Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani welcomes John P. Katerndahl as a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office. He joins the firm's Environmental/Toxic Tort and Product & General Liability practice groups.
Mr. Katerndahl represents manufacturers, suppliers, contractors, and premises owners in toxic tort, product liability, and construction cases, including cases arising out of asbestos and chemical exposures, catastrophic injury and high value property damage. He is called upon to first-chair high value mesothelioma cases in which plaintiffs routinely seek multi-million dollar awards. His clients have included Fortune 500 companies, the world’s largest construction contractor, and an international chemical company. He has tried over 20 mesothelioma cases since 2003 with 15 to verdict and the balance settled after plaintiff’s attorneys dramatically reduced their settlement demands during trial. He has also won defense verdicts in claimed asbestosis and lung cancer cases. Additionally, he has successfully briefed and argued appeals in asbestos cases before the California First District Court of Appeal and the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
"John is a veteran trial attorney, and we are very pleased he has joined Gordon & Rees," said Peter Schwartz, Managing Partner of the Los Angeles office. "His broad experience handling high-value environmental/toxic tort and product & general liability actions will be a tremendous asset to clients both in California and across the country."
Mr. Katerndahl's considerable experience in toxic tort/environmental litigation provides him with a unique ability to defend his clients' interests by investigating, evaluating, and marshalling the evidence, working with expert witnesses and participating in expert witness discovery, and serving as a first-chair trial lawyer in high value cases. He works closely with clients, developing strategies for defending the case, and ensuring that clients are notified of significant developments and provided with his recommendations as to the best course of action.
He has co-authored articles on medical-legal issues in the DRI magazine For the Defense and in the Practicing Law Institute’s Toxic Tort Case Essentials. As a result of his considerable trial experience, he was invited to join the prestigious American College of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).
He is admitted to practice in California, U.S. District Court Central District of California, U.S. District Court Eastern District of California, U.S. District Court Northern District of California, and the U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit.
He earned his law degree from University of San Francisco School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Stanford University.