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A. David Bona David Bona is a partner of Carlson, Calladine & Peterson LLP. Mr. Bona has devoted the majority of his career to defending his clients in high-exposure, complex litigation, including cases involving wildland fire, catastrophic injury and wrongful death. Mr. Bona has developed expertise in fire progression analysis, complex damages analysis and using GIS tools in wildland fire and other types of complex litigation. Mr. Bona has managed all aspects of complex litigation, including e-discovery, technical and scientific subject matters and evidence, binding arbitration, alternative dispute resolution and multiple trials. Mr. Bona is admitted to the California State Courts, all U.S. District Courts in California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a regular speaker in matters involving wildland fire litigation. Laurence Bowdige Laurence Bowdige of BC Wildfire Service has been a member of the British Columbia Ministry of Forests since 1993 and has been active in a variety of program areas including wildland fire management, strategic and business planning, quality management, forest resource inventory, forest investment, and national and international relations. Prior to his employment with the British Columbia government, he was a consultant specializing in timber valuation, timber supply analysis and forest and range inventory. Laurence has developed and delivered forest and range management training to both government and private sector audiences, and has been a speaker at provincial, national and international conferences on behalf of the Ministry of Forests. Laurence was also the British Columbia steering committee representative contributing to the development of national data collection, storage and reporting methodologies and standards. Laurence received a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the University of Alberta and completed a Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Victoria. He currently lives in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia and as a member of the British Columbia Wildfire Service, is responsible for the development of provincial wildfire legislation and policies, and for the management of the government’s fire control cost recovery program. Shawn E. Caine Shawn E. Caine is from San Diego and Montana, and received his undergraduate degree in Business as well as his J.D. from the University of San Diego. At the beginning of his career, Shawn worked in a small plaintiffs and criminal trial practice, and in 1993 opened his own firm. Over the last three decades, Shawn has become well recognized for successfully managing and leading some of the most visible and wide-ranging catastrophic wildland fire litigation cases. He successfully prosecuted his first wildland fire case in 1996 against San Diego Gas & Electric for causing the 1993 Guejito Fire. Shawn promptly followed that trial and obtained a large jury verdict against Southern California Edison for starting the 1993 Winchester fire. In 2007, Shawn received the largest award from the U.S. government for starting the 2002 Pines Fire that burned 62,000 acres, and has resolved multiple other wildland fire cases in Arizona, California, Idaho, Oklahoma, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Washington. Shawn served as co-liaison counsel for the insurance companies involved in the 2007 San Diego County wildland fire cases and in the 2011 Bastrop County Complex fire, the most destructive wildfire in Texas history. Shawn also works in the agricultural and cattle business throughout the West and South, and is an active participant and lawyer with the Western Growers Association. Shawn is a past Chairman of the Leukemia Society of America, and speaks at various forums involving agricultural issues and wildland fire topics.
Alex D. Cheng Alex D. Cheng is an associate of Carlson, Calladine & Peterson LLP whose practice includes catastrophic injury, product liability and commercial dispute litigation. Mr. Cheng has significant experience with cases involving medical devices, including multi-jurisdiction product liability actions and cases dealing with international distribution and regulatory compliance. His work has also included the defense of financial services companies facing potential class-action exposure and indenture trustee representation of bondholders. He has dealt extensively with consolidated state actions and federal multidistrict litigation, and has experience securing favorable bellwether trial structures and coordinating parallel state and federal actions. In binding arbitration Mr. Cheng has helped bring about favorable outcomes for clients, including the complete elimination of claims seeking more than $60-million dollars in damages. Mr. Cheng’s pro-bono activities have focused on criminal law appellate work, including participation in Innocence Project case teams, and immigration matters. He is a member of the state bars of California & Minnesota. Michael J. Driscoll Michael J. Driscoll, IAAI-CFI, is the Director of the Fire & Explosion Division of Envista Forensics. Mr. Driscoll has over 30 years of experience in conducting over 1700 fire and explosion investigations globally. He has a Bachelor’s of Science in Fire Science from the University of New Haven and he has testified as an expert in fire and explosion investigation in both state and federal courts. Mr. Driscoll’s experience includes large/complex loss management and investigations that have involved long duration deployments and team responses. Examples of his large loss fire/explosion investigations include losses involving Pool Chemical Distribution, Particle Board Manufacturing, Gun and Ammunition Manufacturing, Warehousing, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Chemical Manufacturing Facilities, Energy Plants including natural gas and other alternative fuels, Multi-Residential Complexes, Large Retail Centers and multiple fatality incidents.
