Litigation
Farmer Smith & Lane, LLP attorneys have over 75 years of litigation experience and trial skills. The firm’s principal attorneys, Craig Farmer, Blane Smith and David Lane and their associates represent aggressively and efficiently the interests of a variety of clients. These include insureds, insurers, business owners, contractors, income property managers, homeowners, insurance professionals and lawyers. The firm represents clients in state and federal courts throughout California. It also provides legal counsel services in arbitrations and mediations.

Insurance Coverage and Good Faith/Bad Faith
Farmer Smith & Lane, LLP specializes in insurance coverage and bad faith law, providing guidance to resolve questions of rights and duties of insureds and insurers, and litigating legal disputes concerning policy benefits and claim handling.

General Civil Litigation
Lawyers at Farmer Smith & Lane, LLP have experience in litigating a wide variety of liability, property and contract disputes involving both commercial/business and individual/personal circumstances of the firm’s clients. The firm provides guidance regarding costs of litigation to assist our clients in planning and decision-making to handle their legal disputes on a budgeted basis. Its principal attorneys have counseled and represented clients in disputes involving construction defect issues, real estate misrepresentation contentions, professional and business commercial contracts as well as tort claims, bodily injury and property damage involving motor vehicle use, homeowners and renters activities, residential property management and ownership issues including pollution, indoor air quality complaints and landlord-tenant disputes, among others.

Public Entity JPA Risk Pools
Many public agencies and entities have joined together to form group-self-insured risk pooling arrangements as Joint Powers Authorities (JPAs). With their associates, Craig Farmer and David Lane have provided general and coverage counsel services for schools, community colleges, city and county JPAs including drafting JPA documents, handling arbitrations, trials and appellate matters as well as coverage opinions to liability, property and Workers’ Compensation JPAs, their members and administrators for over twenty years.

Independent Defense Counsel (“CUMIS”) Services
The firm also provides insureds with representation as independent “CUMIS” counsel in circumstances where the insurer contests policy coverage. In this capacity, our lawyers afford vigorous representation to insured clients while maximizing their insurance protection. This representation embraces a diverse range of areas but is particularly focused on complex construction defect litigation and the defense of environmental, indoor air and mold suits. Firm members zealously pursue insurance coverage of litigation expenses of the insured as well as indemnity and additional insured rights under construction contracts. The firm has extensive experience in the representation of property owners and managers as well as building contractors and subcontractors.