Paul J. Killion practices in the areas of civil litigation and appellate matters. Mr. Killion has handled a variety of litigation and appellate matters, including significant national experience in asbestos, pollution and toxic court insurance coverage litigation. He has a broad range of appellate experience, with a particular focus on appeals from complex jury trials. He has appeared before all Districts of the California Courts of Appeal and before the California Supreme Court, as well as the Ninth and Tenth Circuits and the Supreme Courts of Washington and Oregon. He also regularly represents clients as amici counsel in the California Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal.

Mr. Killion is a co-author of the DRI national publication, A Defense Lawyer's Guide to Appellate Practice (DRI 2004). He has spoken and published on a number of appellate and insurance issues. Since 2003, he has served on the Jury Instruction Committee of the State Bar Litigation Section, providing comments on the California Approved Civil Instructions. He is an active member of the Appellate Committees of the Bar Association of San Francisco and the Defense Research Institute. He is also a member of the American Bar Association and the Forum for Environmental and Toxic Tort Issues (FETTI).

Mr. Killion served as a special Deputy District Attorney in Contra Costa County in 1989. While in law school, he externed for the Honorable William W Schwarzer, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Mr. Killion is a 1986 graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law and a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Representative Matters

Significant Litigation

Yarway Corporation, et al. v. Admiral Insurance Company, et al. (San Francisco asbestos coverage litigation) (2007)
Deere and Co. v. Certain Underwriters, et al. (San Francisco asbestos coverage litigation) (current)
Thorpe Asbestos Coverage Cases (Los Angeles Coordinated Proceeding involving asbestos non-products coverage issues) (current)
St.Paul Fire and Marine Ins. Co. v. A.P.I. Inc. (Minn. state court asbestos coverage litigation involving non-products issues and 524(g) federal bankruptcy proceedings)(2002-05)
Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London, et al. (San Francisco asbestos coverage litigation involving products issues and 524(g) federal bankruptcy proceedings)(2000-05)
Four Star Oil & Gas Company, et al. v. Allianz Insurance Co., et al. (Los Angeles coverage litigation involving all Texaco's environmental sites in United States and Canada)(1992-95)
FMC Corporation v. Plaisted and Companies, et al. (Santa Clara County, CA multi-phase environmental coverage litigation involving 60 sites, seven separate jury trials and seven separate appeals)(1987-98)
Shell Oil Company v. Aetna Casualty and Surety Co., et al. (San Francisco and Illinois coverage litigation involving polybutylene pipe property damage claims)(1993-96)
Shell Oil Company v. Accident and Casualty, et al. and related actions (San Mateo and San Francisco CA environmental coverage litigation involving Rocky mountain Arsenal and other Shell pollution sites)(1986-96)
Counsel for insurers in connection with the application of the standard nuclear exclusion in liability insurance policies to pollution sites.
Represented London market insurance companies in a pollution coverage litigation, worth approximately $10 million, against a major oil company that involved a yellow-cake uranium processing plant in Wyoming. After a deposition of an oil company employee revealed an apparent cover-up, the oil company dropped the suit.

Significant Appeals

Reid v. Google, Inc., 155 Cal.App.4th 1342 (2007) (age discrimination)
Aerojet-General Corporation v. Commercial Universal Insurance Company, 155 Cal.App.4th 132 (2007) (environmental insurance coverage)
Catholic Mutual Relief Society et al. v. Superior Court, 42 Cal.4th 358 (2007) (reinsurance discovery)
Schnitzer Investment Corp. v. Certain Underwriters, et al., 341 Ore. 128 (2006 Oregon SC) (environmental coverage)
Holloway v. Republic Indemnity Co., 341 Ore. 642 (2006 Oregon SC) (sexual harassment coverage)
Buell-Wilson v. Ford Motor Co., 141 Cal.App.4th 525 (2006) (Explorer rollover)
Souza v. Squaw Valley Ski Corp., 138 Cal.App.4th 262 (2006) (ski injury)
Boghos v. Certain Underwriters, et al., 36 Cal.4th 495 (2005) (arbitration dispute)
Kahn v. East Side Union HS Dist., et al., 31 Cal.4th 990 (2003) (diving accident)
London Market Insurers v. Safety National unpublished (First Dist. 2004) (arbitration dispute)
Vine v. Bear Valley 118 Cal.App.4th 577 (2004) (snowboarding injury)
Lambert v. General Motors unpublished (Fourth Dist. 2003) (Blazer rollover)
Squaw Valley v. Superior Court unpublished (2nd Dist. 2002) (venue writ)
Dart Industries v. Commercial Union Insurance Co. 28 Cal. 4th 1059 (2002) (missing insurance contract)
Raimondi v. Ford Motor Co. unpublished (First Dist. 2001) (Bronco II rollover)
Sparks v. Calif. Restaurant Assoc. unpublished (Third Dist. 2001) (employment discrimination)
Golden Eagle Ins. Co. v. Southwire Co. (Fifth Dist. 2001) (construction defect)
Palmer v. Truck Ins. Exch., 21 Cal.4th 1109 (1999) (advertising liability)
Syntex v. Lowsley-Williams and Cos. (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 871 (environmental insurance coverage)
FMC v. Plaisted and Companies (1998) 61 Cal.App.4th 1132 (environmental insurance coverage)
Armstrong World Industries v. Aetna Cas. & Ins. Co. (1996) 45 Cal. App. 4th 1 (asbestos coverage)
Shell Oil Company v. Winterthur Swiss Ins. Co. (1993) 12 Cal.App.4th 715 (environmental insurance coverage).

Professional Activities

American Bar Association
Bar Association of San Francisco
- Appellate Practice Committee
Defense Research Institute
- Appellate Practice Committee
Bar Associations of Los Angeles, Sacramento and Santa Clara Counties

Admissions

California
Supreme Court of the United States
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Northern, Central, Eastern and Southern Districts of California

Education

University of San Francisco Law School, J.D., 1986
University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 1980