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John Kaempf
P
503.224.5006
E jkaempf@brooksbykaempf.com
F 503.295.4090
John Kaempf defends civil litigation in Oregon’s state and federal courts. John
is a cum laude graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School. He has been honored
as an Oregon “Super Lawyer,” which recognizes the top 5% of attorneys, every
year the award has been given. He also has an AV Peer Review Rating with
Martindale-Hubbell, an award that recognizes the highest level of skill and
integrity.
John specializes in the defense of personal injury and product liability
lawsuits. He also defends religious organizations against various tort claims
and has expertise in First Amendment issues relating to churches.
John’s representative clients include Jesuit High School, Multnomah Athletic Club, Oaks Amusement Park, The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, East Hill Church, Grant Thornton LLP, ChristieCare, The Oregon State Snowmobile Association, and many other businesses, insurers, and individuals.
John
has successfully defended clients in more than a dozen jury trials, and
resolved hundreds of other cases through mediation and arbitration. Through
summary judgment motions, he has had lawsuits against numerous clients
dismissed, and has argued and won several cases before the Oregon Court of
Appeals.
From
2002 to 2008, John served as the Practice Tips Editor for the Oregon
Association of Defense Counsel Magazine, and wrote the "Practice
Tips" column for that quarterly magazine. John has also contributed
articles to the Oregon Litigation Journal and is a regular speaker at
legal seminars in Oregon.
In
2003, John wrote Oregon House Bill 2049. The bill amended the procedures a
party must follow to assert a punitive damages claim in Oregon state court.
It allows a court to prohibit the recovery of punitive damages against a
defendant if a request for punitive damages by a plaintiff is untimely. The
bill was enacted into Oregon law effective January 1, 2004 as Oregon Revised
Statute 31.725.
His
representative professional accomplishments include:
Products Liability
Obtained a summary judgment for defendant Philip Morris in federal court in a products liability action arising from a cigarette lighter that allegedly exploded and blinded the plaintiff. The District of Oregon agreed with John
that the case was not timely commenced, and the dismissal of the case was
affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case is reported as Cook v. Sibjet, et al., 2000 WL
33946062 (D Or 2000), affirmed, 44
Fed Appx 762 (9th Cir 2002).
Represented
a food processor located in the Southeast United States in a case involving
an alleged food contamination outbreak. The court ruled that the claims
were barred by the statute of limitations.
Personal Injury
Represented Burger King
Corporation in a premises liability action where the plaintiff was severely
injured after falling at a Burger King restaurant. After a weeklong trial, the
jury returned a verdict in favor of Burger King, finding that it was not
negligent.
Obtained
a pretrial summary judgment, which was affirmed by the Oregon Court of
Appeals in a published opinion, for a convenience store where the plaintiff
suffered serious personal injuries after falling on the premises. The
court ruled that the store owner was not negligent as a matter of law based
on the undisputed facts.
Represented
the defendant in a weeklong jury trial in federal court where the plaintiff,
a commercial truck driver, was severely injured while standing on the side of
Interstate 5 and putting chains on his truck when the defendant struck the
plaintiff with his vehicle. The jury reached a verdict for the
defendant, agreeing with John that, given the unexpected icy road conditions,
the defendant was not negligent.
Appeals
In
2007, John represented the Multnomah Athletic Club (MAC) in its successful defense
of a lawsuit brought by a club member expelled by the MAC who sought
readmission to the club. In July 2007, The Oregon Channel televised
John's argument of the appeal of this case. The Oregon Court of Appeals'
decision in the MAC's favor, which affirmed the trial court's dismissal of
the lawsuit against the MAC based on the statute of limitations, is published
as Wiederhorn v. Multnomah Athletic Club, 215 Or. App. 392, 170 P.3d 1
(2007).
In
2007, the Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed the summary judgment for
the clients John represented in J.S. v. Franciscan Friars of Oregon, et
al., 215 Or. App. 500, 170 P.3d 8 (2007), a case involving alleged child
abuse by a Catholic priest. The court upheld the trial court's ruling that
the defendants were not vicariously liable for the priest's alleged abuse of
the plaintiff, and that the plaintiff's claims were barred by the statute of
limitations.
In
2000, John represented a convenience store in its successful defense of a
lawsuit involving serious personal injuries that occurred when the plaintiff
fell on the premises. The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's
granting of summary judgment for the defendant, ruling that it was not
negligent as a matter of law based on the undisputed facts. The case is
reported as Andrews v. R.W. Hays Co., 166 Or. App. 494, 998 P.2d 774
(2000).
John
argued and won all of these cases in the trial court and before the Oregon
Court of Appeals.
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Education
Northwestern
School of Law, Lewis & Clark College - J.D.,
cum laude, 1992
Portland
State University - B.S., Political Science, with honors, 1989
Bar/Court
Admissions
Admitted to
Oregon Bar, 1992
Admitted to
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, 1993
Admitted to
U.S. District Court, District of Oregon, 1993
Professional
& Civic Involvement
* Catholic
Charities, Board Member
(2007-2009)
* Catholic
Youth Organization - Camp Howard, Board Member (2006-2009)
* Young
People’s Theatre Project, Special Advisor (2001-present)
* Legal
Extern, Honorable Otto R. Skopil, Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit, Fall 1991
* Multnomah
County Bar Association
* Oregon
Association of Defense Counsel (Practice Tips Editor, 2002-2008)
* Oregon
State Bar Association, Litigation Section
* Oregon
State Bar Board of Governors, Uniform Civil Jury Instructions Committee
(2004-2005)
Articles
& Presentations
* Speaker,
Oregon Association of Defense Counsel Fall Seminar (2005)
* Author,
"ORCP 54E Pretrial Offers to Allow Judgment - An Often Overlooked
Defense Tool," Oregon Litigation Journal (Summer 2004)
* Author,
"There is no Claim for Common Law Wrongful Death in Oregon," Oregon
Association of Defense Counsel Magazine (Summer 2004)
* Speaker,
Oregon Association of Defense Counsel Defense Practice Academy (2003-2005)
*
Author/Editor, "Practice Tips," Oregon Association of Defense
Counsel Magazine (2002-2008)
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