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  1. Lawyers
  2. Scott Johnson
Scott Johnson
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Scott G. Johnson

Partner, Chair, Minneapolis Insurance Group
sgjohnson@rkmc.com 612.349.8500 vCard Address
    • Minneapolis
    • 800 LaSalle Avenue
    • 2800 LaSalle Plaza
    • Minneapolis, MN 55402-2015

Practice Areas

  • Business Litigation
  • Insurance and Catastrophic Loss
  • Education
    • William Mitchell College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude (1986)
    • Winona State University, B.S., magna cum laude (1982)
  • Professional Associations
    • Winona State University Foundation
  • Bar Admissions
    • California
    • Minnesota
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
    • U.S. District Court, Central District of California
    • U.S. District Court, Colorado
    • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
    • U.S. District Court, Minnesota
    • U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
    • U.S. District Court, South Dakota
    • U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
    • U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
  • Experience

    • Focuses on providing insurance and reinsurance coverage advice and on representing insurers in coverage and bad faith litigation.
    • Has written many coverage opinions and has handled numerous coverage disputes under first-party and third-party insurance policies involving claims arising from fire, explosion, earthquake, equipment breakdown, flood, and other losses.
    • Has litigated disputes concerning various policy exclusions, limitations of liability, suit limitation provisions, statute of limitations, business interruption claims, the duty to defend, loss-in-progress, among others. Has also handled numerous appeals in several federal circuits and states.
  • Selected Case Results**

    Show All

    Gopher Co. v. Reuben, No. A11-959, 2012 WL 686101 (Minn. Ct. App. Mar. 5, 2012) (reversing summary judgment against client in mechanics lien foreclosure claim).

    Asael Farr & Sons Co. v. Truck Ins. Exch., 193 P.3d 650 (Utah Ct. App. 2008) (affirming summary judgment in favor of property insurer on insured's claim to recover more than $25,000 limitation of liability for product contamination losses).

    Seminis, Inc. v. Factory Mut. Ins. Co., 802 F. Supp. 2d 1097 (C.D. Cal. 2008) (granting partial summary judgment in favor of property insurer finding that vegetable plants grown in open fields for research purposes were growing crops within the meaning of the growing crops exclusion).

    Miletich v. Travelers Property & Cas. Ins. Co., No. D048409, 2007 WL 4395702 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 18, 2007) (jury trial with verdict finding insured's loss excluded by deterioration exclusion and subsequent appeal affirming summary judgment on insured's bad faith claim on grounds that jury's subsequent determination that there was no coverage for insured's claim meant that insurer could not have acted in bad faith as a matter of law).

    Penton Media, Inc.  v. Affiliated FM Ins. Co., 245 Fed. Appx. 495, 2007 WL 2332323 (6th Cir. Aug. 15, 2007) (affirming summary judgment granted to property insurer in 9/11 business interruption claim based on FEMA takeover of Jacob Javits Center).

    Clark County v. Factory Mut. Ins. Co., No. CV-s-02-1258-KJD, 2005 WL 6720917 (D. Nev. Mar. 28, 2005) (granting summary judgment in favor of insurer in claim by owners of McCarran International Airport for business interruption losses arising out of FAA shutdown of airports after 9/11 attack). 

    Todd Shipyards v. Westport Ins. Corp., 111 Fed. Appx. 534 (9th Cir. 2004) (affirming summary judgment in favor of property insurer based on suit limitation provision in Nisqually earthquake claim).

    Lockheed Martin v. RFI, 118 Fed. Appx. 122 (9th Cir. 2004) (affirming summary judgment in favor of research company on third-party claim based on alleged negligent approval of third party's product).

    Factory Mut. Ins. Co. v. Estate of James Campbell, 81 Fed. Appx 918 (9th Cir. 2003) (affirming summary judgment in favor of property insurer in mold damage case on grounds that mold growth was a loss-in-progress when insurer came on the risk).

    Fagelbaum v. Travelers Prop. Cas. Ins. Co., 56 Fed. Appx 841 (9th Cir. 2003) (affirming summary judgment in favor of property insurer in jewelry theft claim on grounds that policy unambiguously limited coverage for unscheduled jewelry to $1,500).

    Nama v. Bland, No. G027124, 2002 WL 27223 (Cal. Ct. App., Jan. 10, 2002) (affirming summary judgment in favor of sellers of home who were sued for fraud for failing to disclose alleged defects in house sold to plaintiff).

