Attorneys

Robert A. Anderson

Founding Partner
Email raanderson@ajhlaw.com

Professional Status: Mr. Anderson, founder and senior partner of Anderson, Julian & Hull LLP, has developed extensive experience in all facets of insurance defense and construction law, as well as personal injury litigation, complex commercial litigation, class action litigation, professional liability, commercial transactions, real estate, products liability, ERISA, bad faith litigation, and appellate practice. He has been an AV rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell since the mid-1980s, and is licensed to practice in Oregon and Idaho.

Educational Background: Mr. Anderson graduated magna cum laude in 1973 from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science degree. He obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Colorado in 1977, and is a member of the Honorary Society and Phi Kappa Phi.

Professional Affiliations: Mr. Anderson is a member of the Idaho State Bar, and is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the District of Idaho; the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit; and all courts of the State of Idaho. He is a current member of the American Bar Association (Tort and Insurance Practice Section), the Idaho Association of Defense Counsel; the Defense Research Institute (Insurance, Ethics and Construction Law Committees), and the Ada County Magistrates Selection Committee (1991). Mr. Anderson is the former Chairman of both the Idaho State Bar/Law Foundation Ethics Committee (1990) and I.O.L.T.A. Committee (1993-1997), as well as the former President of the Fourth District Bar (1991), and he currently serves on the Idaho State Bar Continuing Legal Education Committee. In addition, Mr. Anderson served on the original Board of Directors of Idaho Attorneys Against Hunger and Idaho Partners for Justice.

Areas Of Practice: Mr. Anderson's insurance defense practice involves the representation of policyholders, insurance companies, and self-insured corporations. Mr. Anderson provides comprehensive legal services in all aspects of insurance-related litigation, arbitration, subrogation, risk management, and alternative dispute resolution. In addition, Mr. Anderson has extensive experience in providing coverage analyses and representing and advising insurance companies regarding declaratory judgment actions and bad faith claims. Mr. Anderson has tried over sixty cases, with many complex matters extending two to four weeks or more in length. Some recent examples include:

Multiple successful outcomes in personal and commercial suits with injuries ranging from traumatic brain injury to damages arising out of a National Hot Rod Association sanctioned drag racing competition (four week trial in which verdict was less than fifty percent of "rock bottom" last demand by plaintiffs).
Numerous homeowners and business-related claims spanning the gamut of ski-injury and farm-related matters to more traditional slip/trip and falls.
Defense verdict on proximate causation after admitting liability and plaintiff undergoing five shoulder surgeries.
Four week trial resulting in a defense verdict in which clients' horses separated from a stagecoach and stampeded through a crowd, injuring eighteen people and resulting in a payment to the injured parties in excess of $3,000,000.00 by co-defendants.
Participated in hundreds of mediations successfully extricating insureds and clients from costly and time consuming litigation.

In the area of complex commercial litigation, Mr. Anderson has considerable experience representing individuals and business entities in a wide variety of legal matters, including disputes relating to contract breaches, antitrust matters, non-compete covenants, and class action claims. Mr. Anderson's past experience includes:

Two month trial resulting in verdict of $1.00 in lost profits being awarded after plaintiffs' experts testified such losses were in the range of $15-100 million.
Successful resolution of class action matter involving over 100 homes in two subdivisions in which plaintiffs' initial demand was in excess of $10 million.
Successfully handled business litigation matters which involved multi-million dollar claims and in excess of 500,000-1,000,000 documents and required extensive development of a paralegal and associate team to scan, review, and incorporate those documents into AJH's computer software programs designed to facilitate topical, witness, and OCR searches of multiple databases.

In the area of construction law, Mr. Anderson has represented hundreds of clients involved in construction disputes ranging from private residences to complex construction projects. He has handled trials, arbitrations, mediations, and other matters in Utah, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington on behalf of his construction-related clients. He is on the approved panel counsel list of all carriers writing E & O insurance for Idaho's design professional community, and represents numerous architects and engineers and private construction firms, as well. Mr. Anderson's knowledge and experience in representing contractors, subcontractors, owners, developers, and design professionals provides our clients with the unique depth of experience necessary to analyze, defend, and efficiently resolve the entire range of construction disputes. Mr. Anderson's experience in this area includes:

Successfully defending his first design professional malpractice trial in 1982, with a jury verdict in excess of $1 million dollars against the co-defendant subcontractor.
Has tried several other A & E cases since that time, all with a defense verdict outcome, with the most recent being a five week trial in Spokane, Washington, resulting in a defense verdict against the heirs and estate of an individual who fell into an industrial fan, for which plaintiffs' counsel never reduced the settlement demand below $7,000,000.
Reached a successful resolution of a case involving complex design issues on a multi-million dollar bridge on the Interstate running through Boise, Idaho.
Recently obtained two summary judgments on behalf of an engineering company, both of which rulings were upheld by the Idaho Court of Appeals and Idaho Supreme Court.

Lectures And Presentations: Along with extensive litigation experience, Mr. Anderson is a frequently sought after lecturer in the areas of construction law and insurance matters. He has been requested to speak to, among others, the Boise Association of Idaho Insurance Adjusters, the American Society of Professional Engineers, the American Institute of Architects (state convention and various chapters throughout the state), the Consulting Engineers of Idaho, and the Association of General Contractors. Mr. Anderson has also served as a lecturer for Lorman, NBI, the Idaho Law Foundation, and the National Business Institute Seminar on topics ranging from depositions, insurance coverage law, bad faith law, and numerous construction-related matters. In addition, he has served as a Mentor for various Litigation Skills Training Programs conducted by the Idaho State Bar, Litigation Section, and the U.S. Federal District Court.

Publications: Mr. Anderson has written extensively on construction and insurance law matters, including:

"Soothsayer or Design Professional? The Dilemmas and Dangers of Project Cost Estimating by Architects/Engineers," 2006 Aspen Construction Law Update (Chapter 4)
"State-by-State Guide to Construction Contracts and Claims – Idaho Chapter," 2006 Construction Law Library
"Current Construction Law Issues: AIA Contracts and Beyond," Lorman Education Services (2005)
"Construction Law: Contracts, Administration and Claim Disputes on Commercial Projects," Lorman Education Services Publication (2001)
"Construction Law in Idaho: Contracts, Performance, Claims and Beyond," Lorman Educational Services Publication (1999)
"Consequential Damages: Do They Really Threaten The Construction Industry and, If So, Is the AIA ‘Mutual Waiver' The Cure?" 1999 Wiley Construction Law Update
"Insurance Coverage Law in Idaho," 1997 NBI Seminar Publication, co-author
"The Cardinal Change Doctrine's Difficult Transition from Federal to State Courts," 1997 Wiley Construction Law Update
"Insurance Law: Third-Party Coverage in Idaho," 1996 and 1998 NBI Seminar Publication, co-author
Regional Editor, DRI Construction Law Committee Newsletter
Regional Editor, Covered Events, DRI publication
"Construction Arbitration—The Answer or Ambush?" Idaho State Bar publication, The Advocate, (August 1993)

Appellate Practice: Some of Mr. Anderson's significant cases include:

Fenn v. Noah, 206 Ida.Lexis 406 (April 11, 2006);
Smith v. Briggs Engineering, Inc., Supreme Court Docket No. 29602 (2005) (not for publication);
Blahd v. Richard B. Smith, Inc., 141 Idaho 296, 108 P.3d 996 (2005);
Ryals v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., 134 Idaho 302, 1 P.3d 803 (2000);
Maselli v. Ginner, 119 Idaho 702, 809 P.2d 1181 (1991);