Alan R. Templeman

     Al joined the firm in 1977 after obtaining trial experience by defending insurance companies for five years. 

     Alan and his wife, Jeanne, have raised two sons and live in Oak View. Al's practice is restricted to civil litigation and he has obtained noteworthy verdicts throughout the State of California in most areas of litigation.

Education:

   Ohio University,  Bachelor of Arts, cum laude - 1963; UCLA, Juris Doctor - 1971

Military: 

    Lieutenant, U.S. Naval Reserves, Active Duty, 1963-1968; duty included acting as Naval Advisor in Viet Nam; Received Bronze Star and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross

Legal Organizations:

     American Board of Trial Advocates, Past President of California Coast Chapter; Consumer Attorneys of California; Past President of Ventura County Trial Lawyers Association; Public Investors Bar Association; American Bar Association; American Trial Lawyers Association; California Bar Association

Outside Activities:

   Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Ventura County; Ojai Valley Wine & Food Society; South Jetty Surfing Ambassadors

Legal Experience: 

   Selected as one of the top 10 National Trial Lawyers of the Year by Lawyers for Public Justice; rated AV by Martindale Hubble; have obtained notable verdicts in cases involving personal injuries, insurance bad faith, injuries to athletes, product liability, wrongful death, flooding and land subsidence, fire and agricultural losses, professional liability, and stockbroker and investment advisor fraud. 

Representative Jury Verdicts:

Fox v. Healthnet - Verdict of $89 million against HMO for denial of treatment to cancer patient.

Wood v. Beech Aircraft -First substantial verdict in Ventura County against a general aviation manufacturer for wrongful death.

Medrano v. County of Ventura/Pennock v. County of Ventura - Two different cases arising from 1998 flooding which caused a loss of support of two residential properties. Verdicts totaled approximately $1 million dollars, including over $500,000.00 in emotional distress damages for occupants of homes.

Deardorff v. State of California - Verdict totaling almost $1 million to several vegetable growers whose crops were damaged by Cal Trans’ spraying of pesticides.

Rosales v. Axel - Substantial verdict for flooding of client’s home caused by diversion of flood waters onto client’s property by neighboring rancher.

Wilson v. Gliksman Securities - Substantial verdict for funds lost by an investor against the brokerage house which included emotional distress damages which nearly doubled client’s economic losses. Subsequent to this case we represented 40 investors who were defrauded by Prudential Bache with regard to oil limited partnership. Our first two clients were awarded the entire amount of their damages at arbitration. Prudential Bache then settled the claims of the remaining clients for the full value of their claims. Other attorneys with similar cases settled their cases for a small fraction of their clients losses.

Paredes v. Orthopedic Specialists - One of the very few verdicts against a physician for professional negligence ever awarded by a Santa Barbara County jury.

Hipskind v. Shelledy -Reportedly the highest verdict recorded in Santa Barbara County for soft tissue spinal injury in a rear-end collision. Verdict was over 25 times the defendant’s offer.

Appellate Decisions:

Sanchez v. Hillerich & Bradsby 2002 Cal.App. LEXIS 5186, 104 Cal.App.4th 703, 128 Cal.Rptr.2d 529 (2002). Appellate Court held that manufacturers of Louisville Slugger baseball bats, the NCAA, the Pac-10 Conference, and University of Southern California could be held responsible for injuries to players who are hit by a line drive due to the increased velocity of batted balls caused by high performance metal bats. This case was a factor in the NCAA finally requiring that the high performance bats be de-tuned.

Stanchfield v. Hammer Toyota 37 Cal.App.4th 1495, 44 Cal.Rptr.2d 565 (1995). In one of my rare defense cases, we received an Appellate decision affirming a nominal verdict against the dealership despite multimillion dollar claim of damages because former manager did not retain subsequent employment despite having opportunities to do so. This case for the first time held that a former employee must maintain subsequent employment rather than merely obtaining subsequent employment or his claim for damages will be reduced.  

Recent Settlements:

$15.7 million for severely injured 35-year-old against construction companies performing repairs along State Route 118 near Moorpark.

$3.6 million settlement of which over half was for stress and inconvenience to residents of a beach front community against state agency and oil company for failing to maintain creek and drainage ditches.

$1 million for a couple who lost numerous oak trees, out buildings, cattle, and suffered erosion from subsequent rains due to contractors who negligently started Lake Piru fire.