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Sarah P. Long has joined Payne & Fears LLP as a Partner in the firm’s Insurance Coverage and Litigation Group. Sarah has represented clients in all aspects of insurance coverage and litigation and also focus on construction defect claims and litigation.
Before joining Payne & Fears, Sarah was a partner at Koeller, Nebeker, Carlson, Haluck, LLP, where she represented many of the nation’s builders in construction defect actions and bad faith insurance coverage disputes for 17 years.
Known for her dependability, efficiency, and creative problem-solving, Sarah always strives to secure the best results for her clients in the most efficient manner.
“We are excited to welcome Sarah to P&F as we continue to expand and add depth to our Insurance Litigation Group. I have known Sarah in a professional and personal capacity for more than 16 years. She is well respected by clients and peers in the legal profession. She is a bright, efficient, and innovative attorney and a wonderful person,” said Sarah Odia, the group’s co-chair.
A History of Success
Sarah played a pivotal role in the litigation resulting in the published opinion, Pulte Home Corp. v. American Safety Indemnity Co. (2017) 14 Cal.App.5th 1086. Her efforts invalidated additional insured carrier’s wrongful coverage positions, imposed punitive damages, and confirmed the duty to defend additional insured homebuilders in construction defect actions.
She successfully defeated that same carrier’s attempt to circumvent the California published decision, enforcing its Georgia choice of law provision. This involved years of hard-fought litigation, multiple summary judgment motions, and a Ninth Circuit decision affirming the duty to defend additional insured homebuilders under purported “ongoing operations” endorsements, this time under GA law.
Sarah achieved success in a motion for summary judgment and reconsideration based on the California Supreme Court’s holdings in Privette v. Superior Court. The outcome held that the general contractor is not responsible for a subcontractor’s employee’s injuries, delegating responsibility for the plaintiff’s safety to the independent contractor.
Get to Know Sarah
What activities do you enjoy outside of work?
CrossFit, reading, golfing, trying new restaurants, and enjoying all that San Diego has to offer.
Why did you join Payne & Fears?
I am excited to join the P&F insurance litigation team. I have worked collaboratively with them on my construction defect cases in the past. They always handle their cases with high standards of honesty and integrity and have an excellent reputation in the community for those qualities.
People would be surprised if they knew…
- I married my high school sweetheart.
- I am the first person in my family to graduate college.
- I went on a delegation with the Nevada Bar Association to Cuba to learn about Cuba’s legal system.
- I can do a one-handed cartwheel.
