
Overview
Duke Wahlquist handles insurance disputes involving both first party and third party coverage including commercial general liability insurance policies, directors and officers liability and company reimbursement policies, errors and omissions coverage (lawyers, accountants, brokers, insurance companies, public officials, etc.), municipal liability policies, title insurance policies, homeowners policies, fire insurance policies, health insurance policies, life insurance policies, credit insurance, fidelity bonds and crime coverage. He has similar experience representing California governmental entities whose risk management programs employ Joint Powers Pooling Agreements rather than traditional insurance policies.
Clients represented by Duke include real estate developers, manufacturers, commercial landlords, financial institutions, professionals and other insureds as well as title insurers and credit insurers. He also has extensive experience representing colleges, universities and faculty in academically related matters as well as substantial expertise in the prosecution and defense of copyright, trademark, false advertising and other commercial claims.
Duke is well versed in the practical workings of California’s court system having served as a member of The Judicial Council’s Standing Advisory Committee on Civil and Small Claims and the Legislative Issues and Case Management and Delay Reduction Subcommittees from June 1993 to October 1998. Duke was also been a member of The Jury Comment Review Subcommittee of The Judicial Council’s Blue Ribbon Commission for evaluation of the jury system in 1996. In addition, he served as a member of The California Judicial Council’s Task Force on Complex Civil Litigation.
Experience
Areas of Expertise
- Insurance Coverage
- Civil Litigation
- College and University Law
Reported Cases
- Goehring v. Chapman University 121 Cal. App. 4th 353; 17 Cal. Rptr. 3d 39; 2004 Cal. App. LEXIS 1267; 5 A.L.R.6th 715(2004)
- Kahler v. FirstPlus Fin., Inc. (In re FirstPlus Fin., Inc.) 248 B.R. 60; 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 467; 36 Bankr. Ct. Dec. 1, (2000)
- Scott v. Continental Insurance Co., 44 Cal. App. 4th 24 (1996)
- Stein-Brief Group v. Home Indemnity Co., 76 Cal.Rptr. 2d 3 (1998)
- Upper Deck Co. v. Am. Int’l Specialty Lines Ins. Co., CASE NO. 05CV1945 IEG (RBB), 495 F. Supp. 2d 1092
- In re Color Craft Press, Ltd., Bankruptcy Nos. 81M-03184 Chapter 11, Civil Proceeding Nos. 82PM-0974, Civil Nos. C 83-0140J, Bankruptcy No. 82C-00736, Civil Proceeding No. 82PC-0746, Civil No. C 83-0139J, 27 B.R. 962; 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19103; Bankr. L. Rep. (CCH) P69, 272
- Taus v. Loftus, S133805, 40 Cal. 4th 683; 151 P.3d 1185; 54 Cal. Rptr. 3d 775; 2007 Cal LEXIS 1896; 35 Media L. Rep. 1657; 2007 Cal. Daily Op. Service 2008
- Navigators Specialty Ins. Co. v. Moorefield Construction, Inc., G050759, COURT OF APPEAL OF CALIFORNIA, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT, DIVISION THREE, 6 Cal. App. 5th 1258; 212 Cal Rptr. 3d 231; 2016 Cal. App. LEXIS 1132, December 27, 2016, Opinion Field, Time for Granting or Denying Review Extended Navigators Specialty Ins. Co. v. Moorefield Construction, Inc., 2017 Cal. LEXIS 1553 (Cal., Feb. 23, 2017)Review denied by, Request denied by Navigators Specialty Ins. Co. v. Moorefield Constr., 2017 Cal. LEXIS 2302 (Cal., Mar. 22, 2017)
News & Insights
Publications/Seminars
Common Insurance Policy Reporting Provisions and Their Consequences, Rutan & Tucker MCLE Series, March 2015
Awards & Affiliations
Awards & Honors
- AV® Preemininent™ rating with LexisNexis/Martindale Hubbell
- Southern California “Super Lawyer” 2004-2010
- Southern California “Super Lawyer” Corporate Counsel Edition, 2008-2010
- Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America, 2009
Memberships & Associations
- California Judicial Council’s Standing Advisory Committee on Civil and Small Claims and the Legislative Issues and Case Management and Delay Reduction Subcommittees, 1993-1998
- Jury Comment Review Subcommittee of California Judicial Council’s Blue Ribbon Commission to Conduct an Evaluation of the Jury System in California, June 1996
- California Judicial Council’s Task Force on Complex Civil Litigation, August, 1997-1999
- Orange County Bar Association
- American Bar Association