate Districts of the California Court of Appeals. Some of the representative appellate cases Mr. Schuetze has handled are:

Navarrete v. Meyer (2015) 237 Cal.App.4th 1276 (reversal of summary judgment in wrongful death case against passenger who instructed driver to drive at an unsafe speed over a road the passenger knew had unusual conditions that would cause the car to become airborne based on civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and interfering with the safe operation of a vehicle under Vehicle Code section 21701.)
Christian v. County of Orange, 2012 WL 2343161 (obtaining reversal of judgment entered by trial court on an ad hoc motion to dismiss on both procedural and substantive ground).
American States v. Ramirez, 2012 WL 3011225 (The California Supreme Court granted review of the Court of Appeals 2-1 decision on this insurance coverage case regarding whether an insert in the same mailing as the policy could reasonably be construed as part of the policy).
PNS Jewelry v. Dunbar, 2007 W.L. 4216915 (Reversal of trial court sustaining demurrer without leave to amend based on argument Carmack Amendment does not apply to negligence claim for theft of jewelry before delivery to interstate carrier.)
Arno v. Helinet, (2005) 130 Cal.App.4th 1019 (Court of Appeal affirmed award of pre-judgment interest of $3.5 million based on California Code of Civil Procedure § 998 offer to compromise served on helicopter pilot ).
Mr. Schuetze has been a lead trial attorney in jury trials in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and Alameda Counties, and participated in numerous arbitrations. Mr. Schuetze has also prevailed on dozens of motions for summary judgment, and has been the lead writer on law and motion briefing on numerous cases that have resulted in substantial verdicts.

Mr. Schuetze began his career at an insurance defense firm, specializing in insurance subrogation matters. In 1999, he joined the law firm of Good, West & Schuetze. At that firm, Mr. Schuetze handled catastrophic injury cases including quadriplegia, paraplegia, and brain damage, as well as numerous wrongful death cases.

Mr. Schuetze attended Pepperdine University School of Law, graduating cum laude in the top 5% of his class in 1989. While at Pepperdine, Mr. Schuetze was a member of the Pepperdine Law Review and received American Jurisprudence Awards in Civil Pleading & Procedure and Conflicts of Laws. Mr. Schuetze obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington, after graduating as the valedictorian from his high school.

Areas of Practice

Insurance bad faith litigation
Governmental tort liability
Serious Personal Injury and Wrongful Death
Education

Pepperdine University School of Law, Malibu, California, 1989; J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence
Honors: Cum Laude
Honors: top 5%
Law Review: Member, Pepperdine Law Review
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 1986; B.A., Bachelor of Arts
Published Works

“‘There should have been a stop sign’ – The tools to defeat defendant’s motions based on statutory defenses for a dangerous condition of public property” The Advocate, March 2014 and Plaintiff, June 2014
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

Consumer Attorneys of California
Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
Consumer Attorneys of Inland Empire Chapter
Bar Admissions

California, 1989
Washington, 1990
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal
United States District Court, Central District of California