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Randy W. Gimple
Randy W. Gimple is one of the founding partners of Carlson, Calladine & Peterson LLP in San Francisco, California. Joined by an experienced team of fire litigators, he has served, and continues to serve, as defense counsel in litigation involving some of the largest fires in U.S. history over the last 20 years. These include dozens of fires in California, as well as fires in Texas, Washington, Oklahoma, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, and New Mexico to name a few. He has consulted on expansive “bush fires” in Australia and has served as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Washington in wildland fire cases. He is a published author and speaker in matters involving wildland fire litigation, catastrophic loss investigation, multi-party litigation strategies and various other issues that commonly arise in wildland fire litigation. He is a member of the National Fire Protection Association, International Association of Arson Investigators and California Conference of Arson Investigators. He has also served as an invited Subject Matter Expert for the National Wildland Fire Coordination Group in its development of curricula for teaching principles of wildland fire litigation.
Mark S. Grotefeld Mark Grotefeld is a founding member of Grotefeld, Hoffmann, Gordon, Ochoa & Evinger, LLP. Mr. Grotefeld’s trial practice is focused on complex civil cases involving matters both national and international in scope. Mr. Grotefeld received his B.A. from the University of Arizona in 1978 and his J.D. from the John Marshall Law School in 1981. He was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1981, the Florida Bar in 1982, and the Texas Bar in 2013. Mr. Grotefeld has served as national and regional counsel in large scale catastrophic loss cases, including many wildfire matters and catastrophic explosion events, and has tried matters of national prominence in courts throughout the United States. Mr. Grotefeld has lectured on law topics in the United States, Canada and Europe. Mr. Grotefeld is a member of the NFPA 921 Technical Committee on Fire Investigations. In addition to being admitted to the Federal Trial Bar and several Federal District Courts, Mr. Grotefeld is licensed to practice before the United States Court of Federal Claims, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Grotefeld’s bar association affiliations include the American, Illinois, Florida, and Texas Bar Associations, the National Association of Subrogation Professionals, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association of Justice.
Steve Harrison Steve Harrison has been a trial lawyer for more than 40 years. A founding member of Harrison Davis, he has successfully represented both individuals and businesses in a variety of sophisticated catastrophic injury, product liability, mass tort, and business litigation matters. Steve represents the families of four young people who were killed in the Texas Panhandle Wildfires of 2017, as well as scores of ranches and businesses devastated by those fires. Steve represented ten families whose loved ones were killed in the deadly ammonium nitrate explosion in West, Texas, along with scores of seriously injured individuals, the City of West, West Rest Haven nursing home and numerous other businesses damaged by the blast. The Honorable Jim Meyer of the 170th District Court in McLennan County, presiding judge over the hundreds of explosion claims, appointed Steve to serve as chairman of the plaintiff’s steering committee in that litigation. Steve has represented landowners in condemnation proceedings and jury trials. Most recently, that representation was focused on the fight to protect the rights of farmers, ranchers and other property owners affected by the construction of high voltage power lines in Texas. Steve was appointed by the Honorable Ed Kinkaede, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, to serve on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the Pinnacle Hip Implant litigation. In 1983, Steve was lead counsel in the case that resulted in, at the time, the largest jury verdict in the history of McLennan County, Texas. In 2005, he was lead co-counsel in what was reported as the nation’s first jury verdict to hold a bus manufacturer liable for its failure to install passenger seat belts and safety glass. Steve is double board certified, holding that distinction in both civil and personal injury trial work. He was president of Texas Trial Lawyers Association in 2012. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Steve is a frequent lecturer at his alma mater, Baylor Law School, and at continuing legal education programs. Steve has testified in the Texas Senate and House of Representatives concerning the effects of proposed legislation concerning litigation.
