Celia Moutes-Lee

Partner

Celia.Moutes-Lee@lewisbrisbois.com

Celia Moutes-Lee is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Insurance Law and Life Health Disability & ERISA Practices. She principally handles litigation of insurance coverage and bad faith disputes arising out of first and third party policies in both personal and commercial lines. She has extensively litigated property losses under personal and commercial policies, including earthquake, water, fire, wind and catastrophic losses. Ms. Moutes-Lee has significant experience with respect to investigation and litigation of suspicious losses. She also has experience litigating general and professional liability matters as well as litigation involving health care service plans, PPOs and ERISA claims. Ms. Moutes-Lee practices in both State and Federal court, and has lectured in the insurance and bad faith fields.

Ms. Moutes-Lee has been practicing since 1992, and has been litigating exclusively in the area of insurance law since 1996. She aggressively advances her clients’ rights resulting in a substantial number of cases being dismissed in the pleadings stage. Ms. Moutes-Lee has had substantial success in obtaining summary judgment and summary adjudication of issues on behalf of insurers in bad faith and insurance coverage litigation. She has represented insurers in binding arbitrations and co-chaired trials of bad faith and insurance coverage matters. Ms. Moutes-Lee has represented insurers in examinations under oath of insureds and non-party witnesses with respect to automobile, homeowner and commercial property claims.

Primary Area(s) of Practice

• Insurance Law
• Life Health Disability & ERISA

Admissions

California

Associations

• Los Angeles County Bar Association
• Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles

Education

Loyola Law School

Juris Doctor, 1992

Publications

• California Time Limits Demand – Guidelines for Responding to a Policy Limits Demand in California, 2016
• Don’t Call It Cumis! Issues Related to the Right to Independent Counsel, 2016
• Underwriting Issues In Commercial Businessowners Policies, 2015
• Claims Issues Under Loss of Use Coverage, 2014
• Published Decision: Brand v. 20th Century Ins. Co./21st Century Ins. Co., 124 Cal.App.4th 594, 2004
• AAIP, “What You Need to Know - Recent Coverage and Bad Faith Developments and Issues Facing Insurance Professionals in Today’s Marketplace,” April 2002
• “Claims Handling and Third Party Bad Faith,” November 1999
• “Liens,” October 1998
• “Good Faith Claims Handling,” October 1998