David B. Ezra

David Ezra, a shareholder in Berger Kahn’s Orange County office, has successfully represented clients involved in insurance claims and litigation for over 30 years.David also serves as a mediator and expert witness.  David was also the 2018 Chair of the OCBA's Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, and as a Mediator he has helped parties settle hundreds of matters varying from insurance coverage and bad faith, to employment, and various business disputes.  He also offers his services as an insurance coverage expert witness in connection with insurance claims handling and related issues.David was named as the Best Lawyers 2019, 2018 and 2016 Insurance Litigation “Lawyer of the Year” in Southern California, named to the list of Best Lawyers of America 2015-present, and recognized as Orange County’s “Top 5” Attorneys in Insurance and/or Employment law by OC Metro magazine. Super Lawyers named him to the list of “Top 100″ Southern California Super Lawyers from 2013-present and “Top 50″ Orange County Super Lawyers from 2010-present.Beyond his litigation work, David writes and speaks extensively on insurance, mediation, and other aspects of law.  In his free time, David often explores his interest in baseball and baseball history. In 2008, he published a book on baseball and steroids, Asterisk: Home Runs, Steroids, and the Rush to Judgment (Triumph Books; Foreword by Mike Schmidt).Appellate DecisionsDavid has significant appellate experience, obtaining many published and unpublished decisions, including:Hayward v. Superior Court, 2 Cal.App.5th 10 (2016)Underwriters of Interest Subscribing to Policy No. A15274001 v. ProBuilders Specialty Ins. Co., 241 Cal.App.4th 721 (2015)Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Central Garden & Pet Co., 2013 Cal.App.Unpub. LEXIS 6245Farmers Ins. Exch. v. Kim, 2013 Cal.App.Unpub. LEXIS 2309Lomes v. Hartford Financial Services Group, 88 Cal.App.4th 127 (2001)Continental Casualty Co. v. Superior Court (Paragon), 92 Cal.App.4th 430 (2001)Padilla Construction Co., Inc. v. Transportation Ins. Co.,150 Cal.App.4th 984 (2007)Molski v. Evergreen Dynasty Corp., 500 F.3d 1047 (9th Cir. 2007)Equus Prods. v. Truck Ins. Exch., B185357, 2006 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 10082 (Ct. App. Nov. 6, 2006)Published WorksDavid writes and speaks extensively on legal topics. Some of David’s publications include:Mastering the Blue Ridge Settlement Reservation of RightsReaching For Understanding: Mediating Employment Disputes With Small Business Owners, Orange County Lawyer (Jul. 2016)Fraud and Collusion Defenses Can be Risky, Los Angeles Daily Journal (Nov. 2015)The Mediator’s Nightmare: Am I the Most Unreasonable Party’s Advocate?, Orange County Lawyer (Aug. 2015)Making Sense of California’s “Accident” Requirement in Liability Insurance Policies, Insurance Coverage Law Report, FC&S Legal (two-part article, Sept. and Oct./Nov. 2014)Taking A Pregnant Pause: Potential Pitfalls In Applying The Business Judgment Rule And The Mixed Motive Defense In Employment Cases, Orange County Lawyer (Oct. 2014)What You May Not Know About Uninsured Motorist Claims, Claims Journal (Aug. 2014)Writing A “Winning” Mediation Brief, Mediate.com (Feb. 2014)Loose Lips Sink Ships: Panel Counsel and Confidentiality, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Sept. 16, 2013.Asterisk: Home Runs, Steroids, and the Rush to Judgment(Triumph Books (2008) (Foreword by Mike Schmidt)).How Presley Homes Has Changed the Duty to Defend, Los Angeles Lawyer, April 2003.‘Get Your Ashes Out of My Living Room!': Controlling Tobacco Smoke in Multi-Unit Residential Housing, 54 Rutgers Law Review 135-189 (2001).Shedding New Light on the Cumis Doctrine, The Recorder, October, 1998.Sticks and Stones Can Break My Bones But Tobacco Smoke Can Kill Me: Can We Protect Children From Parents that Smoke?, 13 St. Louis University Public Law Review 547-590 (1994).Separate But Not Equal: Gender Specific Dress Codes and Employment Discrimination, 3 Western State University Journal of Law 119-144 (1994).‘Get Off Your Butts': The Employer’s Right to Regulate Employee Smoking, 60 Tennessee Law Review 905-955 (1993).