Mitchell Haydon Mitchell Haydon is a California Registered
Professional Forester (RPF) and part owner of Environmental Resource Solutions,
Inc., located in Sebastopol, California.
He earned and his Forestry and
Natural Resources degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 1995, and a Masters
of Forestry degree from U.C. Berkeley in 2002.
Mitch has practiced forestry since 1995, and earned his Registered
Professional Forestry license in 2005. Mitch
is an ISA Certified Arborist and has worked under contract with Pacific Gas and
Electric Company’s Vegetation Management Program implementing applicable laws
and standards for utility compliance. Mitch
is also a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control and has
prepared erosion control plans for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
projects.
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Chris Lautenberger Chris Lautenberger is a Fire Protection Engineer based in Northern California. He received a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and an MS in Fire Protection Engineering from WPI. His areas of specialization include materials' flammability, fire modeling, and forensic fire reconstruction. Chris has co-taught Masters-level courses in Fire Dynamics and Fire Modeling in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Jarred Lemmon Jarred Lemmon is the Assistant Chief of Law Enforcement with Texas A&M Forest Service. Mr. Lemmon started with the Texas Forest Service in 2008 as an investigator. Mr. Lemmon has investigated numerous wildland fires and is a member of the Southeast Arson Taskforce.
Sue Muncey
Sue Muncey is a Complex Litigation Manager principally supporting attorneys in subrogation litigation, with a primary focus on wildfire cases. Playing a key role in working with the parties, Sue’s responsibilities include participation in every aspect of litigation, mediation and trial. She has extensive experience in the management of data and repositories in large, complex and coordinated cases, including particular expertise in the organization, analysis and presentation of subrogation damages in large, coordinated cases. With substantial trial experience, Sue frequently performs second chair responsibilities along with wildland fire trial attorneys. Sue has been a speaker at National Association of Subrogation Professionals (NASP) and at Wildland Fire Litigation Conferences, offering presentations on topics such as the coordination of complex cases and the use of technology in litigation. Ken Ness Ken Ness of Ken
B. Ness Consulting, Inc. Has 39.5 years of experience with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment. Mr. Ness retired in April 2018 from the position of Detective Sergeant with the Investigations Unit of the Enforcement & Investigations Section of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment and presently is President/Owner of Ken B. Ness Consulting, Inc, specializing in Wildfire Investigation & Training and Investigative Interviewing Training. In 2001 Mr. Ness was appointed to the NWCG’s Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee, based out the USA, as one of two Canadian representatives. The mandate of this group is to develop wildfire investigation training that is standard throughout North America. This group has developed FI-110 Fire Scene Observations & Scene Protection for First Responders, FI-210 Wildfire Origin & Cause Investigation and FI-310 Complex Case Management. Mr. Ness is still on this subcommittee as a Subject Matter Expert. He has instructed and provided presentations on Wildfire Investigation, Forensic Interviewing and Investigation Procedures at workshops and conferences throughout Canada, the USA and Australia and wrote a regular column in the Western Canadian Game Warden magazine, titled “You & the Law” for approximately 12 years, which ended upon retirement. Mr. Ness was awarded ‘Officer of the Year’ in 2012 by Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment.
Jan Null
Jan Null of Golden Gate Weather Services has forty-five years of experience as a professional meteorologist. He has a BS in Atmospheric Science from UC Davis and an MA in Geography from SJSU. Jan has been an Adjunct Professor/Lecturer at SFSU and SJSU since 1987 and an American Meteorological Society Certified Consulting Meteorologist. After a distinguished career of 24 years with the National Weather Service, he founded Golden Gate Weather Services in 1998. He is often called on as an expert witness in weather related litigation (Think: CSI Weather). One of his primary research areas is El Niño and its impacts on California. He has briefed the House Science Committee and many public agencies on this topic. Jan has also done over 500 television interviews including CNN, the Weather Channel, Good Morning America, plus over 2,000 radio and newspaper interviews. He is also an internationally recognized expert on the sad topic of heatstroke deaths of children in vehicles.
