Practice Areas: Employment Litigation, Construction Litigation, Insurance Coverage; view more
Licensed in California since: 2000
Education: Whittier Law School
Languages Spoken: English, French
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2020 - 2024 Call today:
888-428-9432
Free Consultation The Kristy Law Firm
3780 Kilroy Airport WaySuite 200
Long Beach, CA 90806 Visit website
Details
Attorney James R. Kristy, Esq. is the founder and principal trial attorney of The Kristy Law Firm in Long Beach, California. A top-rated trial attorney with more than 20 years of legal experience, Mr. Kristy represents plaintiffs in civil litigation.
The Kristy Law Firm's practice is focused in the following areas:
· Employment Law, on behalf of employees in wrongful-termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage-and-hour (unpaid overtime) cases;
· Insurance Bad Faith, on behalf of policyholders whose claims have been unreasonably denied; and
· Construction Defect Litigation, on behalf of homeowners
After graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a degree in economics, Mr. Kristy worked for more than 20 years in corporate financial management at large U.S. corporations. Since 2000, Mr. Kristy has practiced civil litigation on behalf of plaintiffs. His corporate and legal experience enables him to navigate the complexities of civil litigation against large corporations. Mr. Kristy is dedicated to achieving justice for consumers.
Mr. Kristy attended Whittier Law School in the evening while still working full-time and obtained his Juris Doctor in 2000. At Whittier Law School, he served as editor-in-chief of the Whittier Law Review and published an article in that journal concerning the Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.
When he began to practice law in 2000, Mr. Kristy worked for prominent Southern California law firms that represented plaintiffs in personal injury, product liability, construction defects, wrongful death, and insurance-bad-faith cases. He then established The Kristy Law Firm in 2003 and continues to advocate on behalf of those victimized by employers, home-builders and insurers. Having handled more than 100 cases, he has recovered millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for those he has served.
Highly active in his legal community, Mr. Kristy is a member-emeritus of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles ("CAALA") Board of Governors. Mr. Kristy has organized and presented many continuing legal-education seminars on a variety of topics.
In addition to his admission to practice in California Superior Court, Mr. Kristy is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court of the United States of America.
Practice areas
Employment Litigation: Plaintiff, Construction Litigation: Consumer, Insurance Coverage, Personal Injury - General: PlaintiffFocus areas
Bad Faith Insurance, Construction Defects, Employment Discrimination, Insurance, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Retaliation, Slip and Fall, Wrongful Death, Wrongful Termination
- 60% Employment Litigation: Plaintiff
- 20% Construction Litigation: Consumer
- 10% Insurance Coverage
- 10% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
First Admitted: 2000, California
Professional Webpage: https://www.kristylaw.com/attorney/kristy-james-r-esq/
- University of California, Los Angeles: Bachelor of Arts, Economics, December 1978
- CAALA 2017 Las Vegas Convention, Ethics panel: “Handling Retainers and Referral Fees Properly.”
- Associate Editor, Advocate, 2003 through 2014
- Author, Advocate November 2014 "Professional Liability" issue: "Subbed out or Subbed In: Issues Relating to Liens for Attorney's Fees."
- Author, Advocate August 2015 “Insurance” issue: ”The Duty to Provide an Adequate Defense."
- Author, Advocate (the monthly law journal of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles) September 2017 "Insurance" issue: “Reformation of an Insurance Policy.”
- Chair or Co-Chair of five other individual CAALA seminars during the years of 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2014
- CAALA Las Vegas Annual Convention Co-Chair and seminar moderator: 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009.
- CAALA 2006 Convention, Insurance Bad Faith panel: "Assignments of Rights and Covenants Not to Execute."
- CAALA 2008 Las Vegas Convention, Insurance Bad Faith panel: "Cumis Counsel: What You Need to Know."
- Panel speaker, California State Bar Annual Meeting, September 26, 2008: "Getting Best Results in Mediation: Competitive versus Cooperative Negotiation."
- CAALA 2011 Las Vegas Convention, Law-and-Motion panel: "Anti-SLAPP."
- CAALA 2012 Las Vegas Convention, Liens panel: "Liens: When and How to Get the Court Involved."
- CAALA 2013 Las Vegas Convention, Insurance Bad Faith panel: "Post-Claims Underwriting: How to Make the Case for Bad Faith."
- CAALA May 21, 2014 seminar, "The Affordable Care Act: What the ACA Mandates."
- CAALA 2014 Las Vegas Convention, Liens panel: "Subbing-in or Subbing-out: Issues Regarding Attorneys' Liens."
- CAALA 2015 Las Vegas Convention, Evidence panel: "Medical Bills and Collateral Sources: Challenges to Admissibility."
- CAALA 2016 Las Vegas Convention, Insurance Bad Faith panel: “Essential Discovery in a Bad Faith Case.”