    Whiteside v. Florist's Mut. Ins. Co., 23 Fed. Appx. 815 (9th Cir. 2001) (affirming summary judgment to liability insurer on breach of contract claim, finding no duty to defend).

    Century Park East Homeowners Ass'n v. Northbrook Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 21 Fed. Appx. 708 (9th Cir. 2001) (affirming summary judgment in favor of property insurer, holding that earth movement exclusion precluded coverage for sinking of insured's floor slab).

    Pacific Ins. Co. v. Kent, 120 F. Supp. 2d 1205 (C.D. Cal. 2000) (granting summary judgment to property insurer and insurer's agent that were sued for breach of contract, bad faith, negligence, and emotional distress).

    Amelco Corp. v. Affiliated FM Ins. Co., Case No. B125902 (Cal. Ct. App., 2nd Appellate Dist. 1999) (affirming summary judgment on behalf of a property insurer sued in breach of contract and bad faith action on the grounds of the suit limitation clause).

    Adele Sheets v. Chubb & Son, Inc., No. 94-5246 RMT (JRx) (C.D. Cal. Sept. 1998) (obtained judgment as a matter of law for property insurer at the conclusion of trial based on insured's material misrepresentations and concealments).

    Federal Ins. Co. v. The Irvine Co., No. 95-56785, 1997 WL 367825 (9th Cir. July 2, 1997) (affirming summary judgment on behalf of a property insurer in insured's claim for cost to remove asbestos from seven commercial buildings based on statute of limitations).

    EOTT v. Storebrand Int'l Ins. Co., A/S, 45 Cal. App. 4th 565, 52 Cal. Rptr. 2d 894 (Cal. Ct. App. 1996) (reversing grant of summary judgment, holding that 653 thefts of diesel fuel could constitute a single occurrence under property insurance policy if they were committed pursuant to a common plan or scheme).

    Imperial Resource Recovery Associates, L.P. v. Allendale Mut. Ins. Co., 878 F. Supp. 434 (N.D.N.Y. 1995) (granting property insurers motion for summary judgment on grounds that plaintiffs' action was barred by the policy's one-year suit limitation provision)

    Carlton v. St. Paul Mercury Ins. Co., 30 Cal. App. 4th 1450, 36 Cal. Rptr. 2d 229 (1994) (affirming summary judgment to auto insurer in a bad faith and breach of contract case, finding that insurer's conduct was reasonable as a matter of law)

    Gordon Food Serv., Inc. v. Grand Rapids Material Handling Co., 183 Mich. App. 241, 454 N.W.2d 137 (1989) (reversing trial court's order denying subrogation defendant's motion to join property insurer as a party plaintiff)

    Johnson Bros. Corp. v. Rapidan Redevelopment Ltd. Partnership, 423 N.W.2d 725 (Minn. Ct. App. 1988) (affirming grant of partial summary judgment to party finding that a $100,000 deductible should have been applied to Rapidan's claim under force majeure insurance policies)

    **Past results are reported to provide the reader with an indication of the type of litigation in which we practice and does not and should not be construed to create an expectation of result in any other case as all cases are dependent upon their own unique fact situation and applicable law.