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Thomas Sing, Sr.
Thomas B. Sing, CFI, CFEI is the president & CEO of Quest Fire Analysis, a Boerne based forensic fire & explosion consulting firm. Mr. Sing has thirty-seven years of experience as a fire and arson investigator for local, state and federal agencies. He has investigated in excess of 2500 fire & explosion incidents throughout the U.S.A., Mexico and South America. Mr. Sing conducts investigations for a wide variety of insurance carriers, is a retained expert for several national manufacturing companies. Mr. Sing holds master certifications as a fire investigator, fire safety inspector, and Texas Peace Officer. He has testified as an expert in State and Federal District Courts and in United States Military Courts Martial proceedings. His experience in fire and explosion investigations including motor vehicles, privately and commercially owned marine vessels, multi-family living complexes, industrial facilities, oil and gas facilities, commercial businesses which included high-rise buildings and mercantile shopping complexes and complex large-scale wildfires. Mr. Sing has taught and lectured fire science and fire investigation courses at various Fire and Law Enforcement academies, and fire investigation and insurance seminars throughout the U.S.A. Mr. Sing is a principle member of the technical committee of NFPA 921, Guide for Fire & Explosion Investigations. He is also a principle member of the technical committee for NFPA 1051, NFPA 1143, and NFPA 1145, Wildland Fire Management. Mr. Sing is a charter principle member of the Science Advisory Workgroup to Texas State Fire Marshal, Orlando Hernandez.
Robert Swafford Robert Swafford is a nationally recognized jury and witness preparation consultant (http://www.strikeforcause.com). He has been involved in a number of high profile cases, including the John Wiley Price trial in Dallas and the West explosion case. Robert recently assisted with the critical work necessary for last year’s $89.5 million verdict against Werner Trucking in Harris County. Robert speaks extensively on jury selection, focus groups and witness preparation. He was recently included on the NADCL’s “Best of the Best” 2018 CLE compilation. He has done witness preparation or jury selection in every kind of case that can be tried in front of a jury, including criminal, probate, contract disputes, intellectual property rights and family law. Robert Swafford is the founder and owner of Strike for Cause Jury Consulting, as well as the creator of the Strike for Cause Method of Jury Selection. Robert attended Baylor University where he received his B.A. in Economics and his J.D. from Baylor Law School. He has extensive training in powerful listening and effective speaking, as well as expertise in the field of ontology. Ontology provides the foundation for the Strike for Cause system. Jim Tomlinson Jim Tomlinson, counsel with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. Since moving to Los Angeles from Washington, D.C. in 2016, Jim’s practice has focused heavily on the helping clients navigate the complex world of the California Public Utilities Commission. Jim has 33 years of experience in the telecom industry and 23 years of experience as a regulatory lawyer. Before practicing law, Jim was a systems engineer and network planner with a large telecom company. This experience gives Jim an in-depth understanding of network infrastructure and the business issues his clients face. Jim’s clients include cable and broadband providers, wireless carriers, and electric companies. Jim regularly advises his clients on matters pertaining to network infrastructure, technical safety standards, and wildfire liability and prevention.
