Charles Danaher is a partner in the firm’s Insurance Practice Group, which is recognized by Chambers USA. Charles primarily represents insurance companies that are sued for bad faith, fraud and unfair competition. His clients include Allstate Insurance Companies, State Farm Insurance Companies, Kemper Insurance Companies, Farmers Insurance Exchange, Infinity Insurance Company, Auto Club of So. Cal, Wawanesa Insurance, CSAA, and Loya Insurance Group. While the focus of his practice is in California, Charles has represented insurance company clients in Wyoming, West Virginia, Mississippi, Nevada, Florida, Montana, Indiana, Missouri, Alaska, Maryland, Arkansas, Oregon, Georgia, Arizona, Colorado, Ohio and Alabama.
Charles serves as lead counsel in numerous class actions filed against his insurance company clients. He has successfully defended class actions involving such issues as the payment of overhead and profit, lessor liability coverage, the payment of sales tax, the manner in which actual cash value is determined, whether coverage exists for innocent co-insureds, issues involving med-pay coverage, and allegations of premium overcharging. He recently defeated a class action alleging that insurance companies engage in the unauthorized practice of law by using lay adjusters to contest and pursue inter-insurance arbitration claims. Charles also received two favorable published decisions rejecting the argument that auto liability policies cover third-party claims for inherent diminished value damages. The issue was one of first impression in the country.
Together with the members of his practice group, Charles was one of the first attorneys in California to successfully advocate the "genuine dispute" defense. Today, this defense is considered to be the most important and viable defense available for an insurance company that has been sued for bad faith.
Charles was the first attorney to prevail in a California Covid-19 premium refund class action, successfully arguing for dismissal in Torrez v. Infinity (C.D. Cal) and Shively v. Wawanesa (Los Angeles Superior Court Complex Litigation Department).
Charles has been appointed by Kemper Insurance as national coordinating counsel for bad faith claims against the company. Charles is also Infinity Insurance Company’s national coordinating counsel for third-party diminished value claims.
