David J. Fagnilli

Senior Counsel

    David is a member of the casualty department handling matters involving products liability, trucking and transportation, automobile liability, premises liability, construction accidents, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage and personal injury. He has represented insureds in business disputes, construction claims, complex litigation and business arbitrations. David has also handled litigation concerning defamation, contractor claims, property use disputes, and commercial and business property losses. He has extensive experience negotiating favorable settlements independently and through mediation and other forms of ADR.

    Additional areas of practice include insurance coverage, contract interpretation and analysis for first and third party claims; and defense of coverage disputes and bad faith lawsuits involving commercial general liability, commercial property, commercial vehicle, umbrella, auto and homeowners’ policies; and claims for environmental damage, asbestos and other toxic torts.

    David is admitted to practice in all Ohio Courts, all Federal District Courts in Ohio, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. David is a life member of the Eighth District Judicial Conference. He is a member of the American, Ohio State, Cleveland Metropolitan, and Lake County Bar Associations, the Defense Research Institute, the Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys, the Cleveland Association of Civil Trial Attorneys, the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, and the Justinian Forum.

    A shareholder with an AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell rating,  David has also been selected by his peers as an "Ohio Super Lawyer" annually since 2010, as published in Cincinnati Magazine and Northern Ohio Live Magazine. Since 2009, he has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America©.

    David received his B.A. from Southern California College in 1980, and his juris doctor from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1985.

    Classes/Seminars Taught

    Ten Commandments of Working with Expert Witnesses, June 13, 2013, CLM Transportation Conference, panelist

    Anatomy of a Complex CGL Claim, Additional Insureds – Ohio Anti-Indemnity Statute, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, November 2, 2012

    Insurance Law from Basic to Advanced – Claims Handling Process, Akron Bar Association October 30, 2012

    What Civil Court Judges Want You to Know, National Business Institute, November 4, 2011, moderator

    Ohio Tort and Insurance Case Law Update, Akron Claims Association, April 14, 2010

    Insurance Law in Ohio, Lorman Educational Services, March 21, 2003, co-author and presenter

    Insurance Law in Ohio: Third Party Coverage in Ohio, National Business Institute, March 14, 1996, co-author and presenter

    Published Works

    "Ohio Supreme Court Holds That General Contractor’s CGL Insurer Is Not Obligated to Defend Suit Alleging Subcontractor’s Faulty Workmanship," Legal Updates for Coverage & Bad Faith, March 2019

    Case Law Alerts, regular contributor, 2018-present

    Ohio Construction Insurance Law; Policyholder and Insurer Perspective on Custom Agri, Bar Journal of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, February 2013, coauthor

    A.M. Best Ohio Digest of Insurance Law, Editor 2012-present

    Admissions
    Ohio
    1986
    U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio
    U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio
    U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit
    U.S. Supreme Court
    Education
    Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (J.D., 1986)
    Southern California College (B.A., 1980)
    Honors & awards
    The Best Lawyers in America®, Insurance Law
    2009-2025
    Ohio Super Lawyers
    2010-2020
    Associations & memberships
    American Bar Association
    Cleveland Association of Civil Trial Attorneys
    Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
    Defense Research Institute
    Justinian Forum
    Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys
    Ohio State Bar Association
    Year joined
    2016