Hager & Dowling

06/09/2017

Hager & Dowling Attorneys Win Defense Verdict in Personal Injury Jury Trial.

Lora Hemphill and Thomas Dowling of Hager & Dowling won a six week jury trial on a personal injury claim in the Paso Robles Branch of the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court. Plaintiff asserted that Hager & Dowling’s client was negligent in the design and installation of a vineyard irrigation system that allegedly broke resulting in injury to the vineyard manager. The alleged injuries included traumatic brain injury, cervical spine injury, and lumbar spine injury. Despite the allegations that defendant used incorrect products, incorrectly installed the products, and destroyed evidence, the Hager & Dowling defense team was able to prove otherwise and the jury determined defendant was not negligent and returned a quick defense verdict.

02/25/2017

At the end of each year the Hager & Dowling Charitable Foundation Board selects a nonprofit recipient in our Santa Barbara community for their year-end donation. Once selected the Foundation hosts a luncheon for the non-profit recipient and all employees of Hager & Dowling. Today was that day. We had a beautiful luncheon and were honored to present our $4,000 donation to Storyteller Children's Center and to learn about the wonderful things they do for homeless and at-risk children and their families in our community. Thank you Donna Barranco Fisher and Delene Bliss of Storyteller for being our guests today.

10/05/2016

Hager & Dowling attorneys Tom Dowling and Christine Chambers recently completed a jury trial of a insurance bad faith case in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Congratulations to Tom and Christine on their defense verdict!

06/25/2015

Hager & Dowling attorneys John Hager and Christine Chambers were recently successful before the Court of Appeal in the case of Brenegan v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company. Fireman’s Fund insured the owner of a parking garage where plaintiff was injured. The Fireman’s Fund policy provided medical payments coverage to injured claimants as long as the claim was reported to Fireman’s Fund within one year. Plaintiff’s claim was not. The trial court granted Fireman’s Fund’s motion for summary judgment, holding that the policy language was clear and enforceable. The Court of Appeal affirmed judgment for Fireman’s Fund.

The parties disagreed about the nature of the policy language and whether a “notice-prejudice” rule applied such that Fireman’s Fund had to show that it was prejudiced by plaintiff’s delayed reporting of his claim. Fireman’s Fund argued, and both courts agreed, that it did not have to show prejudice. The Court also held that plaintiff was not equitably excused from having to comply with the reporting period because he was unreasonably late in reporting his claim.

01/06/2015

http://www.punchbowl.com/parties/d7dc10b8585078c8b5ff

January 14, 2015@ 3:00 P.M.: Please join us in celebrating the beautiful life of Christian Bjorn Blasbichler 03/22/69 to 12/27/14Leadbetter Beach is between the Santa Barbara Harbor and Shoreline Park and across from Santa Barbara City College.3:00 p.m.Light Food and Drinks will be served. Please…

12/31/2014

Christian Bjorn Blasbichler
March 22, 1969 – December 27, 2014

On December 27, the Hager & Dowling family lost a leader and guiding light. Christian Blasbichler, a 6 foot, 5 inch athlete who biked to work, surfed every chance he had, lived a healthy lifestyle, died suddenly. He had just finished a morning run while visiting his father in Florida. He sat down on a sun deck looking over the Gulf Coast with his two dogs and passed away.
Gregarious yet private, strong yet sensitive and soft-hearted, Christian set an example for all of us. Always ready to have fun and always willing to help, he did countless personal favors for his friends and colleagues. He never sought acclaim or recognition, and earned everything he ever had.
A veteran of the Gulf War, Christian served in the United States Navy before attending college at the University of Texas. He worked at the Federal Reserve, and achieved his MBA before attending Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Oregon. We were fortunate that he eventually chose our firm to pursue his competitive instincts in the practice of law.
As a lawyer, Christian’s activist approach to life carried him throughout his career to his last role as managing attorney at our firm. His people skills and willingness to cooperate with everyone earned him the respect of everyone who knew him. He treated opponents and clients with the same respect he gave all of us, and never sought an unfair advantage.
As a man, Christian was both the life of the party and a loner who felt at one with the ocean when he was on his board. He was everybody’s friend, but never shied from debate. He was a prankster who entertained, and he could laugh at himself. All of us who knew him can see him laughing still, hopping on his bike, standing at his desk (he hated to sit), advocating for clients or sharing a drink. He will live in our memories and shine his light on us forever.

05/06/2014

The Hager & Dowling Charitable Foundation supporting The American Cancer Society's Santa Barbara Relay for Life. The teams raised nearly $40,000 for cancer research and for various, local programs that support those who are fighting cancer.

10/09/2013

We are excited to announce that the Court of Appeal just published an important decision for bad faith law. Our attorneys John Hager and Alison Bernal, prevailed in the trial court on summary judgment and the Court of Appeal affirmed that decision. The published decision can be found here.
http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/mainCaseScreen.cfm?dist=2&doc_id=2013906&doc_no=B241154

01/31/2013

Hager Dowling Lim & Slack is proud to announce we have two new shareholders, Christian B. Blasbichler and Sean D. Cooney. For several years Mr. Blasbichler and Mr. Cooney, like everyone on our team, have provided exceptional legal service to our clients. We look forward to their expanding role with our firm. Please join us in congratulating Christian and Sean!

01/30/2013

Our two Las Vegas based attorneys, Benjamin J. Carman and L. Renee Green, were sworn into U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Honorable Lloyd D. George swore in our two attorneys in the Federal Courthouse named in his honor.

06/08/2012

“Ben Carman and John Hager are celebrating a jury verdict the firm won after a six week trial in Los Angeles. Forty-nine homeowners had sued their insurance company for failing to pay for damage from a large wildfire. The jury ruled unanimously for the insurance company that we defended. John commented, “Everyone at our firm and many people at our client contributed; this victory belongs to them. The jury ruled in our favor after just an hour of deliberations, and before the exhibits had gone into the jury room. Our thanks go to everyone who worked toward this win.”

03/28/2012

Announcement of Firm Name Change!

Hager Dowling Lim & Slack takes pride in the wide range of legal services we offer. Our work encompasses all areas of insurance coverage and litigation, appellate practice, tort and business ligation, construction, and employment law.