Gary L. Johnson
Shareholder
Mr. Johnson is a trial lawyer and has been in practice at Richards Brandt Miller Nelson since 1984. He has tried a variety of different cases to juries and the bench at the state and federal level. His practice focuses primarily on insurance coverage/bad faith, ERISA, disputes involving Articles 2 and 9 of the UCC, products liability and the defense of governmental entities. Mr. Johnson maintains an AV rating from Martindale Hubbell and was selected for inclusion in 2009 and 2010 Mountain States Super Lawyers.
Areas of Practice
- Insurance Law
- Commercial Transactions
- Litigation
Bar Admissions
- Utah, 1984
- U.S. District Court District of Utah, 1984
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin, 1997
- U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 1998
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 2000
- U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit, 1985
Education
- University of Utah College of Law, Salt Lake City, Utah
- J.D. - 1984
- University of Nevada at Reno, Reno, Nevada
- M.A. - 1980
- University of Nevada at Reno, Reno, Nevada
- B.A. - 1976
Published Works
- Defining Governmental Function Under the Utah Governmental Immunity Act, 9 Journal of Contemporary Law 193, 1983
- Procedures, Costs and Rate Structures for Decommissioning Nuclear Reactors, 5 Journal of Energy Law & Policy 245, 1984
- It is Time to Revise JIFU, 2 Utah Bar Journal 10, Feb., 1989
- Reflections on the Constitutionality of the Motor Vehicle Seatbelt Act, 6 Utah Bar Journal 20, May, 1993
- Day v. State: An Open Courts Clause Cacophony, 1 Voir Dire, 24, Spring, 1995
- Enforceability of Exculpatory Clauses in Hazardous Recreational Activities, 11 Utah Bar Journal 8, Feb., 1998
- Role, Ritual and Civility in Litigation, 12 Utah Bar Journal 12, April, 1999
- The Salty Soup: Some Thoughts on Access to Civil Justice, 17 Utah Bar Journal 28, May, 2004
- Does an Insured Have to Prove Coverage in Order to Claim Bad Faith Damages?, 28 Utah Trial Journal, Fall 2005
- Looking at the Stars: Why Being a Lawyer Matters, 56 The Federal Lawyer 24 August, 2009
- Commentary: Harry Truman's Lessons for Lawyers, 23 Utah Bar Journal 36 (July/August), 2010
Representative Cases
- Sutherland v. Tooele City Corp., 91 Fed. Appx. 632 (10th Cir. 2004)
- Joos v. Intermountain Health Care, Inc., 25 F.3d 915 (10th Cir. 1994)
- Paz v. Carman Industries, 860 F.2d 977 (10th Cir. 1988)
- Essex Ins. Co. v. Wake Up Too, Inc., 2009 WL 357987 (D. Utah 2009)
- United National Ins. Co. v. International Petroleum & Exploration, 2007 WL 4561460 (D. Utah 2007)
- Wood v. World Wide Assoc. of Specialty Programs and Schools, 2007 WL1295994 (D. Utah 2007)
- Miller v. City of Tooele, 2006 WL 2355770 (D. Utah 2006)
- Coverstar, Inc. v. Cooley, Inc., 2006 WL 1579620 (D. Utah 2006)
- Salt Lake Toyota Dealers Assoc. v. St. Paul Mercury Ins. Co., 2006 WL 1547996 (D. Utah 2006)
- Stanley v. Life Ins. Co. of North America, 2005 WL 2266596 (D. Utah 2005)
- Lexington Ins. v. Rugg & Knoop, Inc., 1 F.Supp.2d 937 (E.D. Wis. 1998)
- Oliverson v. West Valley City, 875 F. Supp. 1465 (D. Utah 1995)
- Leahy v. The Bon, Inc., 801 F. Supp. 529 (D. Utah 1992)
- Roberts v. Thorn Apple Valley, Inc., 784 F.Supp. 1538 (D. Utah 1992)
- Hartford Accident and Indem. Corp. v. United States Fid. and Guar. Co., 765 F. Supp. 677 (D. Utah 1991)
- Utah Power & Light Co. v. Federal Ins. Co., et.al., 724 F.Supp. 846 (D. Utah 1989)
- Hills v. United Parcel Service, Inc.,, 232 P.3d 1049 (Utah 2010)
- Williams v. Bench, 193 P.3d 640 (Utah Ct. Appl. 2008)
- Quaid v. U.S. Healthcare, Inc., 158 P.3d 525 (Utah 2007)
- Stocks v. U.S. Fidelity and Guar. Co., 3 P.3d 722 (Utah App. 2000)
- Hunsaker v. State of Utah et al., 870 P.2d 893 (Utah 1993)
- Freund v. Utah Power & Light Co., 793 P.2d 362 (Utah 1990)
- Fashion Place Inv. v. Salt Lake County, 778 P.2d 941 (Utah App. 1989)
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Defense Research Institute
- International Association of Defense Counsel
- American Bar Association
- Utah State Bar Association
- Utah State Bar Model Utah Jury Instruction Committee, Member, 1989-1993, 2003-2004, 2007-2008
- Utah State Bar Exam Question Reviewer, 2010 - Present
- Federal Bar Association
Pro Bono Activities
- Leadership Committee, And Justice for All, 1999 - 2003
- Trustee of Richards Brandt Miller Nelson Charitable Foundation, 2003 - 2008
