After spending almost 25 years as a defense attorney, I now apply my legal research and writing skills to the plaintiff's side. During the past ten years, I have teamed with a number of attorneys in complex, high dollar value cases, providing the high quality legal presentations needed to counter the defense paper barrage. Typically, I handle the pleadings, discovery motions, motions for summary judgment/adjudication, pre- and post-trial motions, and insurance coverage issues. On selected cases, he will also handle some of the written discovery and depositions. 

    In a recent case, Mr. Berg teamed with the attorney representing a spectator who sustained brain damage when he was stmck by a hockey puck at an NHL game. The defense was convinced that it would prevail on its assumption of risk defense. Mr. Berg defeated the defense summary judgment motion, persuading the trial judge that as a matter of law assumption of the risk was not applicable. He also persuaded the judge to allow into evidence of the results of a computerized EEG test, despite the defense claim that this was a new and unaccepted technique under the Kelly-Fry test.

    In another case, a six year old girl was bitten by a dog when she attended a family wedding in Oklahoma. When the case was filed in Los Angeles, the defense filed a motion to quash, contending that California courts lacked jurisdiction. Mr. Berg successfully opposed the motion, allowing the case to stay in a more favorable venue (and the California attorney to continue to represent the plaintiff).

    The plaintiff was rear-ended by an uninsured motorist. Her attorney made a $60,000 settlement demand, although he was willing to accept less. The insurer offered $20,000. The arbitrator awarded the full $100,000 policy limits; the insurer paid the award. Plaintiff then filed a bad faith action based upon the failure to accept the demand. There were no real damages and her attorney was willing to accept a minimal settlement - until the insurer was unable to produce the claim file.  Her attorney teamed with Mr. Berg who was able to construt a pursuaive argument that the insurer had deliberately destroyed the file in order to conceal its deliherate stonewalling of the clam. The result was a mid-six figure settlement.

    The decedent, a 41 year old mother of two, was attending a week-long summer professional development course held on the campus of a Southern California college.  After the day's program  had ended, she - along with some other attendees - continued to socialize at an outdoor amphitheater on campus.  There was alcohol and the decedent became highly intoxicated.  A college employee gave her a ride back to her dorm in an electric cart.   During the ride, she either fell or stepped off of the cart, striking her head on the pavement; she died from her injuries.  Contending that the college should not have transported an obviously intoxicated person on a cart (which had neither doors nor seatbelts), Mr. Berg was able to obtain a seven-figure settlement for her children.

    Mr. Berg practices in all the courts in California and has appeared before the California Supreme Court, the California Courts of Appeal, and the Federal Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit. He also acts as an arbitrator and mediator for the Los Angeles County Superior court and as a arbitrator for the San Fernando Valley Bar Association mandatory fee arbitration program.

Education:
University of California at Los Angeles (B.A. 1970, Economics)
University of California at Los Angeles (J.D. 1973)

Employment History:
Law Offices of Arthur Paul Berg (1979-present)
Engaged primarily in complex insurance coverage and related bad faith litigation, including matters arising in the land subsidence, construction, antitrust, patent infringement, asbestos, and hazardous waste areas.
Grace, Neumeyer & Otto (1976-1979)
Continued defense of product liability actions involving General Motors and Nissan. Increased involvement in insurance coverage litigation.
Spray, Gotld & Bowers (1973-1976)
Primarily engaged in the defense of product liability actions, especially automobile accidents involving General Motors products. Some insurance coverage litigation.

Professional Affiliations:
Bar membersips
    California Supreme Court (1973)
    United States Supreme Court (1981)
    United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (1976)
    United States District Court, Central District of California (1973)
    United States District Court, Southern District of California (1974)
    United States District Court, Eastern District of California (1981)

Professional Organizations
    American Trial Lawyers Association
    Consumer Attorneys of California
    Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles
    San Fernando Valley BarAssociation
    Los Angeles Superior Court arbitrator/mediator
    Defense Research Institute, Vice-Chairman, Insurance Law Committee (1984-1988)

Publications:
"Comparative Contribution: The Equitable Distribution of Accident Losses," Insurance Counsel Journal (Fall 1976)
"Occurrence: An Elusive Description," Defense Research Institute (Monograph 1982)
"Losing Control of the Defense - The Insured's Right to Select His Own Counsel,".For The Defense (July 1984)
"After Cumis: Regaining Control of the Defense," For The Defense (August 1985)
"Litigating Insurance Declaratory Relief Actions," CGL Reporter (1986)
"Where Did Our Policy Limits Go? A Self-Defense Primer for the Cautious Insurer," CGL Reporter (1990)
"The Supplementary Payments Provision and the Insurer's Obligation to Pay Attorneys Fees Awards," CGL Reporter (1998)
"Attorneys Fee Awards in Cumis Fee Arbitrations," Forum (December 2002)
“Building Your Judicial Capital: 10 Tips for Motion Practice,” The Advocate (March 2005)
"Mining the Electronic Motherlode:  Techniques for the Discovery of Electronic Data," The Advocate (Sept. 2006)