Greg Bentley

Greg Bentley, Matthew Clark, and Farnaz Salessi of Bentley & More LLP reached a confidential 8-figure settlement on behalf of multiple homeowners who lost their homes in the October 2017 Northern California wildfires. Despite maintaining insurance with the same carrier for years, and despite the insurance company recommending and even selecting the policy limits, the devastating wildfires left the homeowners without adequate insurance to even begin rebuilding their lost homes.

 

This underinsurance problem—all too common in the property insurance industry—was instigated by insurers falsely promising to conduct detailed estimates of replacement cost value, falsely claiming they revised that estimate yearly to account for changes in construction costs, and by relying on software that knowingly underestimates the cost to rebuild insureds’ homes.  Despite the vast majority of homeowners believing they are adequately insured, these factors have combined to leave upwards of 80% of homes throughout the United States underinsured in the event of a total, catastrophic loss.  With natural disasters seeming to arrive ever more frequently, this underinsurance problem is sure to be magnified in the years to come.

 

Though the families can never get back the four years of struggle with their insurer, due to the efforts of Bentley & More LLP, this settlement will allow the families to regain some semblance of normalcy by rebuilding their homes and trying to move on with their lives.

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If you or somebody you care about has been injured or sustained property damage in a car accident in California, then you should be able to receive compensation for injuries and other losses. However, securing this compensation is not always straightforward, just ask our Riverside car accident lawyers. Insurance carriers and at-fault parties often put up a fight when it comes to paying out the proper amount to those who are harmed in the in... Read More

If you or a loved one are injured or sustained property damage in a vehicle accident that was caused by another driver, then you should be entitled to various types of compensation for your injuries and other losses. With an Orange County car accident attorney on your side, we can help you with insurance companies. However, the insurance carrier of the at-fault party is not likely to simply write a check for the full value of your losses. I... Read More

Bentley & More LLP attorneys Keith More and Michael McDonald recently obtained a $2,000,000 settlement on behalf of their client, the daughter of a 64-year-old bicyclist who was hit and killed by a motorist while crossing the street in a designated crosswalk.  Mr. More and Mr. McDonald claimed that the motorist was not only negligent in causing the incident, but that the motorist then fled the scene without providing aid or alerting the proper authorities.  Although the defendant disputed their client’s damages and filed a motion to stay the civil case while authorities investigated the incident, Mr. More and Mr. McDonald aggressively litigated the case, despite the recent court closures, and were able to obtain the seven-figure settlement within only a few short months.  Said Keith More, “we are so grateful to have settled this case and allow our client to grieve without the pressure of further litigation.”

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On June 16, 2020, Bentley & More LLP filed suit on behalf of Bernie Bischof, the owner of Old World German Restaurant in Huntington Beach, who was catastrophically burned over 40% of his body when a transformer bank at the restaurant exploded last October.  Bernie, who was hosting an Oktoberfest celebration at his restaurant the night of the explosion, has been hailed as a hero for clearing the patio of customers and employees in the minutes before the tragic explosion.  The lawsuit was filed against SoCal Edison, which the complaint alleges spent years ignoring basic maintenance, ignoring warnings from Bernie about previous problems with the transformer, and ignoring SCE’s own employee, who thought the transformer was a “death trap.”

 

Founding Bentley & More LLP partner Greg Bentley said: “SoCal Edison knew its equipment was failing as far back as 2010 but ignored the dangers.  This transformer explosion was completely preventable and was the result of a companywide policy of putting corporate profits and its own bottom line over public safety.”

 

The case is titled Bern Bischof, et al. v. Southern California Edison Company, Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. 20STCV22690, and includes as plaintiffs both Bernie and several of his family members who witnessed, and were injured by, the horrific explosion.

 

Click HERE for the full Press Release

 

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Truck drivers often stand to suffer very serious injuries while they are on the job. In these scenarios, drivers may be eligible to file a workers’ comp claim for various benefits, including lost wages and medical costs. An experienced workers’ compensation lawyer in your area can file a claim with your employer’s insurance company and pursue the benefits you deserve. Your attorney can also determine if you’re eligible to file a third-party... Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the way of life of most people in the US and throughout California. While this has first and foremost been a health crisis, the coronavirus has significantly affected businesses in this state. Many business owners have turned to business interruption insurance policies to try to gain coverage of their losses. While this type of insurance coverage is typically used after interruptions caused by n... Read More

This past Friday we had the pleasure of providing meals for the #FrontlineFighters of the Newport Beach Police Department. Our gratitude goes out to the entire department for their service to our community. Thank you for your unwavering dedication to keeping Newport Beach safe during these unprecedented times. We salute you!

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Keith P. More and Whit D. Bertch of Bentley & More LLP secured a $1.01M policy limits settlement for a fifty-five-year-old man who suffered catastrophic injuries when he fell 18.5 feet from a scaffold system on a residential development construction project in Irvine, California. He suffered numerous fractures including seventeen ribs, lumbar, sacrum, pelvis, clavicle, left mandibular angle, and right mandibular parasymphysis. He also suffered a grade III lacerated kidney, heart contusion,  respiratory failure, and traumatic pneumothorax. He was hospitalized for 29 days. After the fall, Cal-OSHA performed an investigation and determined that the scaffold system was negligently erected and identified forty-six (46) instances of violations of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations. It issued five (5) citations and proposed penalties exceeding $69,000.  Additionally, due to allegations of significant employer negligence the workers compensation lien of $404,000 was reduced to $50,000 and a waiver of credit rights in the work comp case. The firm is also representing him for his workers compensation case as he was on-the-job at the time of the fall working as a framing foreman for his employer.

