Aaron Knapp

Partner

Aaron.Knapp@lewisbrisbois.com

Aaron Knapp is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Litigation Practices.

Mr. Knapp specializes in representation of insurance carriers in high-stakes coverage-related litigation in state and federal courts. Mr. Knapp’s track record of litigation successes includes:

  • Prosecution of declaratory relief coverage actions;
  • Defense of carriers in bad faith actions;
  • Defense of major auto carriers in consumer class actions;
  • Prosecution of insurance fraud actions;
  • Defense and prosecution of broker-related claims;
  • Representation of carriers (including excess and umbrella) in complex contribution/allocation matters.

Mr. Knapp’s recent results include the following:

  • Obtained summary judgment for national liability insurer in first-impression federal declaratory relief action, and successfully defended judgment on appeal to Ninth Circuit.
  • Successfully defended judgment in favor of national insurer on appeal to Second District in qui tam case alleging violations of California False Claims Act.
  • Obtained dismissal with prejudice of state-court cross-complaint against large property insurer in $21 million broker negligence action, after compelling key discovery and filing motions for summary judgment and for issue sanctions.
  • Secured Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal with prejudice for large auto insurer in case asserting reasonable expectations of policy limits in excess of those issued.
  • Secured Rule 12(b)(1) dismissal in case alleging violations of federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act against major auto insurer.
  • Obtained $345,000 attorneys’ fees judgment in first-impression case under CCP §1987.2(c) involving out-of-state defamation plaintiff’s attempts to determine identity of anonymous blogger via subpoena to Google.

Without resort to litigation, Mr. Knapp has also successfully defended coverage disclaimers and otherwise steered many contentious claims to pleasing resolutions. He has advised major liability and property carriers on regulatory issues, and other clients on insurance portfolios, risk-management, and self-insurance.

Prior to joining Lewis Brisbois, Mr. Knapp practiced insurance coverage and insurer class action defense at highly respected California firms. Mr. Knapp also previously served as a Visiting Professor of Law at the Boston University School of Law where he taught Insurance Law, International Law, and Constitutional Law.

Primary Area(s) of Practice

  • Insurance Law
  • Insurance Coverage
  • Bad Faith Litigation

Additional Experience

Education

Boston University

Ph.D., 2016

University of Virginia School of Law

Juris Doctor, 2002

  • Order of the Coif

University of California, Berkeley

Bachelor of Arts, 1999

  • with Highest Honors

Publications

  • Knapp, Beyond the Reasonable Settlement Demand: A Legally Grounded Analytical Framework for Amending CACI 2334, 45:10 INS. LIT. REP. (June, 21, 2021); see also 33:5 CAL. INS. L. & REG. REP. (June 2021).
  • Knapp, The New Jersey Plan & the Structure of the American Union, 15 Geo. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 615 (2017) (cited by the Second Circuit in New York v. Yellen (2d Cir. Oct. 5, 2021), 15 F.4th 569, 572, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 29862, at *4, and by Southern District of New York in New York v. Mnuchin (S.D.N.Y. 2019) 408 F. Supp. 3d 399, 403.
  • Knapp, Law’s Revolutionary: James Wilson & the Birth of American Jurisprudence, 29 J.L. & Pol. 189 (2014).