Gregory Waters Gregory Waters of Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack is an experienced trial attorney who practices all aspects of civil litigation, with an emphasis in wildland fire litigation, product liability, insurance litigation, and complex litigation. Mr. Waters received his B.A. in Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley with highest honors. Mr. Waters received his J.D. from the University of Southern California School of Law, were he received honors in the Hale Moot Court program. Since joining Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack, Mr. Waters has been integral to numerous seven and eight figure recoveries for clients, including being part of the teams for an aviation accident which resulted in a $46 million verdict for four death cases, and a catastrophic freeway rollover accident which resulted in a $14.1 million verdict. Mr. Waters has over a decade of experience in prosecuting cases against utilities and others responsible for causing wildfires. He has been appointed Lead/Liaison Counsel on behalf of Individual Plaintiffs in numerous coordinated wildfire actions, including the Round Fire, Thomas/Southern California Fire cases and the Woolsey Fire Cases. Kenneth Wendland is managing partner of Wendland & Associates, LLC. For more than 50 years, this firm has been involved in the investment, management, marketing, appraisal and finance of real property, minerals, water and other resources situated throughout Texas and the Western U.S. Land transactions often involve complex tax deferred exchanges. He received his Ph. D. from Texas A&M Univ. and M.S. from New Mexico State Univ. Graduate research thesis and dissertation related to ranching investment, costs and returns. From 1970 to 1980, he served as Head of the Department of Agricultural Business and Economics at West Texas A & M Univ. Teaching and research activities related to Finance, Appraisal, Management and Marketing of farms, ranches and agri- businesses. Through the years, he has published various articles related to ranching and land economics. He completed all courses required for an Accredited Rural Appraiser. From 1981 to 1986 he was President of Royal Mortgage and Investment, Inc. which originated residential and commercial real estate loans throughout Texas and Oklahoma. At the time the company was sold with its residential loan production offices, annual loan volume exceeded $100 Million. Royal Financial was then formed to provide real estate and business financial services. Total value of all real estate transactions, appraisals, and financing for properties and businesses exceeds $ 1.5 Billion. From 1957 to 2007, Kenneth was partner with his brother in Wendland Ranches raising purebred and commercial Brangus cattle with operations in various locations in Texas. He has served as an officer and committeeman to various state and national livestock associations and professional real estate related organizations, and has been a guest speaker and lecturer at numerous seminars and meetings. He is experienced in mineral rights as an owner and leasing agent for oil and gas operating companies. Dr. Wendland was appointed by Texas Agricultural Commissioner to the Select Committee on North American Free Trade Agreement; Governor appointed to the Texas 2000 Commission – West Texas Agricultural Task Force; served as Chairman of The State Property Tax Board Appeal Panel; Agricultural Development Council – Texas A&M Univ. He and his wife Nancy, live in Kerrville, Texas - They have 3 married daughters and 8 grandchildren. Kenneth and Nancy are active members of the First United Methodist Church.
Richard Woods
Richard Woods of Wildfire Investigations and Analysis Party, Ltd. commenced his interest in wildfires in Australia with the New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service in 1976, was a Police Officer in that State for over 9 years and later worked in frontline management for the NSW and Australian Capital Territory Rural Fire Services in south-eastern Australia over a 29-year period. Notably, he established the Fire Investigation capability the NSW Rural Fire Service and managed that role for 9 years and completed study tours and training in the USA in Wildfire Investigation. In 2009 he instigated the introduction of the FI 310 (Wildland Fire Investigation Case Development) Course to Australia after modifying it for local use, delivering three courses to Australian and International Students. 2010 saw him seconded to the Australian Federal Attorney Generals Department to develop National Bushfire Arson Prevention arrangements. Richard has delivered Wildfire Investigation training internationally to the USA (Hawaii), China and The Netherlands. He has traveled to Canada as a keynote conference speaker and to South Korea, training officers from Asian countries in the fundamentals of Wildfire Investigation. Richard is currently the Adjunct Associate Lecturer for ‘Wildfire Investigation’ at Charles Sturt University in Canberra and is the current Chair of the International Association of Arson Investigators, Wildland Fire Investigation Committee. He is also the Australian representative on the North American based NWCG Wildland Fire Investigation Sub Committee for over 20 years. In 2013, he was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal for his commitment to Wildfire Investigation in Australia. Richard has completed a Graduate Certificate and Diploma in Fire Investigation through Charles Sturt University along with a Graduate Certificate in Applied Management at the Australian Institute of Police Management during his career. Recently retiring as the ACT Rural Fire Service Operations Manager, he now manages a Wildfire Investigation Consultancy Practice in Australia providing Wildfire Cause advice and training internationally.
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