The focus of practice at Giometti & Mereness P.C. is Insurance Defense. However, as outlined below, the firm also represents clients in many other areas of practice. These include wrongful death matters, in which the firm represents family members whose loved ones have been killed through the fault or neglect of another.
General Insurance Defense:
The focus of practice at Giometti & Mereness P.C., has always been insurance defense. For several decades, Mr. Giometti has successfully represented carriers and their insureds in hundreds of first-party and third-party cases, running the gamut from low-speed motor vehicle accident cases to complex construction litigation and insurance bad faith claims. Giometti & Mereness P.C. represents carriers and their insureds in the following areas of practice:
Insurance Coverage Disputes – Declaratory Judgment Actions:
The firm provides coverage opinions to its clients regarding a wide variety of policy issues, including coverage under CGL policies, commercial property policies, business and personal auto policies, homeowner’s policies, garage liability policies, and health, life and disability insurance policies. The firm has filed numerous declaratory judgment actions to address coverage disputes, which have been resolved through both settlement and litigation.
Coverage Investigations – EUOs:
The firm is often called upon to assist carriers in coverage investigations and, to that end, frequently conducts examinations under oath. The firm has conducted several examinations under oath that have resulted in determinations that coverage was void because of policyholder fraud. The firm also conducts examinations under oath simply to gain necessary information for carriers to resolve claims, including in UM/UIM cases, homeowner’s insurance claims and property damage claims.
Insurance Bad Faith Litigation – Statutory Bad Faith Cases
The firm has extensive experience in handling both common law insurance bad faith litigation and statutory bad faith claims under C.R.S. §§ 10-3-1115 & -1116. Based upon cases summarized in the Jury Verdict Reporter of Colorado, during the period from 1991 to 2015, Mr. Giometti has tried more cases (17) involving insurance bad faith issues than any other active Colorado attorney, except one. Thus, it is without exaggeration to state the Giometti & Mereness P.C. is one of the several most experienced insurance bad faith litigation firms in Colorado. In addition to the firm’s extensive trial experience, Mr. Giometti is the author of Colorado Law of Insurance Bad Faith (3rd Ed. 2009), which is being updated for publication in 2015.
Disputed Property Insurance Claims – Hail Damage Claims – Appraisals:
While the Front Range of Colorado has always been an area that has seen frequent hail storms, the past several years have witnessed a proliferation of public adjusters and roofing companies that have demonstrated a proclivity to present inflated property damage claims to insurers. In cases where the amount of loss is disputed, carriers have experienced an onslaught of appraisal demands under both commercial and homeowner’s policies. These hail claims have also given rise to a significant amount of common law and statutory bad faith litigation. Giometti & Mereness P.C., has extensive experience in dealing with all of these issues, and in 2015 the firm secured vacation of a $900,000 appraisal award in federal court because the policyholder’s appraiser was found not to have been impartial, as required by the policy.
Motor Vehicle Accident Litigation – UM/UIM Claims:
During their careers, Mr. Giometti and Mr. Mereness and their associates have handled hundreds of motor vehicle accident cases, including claims arising from auto accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, auto-bicycle accidents and auto-pedestrian accidents. These claims have involved almost every conceivable type of bodily injury, including soft tissue injuries, spinal fractures and disc injuries, traumatic brain injuries, TMJ dysfunction, shoulder, wrist and elbow injuries, knee, foot and ankle injuries, and psychological trauma. The firm’s attorneys have obtained defense verdicts in a multitude of cases. The firm has developed a successful methodology for defeating claims involving questionable causation and damages, particularly in low speed accident cases and in cases with claims of alleged mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI).
Premises Liability Claims:
Giometti & Mereness P.C. has successfully defended many premises liability cases, and the firm has obtained summary judgment and defense verdicts in several. These premises liability cases have involved a number of scenarios, including slip and fall injuries due to ice and snow, falls resulting from foreign substances on the floors of commercial establishments, a tractor overturning on private property, and injury to an apartment tenant due to a fire. The firm’s attorneys know how to select the proper experts, including engineers, meteorologists and building code experts, to mount a vigorous defense to any premises liability claim.
Construction Defect Litigation:
The firm’s attorneys have a vast amount of experience in handling construction defect claims, including claims arising out of multi-family dwellings, single-family homes, and commercial buildings. The firm has obtained defense verdicts and favorable settlements in numerous cases. The firm’s experience also includes analysis of complex coverage issues that frequently arise under CGL policies.
Fire & Explosion Cases:
During his career Mr. Giometti has handled a number of complex fire and explosion cases, including three that have been resolved through jury trials. Mr. Giometti’s fire and explosion cases include a case involving a fire and explosion at a sawmill in Idaho in 1982, that resulted in more than $6M in property damage; a house fire in 1988 in Evergreen, Colorado, that burned the property to the ground; a suspicious house fire in 2002 in Paonia, Colorado, that caused the death of the property owner; a fire in South Fork, Colorado that destroyed a restaurant; an intentionally set house fire in 2007 that resulted in a declaratory judgment in favor of the insurer; several fire claims arising out of Colorado’s terrible wildland fires in the summer of 2012; and an apartment fire in 2013. During the course of his career, Mr. Giometti has learned how to select and utilize the best experts available to obtain successful results in fire and explosion cases.
Ski Accident Litigation:
The attorneys at Giometti & Mereness P.C. have litigated a number of ski accident cases. Typically, these involve collisions between skiers and other skiers and skiers and snowboarders. In these types of cases, the at-fault skier or snowboarder is typically insured for liability under a homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy. Claims against ski resorts are rare due to the statutory protections from liability that the resorts enjoy in Colorado and other states.
Wrongful Death Actions:
One of the firm’s main practice areas is the handling of wrongful death claims. Based upon his book, Handbook of Colorado Wrongful Death Law (3rd Ed. 2015), Mr. Giometti is widely recognized in Colorado as the leading authority on wrongful death cases. In this role, Mr. Giometti is often contacted by other Colorado attorneys seeking guidance on handling of wrongful death matters. Given this level of experience, as might be expected, Giometti & Mereness P.C. handles wrongful death cases for both plaintiffs and defendants.
Personal Counsel:
Based upon its vast trial experience and extensive knowledge of insurance law, Giometti & Mereness P.C. is often requested to serve as personal counsel in cases of potential excess liability or exposure to exemplary damages and in cases where insurance coverage is disputed or denied.
Expert Witness Services:
Since 2009, Mr. Giometti has been requested to providing expert witness testimony in numerous cases. The vast majority of these cases are insurance bad faith matters, where Mr. Giometti is requested to provide testimony about whether an insurer’s claim handling conduct has met or exceeded the objective standards of the insurance industry, or has fallen below such standards. Mr. Giometti has acquired knowledge of the standards of the insurance industry in a variety of ways, including writing books and articles, conducting seminars and handling a vast number of insurance cases.
