Biography
Stacy L. La Scala, Esq. has extensive experience handling insurance-related disputes as a full-time neutral and previously as coverage counsel. He has mediated a wide range of matters, including coverage disputes among carriers, bad faith, subrogation, contribution, and allocation actions—among others.
Mr. La Scala previously served as a regional director and national litigation director for a large property casualty carrier. In private practice, he represented individuals, policyholders, and businesses in insurance matters. His litigation experience provides him with an in-depth working knowledge of the insurance industry and its nuances and complexities. He is well versed in the issues important to all sides of a dispute, having served as plaintiffs’, defense, and in-house counsel.
Mr. La Scala also authors the insurance tort sections for Thompson Reuters California Civil Practice.
Representative Matters
- Bad faith action for denial of duty to defend and duty to indemnify based upon unsatisfied self-insured retention. Action arose out of construction defect dispute that included Brandt fee and punitive damage claims.
- Bad faith claim against non-admitted carrier on modified insuring agreement language and duty to defend
- Bad faith claims against insurer for failure to defend based upon ongoing operations versus completed operations endorsement
- Contribution, subrogation, and declaratory relief action involving defense fee and indemnity claims among numerous commercial general liability (CGL) primary and additional insured carriers
- First-party bad faith claim by insured involving denial of coverage arising from property fire loss and improper valuation
- California Insurance Code §11580 action by assignee to insured’s claims arising from breach of duty to defend and stipulated judgment
- Intervention action by carrier against subcontractors for subrogation and indemnity in and arising from underlying 202 single-family home tract construction defect action
- Subrogation action involving multi-million-dollar indemnity claims among primary and excess carriers, including evidence and timing of exhaustion of policies
- Subrogation, contribution, and Buss action by national insurance carrier against its insured, co-carriers, and subcontractors for re-allocation of defense fees and costs
Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS.
ADR Trainings
- National Conflict Resolution Center, Mediation Skills Training, 2010
Memberships
- American Bar Association - Forum on Construction Law and Litigation Sections
- California Board of Realtors, 2010-2013
- California Horse Racing Board - Licensed Owner, 2002-2006
- Claim and Litigation Management Alliance - Mediator/Arbitrator Member, 2016-2022
- United States District Court - Northern, Central & Southern Districts, 1990-2022
- California State Bar, 1990 - 2022
Recent Publications
- Author, “Torts,” Thomson Reuters’ California Civil Practice, 2013-2022 editions: Chapters on Arbitration; Bad Faith Actions; Duties of Insurer; Duties of Insured; Declaratory Relief Actions; Complaints and Cross-Complaints in Bad Faith Actions; Answers and Pretrial Proceedings in Bad Faith Actions
- Co-Author, “When Catastrophes and Construction Defect Litigation Collide”, Construction Claims Magazine, Summer 2018 edition
- Author, “2 Dispute Resolution Choice for Construction Contracts”, Law 360, May 7, 2018.
Recent Seminars/Presentations
- Co-Presenter, “Overcoming Conflict with Co-Mediation”, ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Webinar, December 15, 2021
- Moderator, “Virtual Mediation and Arbitration – Today and in the Future”, 2021 West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Conference, Las Vegas, NV, October 7, 2021
- Co-Presenter, “All’s Well That Ends Well: How to Prepare for and Navigate Conflict Resolution”, 2021 CLM Annual conference, Atlanta, Georgia, August 12, 2021
- Moderator, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”, 2018 CLM Construction Conference, Chicago, Illinois, September 27, 2018
- Moderator, “New Developments in California Coverage and Construction Law 2018”, Orange County Bar Association, Joint meeting of Insurance Coverage and Construction Section, Irvine, Ca., April 25, 2018
- Moderator, “Out Of The Frying Pan, Into The Fire: When Reconstruction Goes Wrong Following A Property Loss Claim and How to Prevent The Future Perils Through Mediation and Claim Resolution”, CLM 2018 Annual Conference, Houston, Tx., March 15, 2018.
