Law, Karen Stoutamyer

David B. Van Etten represents clients in the areas of employment law, commercial litigation, construction defect and real estate litigation, insurance litigation, products liability, and maritime and other personal injury litigation. Mr. Van Etten has nearly 30 years of experience practicing law and has served as lead counsel in more than 50 trials and arbitrations. He is the recipient of an AV-Preeminent rating, indicating the highest ethical standards and legal ability, and was selected as a Super Lawyer from 2004 to 2010.

Employment Litigation and Counseling

Mr. Van Etten has more than 20 years of experience representing and counseling employers in an array of industries, including financial services, automotive manufacturing, oil and gas, healthcare, and food and drug industries. He serves as counsel for employers in labor and employment investigations and in litigation and arbitration matters before state and federal courts and agencies. His practice areas include wage and hour class actions and single-plaintiff claims involving alleged wrongful termination, sexual harassment, employment discrimination, discrimination charges coming before the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), unfair labor practice claims coming before the National Labor Relations Board, and wage claims before the California Labor Commissioner.

Mr. Van Etten also provides counseling to employers concerning a wide variety of employment-related issues, including compliance with California and federal wage and hour laws, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws, mandatory leave laws, record-keeping requirements, vacation requirements, and other human resources practices. In addition, he also negotiates and documents employment and severance agreements on behalf of employers.

Complex Commercial Litigation

Mr. Van Etten has extensive experience representing clients in complex commercial litigation, including class actions, unfair business practice claims, shareholder disputes, and insurance matters. His typical clients include financial institutions, oil companies, aerospace companies, hospitals and physician practice groups, hospitality companies, and food manufacturers.

Construction Defect and Real Estate Litigation

Mr. Van Etten represents insurers, property owners, developers, brokers, contractors and design professionals, landlords and tenants, lenders and borrowers, and lien holders in a wide array of construction defect, environmental, eminent domain, and commercial real estate litigation.

Insurance Litigation

Mr. Van Etten represents insurers and policyholders in high-stakes insurance coverage and bad faith matters, including disputes involving claims for coverage of high exposure environmental contamination claims.

Product Liability & Maritime & Other Personal Injury Litigation

Mr. Van Etten represents major automobile manufacturers in the defense of product liability claims involving catastrophic injuries. He also handles maritime cases involving the Jones Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, including seamen and longshoremen injuries, ship collisions, and criminal acts at sea.

Trial Work

Mr. Van Etten has served as lead counsel in more than 50 jury trials, bench trials, and binding arbitrations in the areas of employment discrimination and retaliation, maritime personal injuries, automotive products liability, breach of contract, business torts, lender liability, and real property disputes. He has obtained favorable decisions for his clients in the vast majority of these adjudicated matters.

Personal History

Mr. Van Etten was born in Lincoln, Illinois and grew up in a central Illinois town of less than 5,000 residents. While in college, he lived two years abroad in Rome, Italy. He started his legal career at a large firm in Chicago before coming to California in 1985. Mr. Van Etten currently lives in Westlake Village and is married with four children.