  • Publications and Speeches

    Show All

    Publications

    • Why The Auto‐Owners v. Second Chance Ruling Is Unique
      Law360 (April 24, 2013)
    • Attaching a Copy of Policy Upon Renewal: Insurers' Duty?
      Law360 (December 5, 2012)
    • Applying the Attorney-Client Privilege to Investigations Involving Attorneys: What Is Fair Game in Discovery?
      The Attorney-Client Privilege in Civil Litigation: Protecting and Defending Confidentiality - Fifth Edition (2012)
    • Ten Years After 9/11: Property Insurance Lessons Learned
      Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal (Spring/Summer 2011)
    • Recent Developments in Insurance Coverage Litigation
      Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal; Winter 2011; Section V (pages 443-448) (Winter 2011)
    • Insurance Coverage for Building Code Upgrades
      Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal (Vol. 44:3-4) (Spring/Summer 2009)
    • Applying the Attorney-Client Privilege to Investigations Involving Attorneys: What is Fair Game in Discovery?
      The Attorney-Client Privilege in Civil Litigation (4th ed. A.B.A. 2008) Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (co-authored)
    • Resolving Ambiguities in Insurance Policy Language: The Contra Proferentem Doctrine and Use of Extrinsic Evidence
      The Brief, American Bar Association (Winter 2004)
    • Applying the Attorney-Client Privilege to Investigations Involving Attorneys: What is Fair Game in Discovery?
      Attorney-Client Privilege in Civil Litigation (3d ed. A.B.A. 2004) (with Elisabeth M. Will and Scott G. Johnson)
    • The August 2003 Blackout and Insurance Coverage for Power Outage Losses
      39 Tort Trial & Ins. L.J. 813 (with Amy M. Churan) (Spring 2004)
    • Resolving Ambiguities in Insurance Policy Language: The Contra Proferentem Doctrine and The Use of Extrinsic Evidence
      (May 2003)
    • A Misrepresentation of Fact May Estop an Insurer From Relying on the Suit Limitation Defense
      Journal of Insurance Coverage (Summer 2002)
    • Insurance Coverage for Power Outage Losses
      Journal of Insurance Coverage (Autumn 2001)
    • Ten Years After Prudential-LMI
      Journal of Insurance Coverage (Winter 2011)
    • The Suit Limitation Defense in California: Ten Years After Prudential LMI
      Journal of Insurance Coverage (Winter 2001)
    • Sue and Labor Coverage for Year 2000 Remediation Expenses
      13 John Liner Rev. 85 (Winter 2000) (co-authored)
    • California Property Insurance A Millennium Overview Coverage Bad Faith Subrogation Concepts
      Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. (2000) (Contributing author)
    • The Efficient Proximate Cause Doctrine in California: Ten Years After Garvey
      Journal of Insurance Coverage (Autumn 1999 )
    • Damage Control Sue and Labor Clauses Will Generally Not Cover Y2K Remediations
      Los Angeles Daily Journal (October 21, 1999)
    • Is There Sue and Labor Coverage for Year 2000 Remediation Expenses
      GenRe’s Year 2000 Newsletter (September 1999)
    • Applying the Attorney-Client Privilege in Civil Litigation: Protecting and Defending Confidentiality
      A.B.A. (1997)
    • The Suit Limitation Provision and the Equitable Tolling Doctrine
      30 Tort and Ins. L.J. 1015 (A.B.A. 1995)
    • Recovery Under the Policy vs. Recovery in Court Damages Recoverable in Subrogation Actions
      Property Insurance Subrogation from A to Z (A.B.A. 1991)
    • Subrogation Investigations Involving Attorneys: Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Concerns When Attorneys Investigate
      The Attorney-Client Privilege Under Siege (A.B.A. 1989)
    • Factual and Legal Basis for Rescission of Reinsurance Contracts
      1988
    • A Qualified Privilege for Defamatory Nontestimonial Communications made in the Course of Petitioning
      [In re IBP Confidential Business Documents Litigation, 755 F.2d 1300 (8th Cir. 1985)], 12 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 769 (1986)

    Newsletters

    • DecPage - Special Endorsement (Superstorm Sandy) (Fall 2012)
    • DecPage - Special Endorsement (Hurricane Irene) (Fall 2011)
    • DecPage - Vol. 2, No. 1 (Spring 2011)

    Speeches

    • Business Interruption Coverage: Maximizing Coverage or Limiting Liability Exposure
      Strafford, Webinar (March 14, 2012)
    • Absolute Exclusions: Is There a Chink in the Armor?
      The Property Insurance Perspective, PLRB/LIRB 2004 Claims Conference, Chicago, Illinois (March 16-17, 2004)
    • Resolving Ambiguities in Insurance Policy Language: The Contra Proferentem Doctrine and The Use of Extrinsic Evidence
      Making and Breaking The Property Insurance Contract, Property Insurance Law Committee,Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association, Chicago, Illinois (May 19, 2003)
    • Practicalities of Handling the Mold Claim
      PLRB National Mold Symposium, Charlotte, North Carolina (May 6-7, 2002 and October 29-30, 2001)
    • Fundamentals of Insurance Litigation
      Continuing Education of the Bar, Irvine, California (April 27-28, 2001)

     

  • In the News

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    • “All-Risk” is Not “All-Loss”
    • Firm Obtains Affirmance in Favor of Our Client Affiliated FM Insurance Co.
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