- Co-Presenter, “The Buss Stops Here”, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Seminar, Tucson, AZ, March 1, 2018
- Co-Presenter, “Recent Coverage and Construction Cases”, Claim Litigation Management Southern California Chapter Annual Meeting, San Diego, Ca., February 1, 2018
- Presenter, “Ethics in Alternative Dispute Resolution”, Association of Corporate Counsel, Southern California Chapter, January 24, 2018
- Co-Presenter, “Ethics in Alternative Dispute Resolution”, APALIE Riverside Chapter, January 23, 2018
- Co-Presenter, “Recent Coverage and Construction Cases”, Association of Southern California Defense Counsel, November 30, 2017
- Co-Presenter, “Ethics in Alternative Dispute Resolution”, JAMS Orange, Ca., October 31, 2017
- Co-Presenter, “Reallocation Actions and Settlement Agreements: What did we settle?”, OCBA – Construction Section, Newport Beach, Ca., August 2, 2017
- Presenter, “Reallocation Actions and Settlement Agreements: What did we settle?”, Orange County Bar Association, Newport Beach, CA., August 2017
- Panelist, “Leveling The Playing Field To Avoid Problems Down The Road”, West Coast Construction Defect Seminar, Anaheim, CA., May 2017
- Moderator, Riverside Superior Court Judges Roundtable, Construction Defect Claims Managers Biannual Meeting, Anaheim, May 2017
- Presenter, “Ethics in Alternative Dispute Resolution”, Multiple Law Firms throughout California, 2016-2017
- Moderator, “Groundhog Day – Negotiating Settlement Agreements to Avoid Re-Litigation”, 2016 Claims Litigation Management National Construction Conference, San Diego, CA., September 2016
- Presenter, “Reallocation Actions – Round 2 Actions the New Normal”, Orange County Bar Association, Newport Beach, CA., August 2016
- Panelist, “If it Ain’t Broke, It Doesn’t Pay to Sue: Why Products Claims in CD Cases Are Not Easy Money,” West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar, Anaheim, CA, May 2016
- Panelist, “Summary Judgments & Their Impact Across Multiple West Region States,” MC Consultants Construction Litigation and Insurance Coverage Conference, San Diego, CA, September 2015
- Speaker, “Crawford Collections, Insurer Interventions, and Additional Insured Buyouts: A ‘New Normal’ in Litigation and Mediation of CD Claims?” Construction Defect Claim Managers Association, San Diego, CA, September 2015
- Speaker, “Vanishing AIS and Crawford,” California Developer and General Contractor Counsel, San Diego, CA (March 2014) and Los Angeles, CA, February 2014
- Speaker, “Owner Controlled Insurance Programs (OCIPS)/Wraps and SIRS,” May 2013
- Panelist, “Can Coverage Issues be Resolved Prior to Mediation?” MC Consultants Construction Litigation and Insurance Coverage Conference, San Diego, CA, September 2012
- Speaker, “Additional Insured Endorsements and Contractual Indemnity Provisions,” Burlington Insurance Company, 2006
ADR Profiles
- "People Savvy," ADR Profile, Daily Journal, August 11, 2017
- Owner, JAMS 2020
- Judge Pro-Tem, San Diego Superior Court, 2010-2017
- Full-time Mediator, Arbitrator, Settlement Referee, and Special Master, Arbitration, Mediation & Conciliation Center, 2011-2015
- Partner, La Scala & Associates, 2008-2011
- Attorney, Selman Breitman LLP, 2007-2008
- Attorney, Weston & McElvain LLC, 2003-2007
- Attorney, Travelers Insurance, 1997-2003
- National Litigation Director – Construction Defect Claim Department
- National Trial Committee Director
- Regional Claims Director – California, Nevada & Arizona
- J.D., University of San Diego School of Law, 1987-1990
- B.A., cum laude, University of California, San Diego, 1983-1987
- University of Sussex, United Kingdom, 1985-1986
Counsel Comments
- "Stacy La Scala went above and beyond to help resolve our matter. Although it did not settle during mediation, he continued to work with us afterwards until we could reach a point where informal resolution was possible. Without him, we would have most likely ended up in lengthy and costly trial."
- "Our mediator, Stacy La Scala, worked under some fairly adversarial circumstances. He was very understanding and accommodating."
- "Stacy La Scala did a great job bringing the parties together, despite a very wide gap between them. He was excellent."
- "I don't know how you pulled that off yesterday, but as a litigator with 34 years experience I think it was nothing short of a miracle. You were quite impressive and I can highly recommend you to others."
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