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If your business has been forced to shut down operations due to an unforeseen event, such as a natural disaster or forced government closure, this will most certainly have a negative financial impact on your and your workers. However, many business owners obtain business interruption insurance to help them cover costs in the event a major shutdown in operations occurs. At Bentley & More LLP, our Riverside accident lawyers are here to help ... Read More

If your business has been negatively impacted by a major disaster or shutdown in operations, it is important to understand how your business interruption insurance policy works. This type of insurance is meant to restore a business to the same economic condition as it was before the interruption occurred. At Bentley & More LLP, our California business interruption insurance lawyers are here to help you through any situation, including prop... Read More

Bentley & More is beyond proud to announce that EIGHT of our elite team of attorneys have been selected to the Super Lawyers Southern California Rising Stars list. This designation is earned by less than 2.5% of attorneys under the age of 40 or in practice 10 years or less. Congratulations to Firm Partners Clare Lucich, Jaimi Groothuis & Matthew Clark and Trial Lawyers Allegra Rineer, Whit Bertch, Evan Grant, Michael McDonald & Nico Mamone. We are proud of the work you put in and your dedication to the firm’s success.

We also recognize Greg Bentley, Keith More & Jim Tierney for being named 2020 Southern California Super Lawyers.  Greg & Keith have held consecutive selections since 2010 & Jim since 2012. These guys are too legit to quit!

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Hotels depend on occupants. However, when a natural disaster or other major event occurs that stops the flow of people coming to a hotel, occupancy rates can decrease. This can include an event that directly impacts a hotel or one that stems the flow of people coming to the hotel. Hotels in most of the United States have seen a complete shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When events like this happen, business interruption insurance may be ... Read More

GEICO is perhaps one of the most well-known insurance agencies in the country, particularly when it comes to auto insurance. One of the first things that comes to mind when you hear about GEICO is the GEICO gecko commercials. The gecko seems friendly enough, but is GEICO going to be your friend in the aftermath of a crash? If you or a loved one have been in a car accident and now have to make an auto accident claim with GEICO, the process c... Read More

Those in the United States who have textured breast implants could be a risk of developing breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma, or BIA-ALCL. This is a rare cancer which, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is associated with breast implants that women receive after reconstructive or cosmetic surgery. Specifically, the majority of those diagnosed with BIA-ALCL received textured breast implants. Unlike... Read More

If you are in a car accident that causes injuries or property damage, then you will need to know how to file a claim with your insurance company. As with any insurance company, filing a claim with AAA insurance can become complicated. However, if you have been in a crash, or you just want to understand what to do if one occurs, the following information can prove helpful. Immediately after a crash happens The immediate aftermath of a vehicle... Read More

There has been incredible scrutiny of the e-cigarette industry this year, largely caused by an epidemic of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury (EVALI) cases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been nearly 2,300 EVALI cases in the US so far and more than 47 people have died due to this lung disease. When these cases first began, regulators could not pinpoint what was causing t... Read More

Keith More has been advocating on behalf of his clients for over 30 years. He was recently named 2019 Best Lawyers in America® and selected for the 11th consecutive year to the Super Lawyers list, as well as being recognized by numerous publications & associations. It is no surprise that Mr. More was recently chosen as OCTLA’s Top Gun Trial Lawyer of the Year for Workers’ Compensation. This was Keith’s 4th time receiving the prestigious award. It would be an understatement to say that the entire Bentley & More team is proud of the efforts Keith makes every single day on behalf of our clients. Keith is a true champion and simply won’t back down when it comes to fighting for justice his clients so desperately deserve. Click on the videos below for highlights on the special night and to see Mr. More in action during the Auction portion of the event!

Keith More MC’s the Auction portion of the Top Gun Awards. Through his efforts and the generous donations from Orange County Trial Lawyers, OCTLA reached over $1 Million for local charities.

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There is one phrase that keeps coming up over and over in the media as we become more aware of vape-related illnesses – popcorn lung. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to track the thousands of vape-related illnesses and dozens of deaths, the public is struggling to understand what is going on. The American Lung Association (ALA) has been investigating a link between the use of e-cigarettes and lung illnesses... Read More

On October 30, 2019, representatives from the Today Show’s online platform interviewed Bentley & More LLP partner Greg Bentley about the firm’s litigation against Allergan for its role in exposing hundreds of thousands of women to a potentially fatal form of cancer. That exposure came through the company’s defective—and now recalled by the FDA worldwide—textured breast implants.

 

The story concerns the courageous Bentley & More LLP client who underwent a double mastectomy, was treated with Allergan implants, only to later shockingly find out that the Allergan textured implants have now exposed her to Breast Implant Associated – Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL).  That disease is a type of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, meaning a cancer of the immune system, and not a type of breast cancer.  Allergan’s defective products have similarly exposed hundreds of thousands of women around the world to this new, potentially fatal risk.

 

Bentley & More’s client, like the hundreds of thousands of women exposed world-wide, would like the defective implants removed. Yet Allergan refuses to pay for the medical, surgical, or doctor fees to perform the procedure.

The segment will air in December.

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