- Member Emeritus, Board of Governors, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA)
- , Recipient, CAALA Presidential Awards: 2003, 2005, and 2006
- , Chair, Education Committee, 2008 and 2009, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA)
- , Active Member of the Board of Governors since 2005, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA)
- On November 21, 2000, Mr. Kristy was honored to be sworn in as a member of the Supreme Court of the United States of America, during a session of the Court
- 2021 Confidential Settlement, Employment: $300,000. Represented multiple non-exempt employees who had been paid on a “salary” basis but who were due overtime. The case involved multiple wage-and-hour claims for each individual Plaintiff.
- 2020 Confidential Settlement, Construction Defect: $235,000. Represented a husband and wife whose home suffered damage to its foundation as the result of construction defects. With co-counsel Kurt E. Kananen, Esq.
- 2020 Confidential Settlement, Insurance Bad Faith: $325,000. Represented multiple family members whose home was damaged by trees falling from a neighboring property. Plaintiffs alleged that their home’s insurer failed to honor its legal duties under the policy and underpaid their claim. With co-counsel Kurt E. Kananen, Esq.
- 2019 Settlement, Negligence (Damage to Real Property): $125,000, "Olvera, et al. v. Williams, et al.," Los Angeles County Superior Court. Represented Plaintiffs, a husband and wife, in a lawsuit in which a neighbor’s retaining wall collapsed, severely damaging Plaintiffs’ property. With co-counsel Kurt E. Kananen, Esq.
- 2019 Settlement, Negligence: $700,000, Grimsley v. Hanjin Shipping Tec, Inc., et al., Los Angeles County Superior Court. Represented the injured Plaintiff, who was injured when his parked truck was struck by another truck. With co-counsel Calvin C. Schneider III, Esq.
- 2019 Confidential Settlement, Negligence (Damage to Real Property): $180,000. Represented a husband and wife whose custom-built home had defective windows. With co-counsel Kurt E. Kananen, Esq.
- 2018 Confidential Settlement, Insurance Bad Faith: $100,000. Represented a business whose insurer refused to defend and indemnify it under an employment-practices liability insurance (“EPLI”) policy.
- 2018 Confidential Settlement, Employment: $200,000. Represented an executive of a large corporation who was forced to resign under intolerable working conditions. Settled this dispute prior to filing a complaint for constructive discharge, harassment and retaliation, all in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”).
- 2017 Confidential Settlement, Negligence (Damage to Real Property): $265,000. Represented a husband and wife whose home had been damaged by a contractor attempting to repair and stabilize the home’s foundation. Plaintiffs also recovered against the realtor of the seller of the home for failure to disclose known defects. With co-counsel Kurt E. Kananen, Esq.
- 2017 Confidential Settlement, Employment: $125,000. Represented a female employee who was terminated after suffering an on-the-job injury. The lawsuit alleged wrongful termination in violation of public policy, discrimination, and harassment, all in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
- 2014 Confidential Settlement, Insurance Bad Faith: $695,000. Represented the father of a child who was denied mental-health benefits under the father’s health plan. With co-counsel Scott C. Glovsky, Esq.
- 2012 Confidential Settlement, Insurance Bad Faith: $403,000. Represented the mother of a daughter who died overseas after being denied essential medical treatment under a health plan. With co-counsel Scott C. Glovsky.
- 2012 Confidential Settlement, Construction Defect: $155,000. Represented a condominium homeowners association against the builder of all of the condominium for construction defects. With co-counsel Kurt E. Kananen, Esq.
- 2012 Confidential Settlement, Insurance Bad Faith: $200,000. Represented a couple whose home suffered water damage and whose insurer denied benefits under the insurance policy. With co-counsel.
- 2012 Arbitration Award, Wrongful Death / Medical Malpractice: $151,219. Represented the parents of an infant who died while being treated at a Kaiser Permanente hospital, and whose death could have been prevented.
- 2011 Confidential Settlement, Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Negligence: $750,000. A custom, single-family home experienced uneven settlement due to soil movement. The HOA that managed the hillside community failed to inform homeowners about known soil movement. A contractor the owners hired to correct the uneven settlement caused further damage. The Kristy Law Firm recovered from the HOA, the contractor, and the contractor’s soils engineer.
- 2008 Confidential Settlement, Insurance Bad Faith: $3 million. Represented the parents of a daughter who died after being denied essential medical treatment under a health plan. With co-counsel Scott C. Glovsky.
- Member, State Bar of California, continuously since November 21, 2000, 2000
- Member, Supreme Court of the United States of America, continuously since December 7, 2010, 2010
- Member, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles continuously since 2003, 2003
- Member, United States District Court, Central District of California
- Member, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Office location for James Kristy
3780 Kilroy Airport Way
Suite 200
Long Beach, CA 90806
Phone: 888-428-9432
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2020 - 2024
