Elizabeth L. Fleming

Partner

Elizabeth L. Fleming is a trial and appellate lawyer practicing in a variety of civil defense related areas. Ms. Fleming has represented companies and individuals in suits featuring insurance bad faith and coverage issues, construction defects, wrongful death, products liability, auto collisions, commercial auto, dog bites and contract issues. She also has substantial experience in appellate work both having handled appeals as a law clerk at the Court of Appeals and successfully appealing issues involving coverage, contractual matters, and evidentiary and legal issues stemming from trials up to an including published opinions from the Arizona Supreme Court.

The majority of Ms. Fleming’s practice is devoted to litigation involving insurance companies, their insureds, advising and guiding insurance companies on claims handling practice and navigating difficult coverage issues. She has carried cases through the pre‐litigation, litigation and appellate stages.

 

Representative Matters:

• Obtained summary judgement for a coverage exclusion after a multimillion dollar judgement was entered against an insurer for failing to tender property damage limits along with bodily injury limits.
• Obtained a jury verdict in favor of a defendant accused of contributing to damages arising out of soil movement.
• Secured coverage and then negotiated payment, each of which had previously been denied, for a commercial client paying out‐of‐pocket for property damage arising out of a helicopter crash.
• Obtained a judgment from the bench for the insurance company defendant in a bad faith lawsuit arising out of hail storm.
• Obtained a jury verdict in favor of an insurance company defendant in a multimillion dollar bad faith lawsuit arising out of a flood at a dental practice on all issues including allegations of improperly valued equipment, undervalued construction work, and accusations of mold exposure.
• Obtained a jury verdict in favor of defendant in a liability contested auto collision, establishing through expert testimony that the defendant could not have run a red light.
• Obtained a jury verdict in favor of an insurance company defendant in a multimillion dollar bad faith lawsuit arising out of a house fire on all issues including allegations of underpayments on personal property, construction and additional living expenses.
• Successfully reversed a preliminary injunction on appeal through both the Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court for a commercial client ordered to shut down its marketing program.
• Successfully defended a defense jury verdict for a government‐entity defendant in a commercial trucking case through the Court of Appeals leading to a published opinion by the Arizona Supreme Court.

 

Education:

Howard University School of Law, (J.D., 2006)

Arizona State University, (B.A., 2002)

 

Admissions & Memberships

State Bar of Arizona

U. S. District Court of Arizona

U. S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Arizona Association of Defense Counsel

Association of Defense Trial Attorneys

Defense Research Institute

Arizona State Bar – Young Lawyers Division (2012)

Ladder Down Program (2012 – 2013)

 

Published Decisions:

Johnson v. State Department of Transportation, 224 Ariz. 554, 233 P.3d 1133 (2010)

Lennar Corp. v. TransAmerica Insurance Co., 227 Ariz 238, 256 p.3d 635 (App.2011)

Presentations & Publications:

3^rd Party Bad Faith for 2016 Insurance Law Institute with State Bar

Hindsight is 20/20: Subsequent Remedial Measures in Litigation, Co-author, For the Defense, September 2011

Community Involvement:

Valley of the Sun United Way, Generation United