Christopher J Carpenter

Christopher J Carpenter has over twenty years of litigation and insurance industry experience and has tried numerous cases to verdict in Kansas and Missouri. His practice specialty is civil litigation with an emphasis on personal injury defense, insurance coverage analysis and litigation, large loss casualty cases, and defense of insurance “bad faith” claims, both first party and third-party. This includes high value personal injury matters and complex insurance coverage analysis. He also has experience in class action litigation, toxic tort litigation and reinsurance coverage litigation. Mr. Carpenter has also successfully handled and argued several appeals in the appellate courts of the state of Missouri, including the Missouri Supreme Court.

Education

● Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar, MO, BS 1990
● University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law, Kansas City, MO
●Juris Doctor, 1993

Bar Admissions & Licenses

● Kansas
● Missouri
● Illinois
● Trial and Appellate courts of Kansas and Missouri
● U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
● U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
● U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
● Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
● Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals

Professional Affiliations

● Kansas Bar Association
● Missouri Bar Association
● Johnson County, Kansas Bar Association
● Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association

Reported Appellate Decisions/Cases

● Dutton v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co., 454 S.W.3d 319 (Mo. banc 2015)
● Farmers Ins. Co. v. Wilson, 424 S.W.3d 487 (Mo.App. S.D. 2014)
● Mid-Century Ins. Co. v. Wilburn, 422 S.W.3d 326 (Mo.App. S.D. 2013)
● Farmers Ins. Exchange v. Dailey, 370 S.W.3d 924 (Mo.App. E.D. 2012)
● Fire Ins. Exchange v. Horner, 368 S.W.3d 214 (Mo.App. W.D. 2012)
● Wood v. Farmers Ins. Co., Inc., 360 S.W.3d 859 (Mo.App. E.D. 2011)
● Christensen v. Farmers Ins. Co., Inc., 307 S.W.3d 654 (Mo.App. E.D. 2010)
● Bediako v. Stein Mart, Inc., 354 F.3d 835 (8 th Cir. 2004)

E-Mail: ccarpenter@schafflaw.com

Practice Areas

Our firm has extensive experience in representing insurance carriers and their insureds in all types of general liability situations, including defense of personal injury, wrongful death, property damage, business torts, premises liability and animal liability including domestic and stock animals.

Our firm has extensive expertise in the field of personal injury defense arising out of all types of general liability situations in the state and federal courts of Kansas and Missouri. Our experience includes defense of premises liability claims ranging from highly technical property conditions to failure to provide adequate security.

Our firm has decades of experience in the representation of major insurance carriers and their insureds in defense of motor vehicle liability cases, including motorcycle liability. We also have experience in defending cases involving ATV and boating accidents and farm implements. Our firm has developed a specific emphasis on UM, UIM, and PIP claims.

We represent insurance carriers and their insureds in claims involving a variety of fact patterns including fire losses, floods, gas and vapor explosions, wind and hail losses, vandalism and theft, commercial roofing, and structural collapse. In this regard, our firm represents insurance carriers in large loss subrogation matters arising out of fire and explosion losses and products liability claims.

Analysis and litigation of insurance coverage issues is a key component of the firm’s expertise. We are called upon to review and analyze policies in a variety of contexts to determine the carrier’s duty to pay, defend or indemnify a given claim or insured. The firm has been successful litigating coverage issues at both at the trial and appeal court level in state and federal courts.
Our firm has instituted numerous declaratory judgment actions and has defended numerous coverage-based actions on intentional acts, sexual abuse, coinsured clauses, materials and workmanship exclusions, concurrent causes, efficient proximate cause claims and fraud and misrepresentations in the application and in conjunction with a claim. We also have extensive experience prosecuting claims for contribution between insurance carriers. We emphasize the resolution of many of these disputes through summary judgment and are frequently successful in achieving early disposition of cases.

Our firm has very specialized experience in the investigation and litigation of first party claims where the potential for an insured’s involvement in the loss exists. Our firm has conducted hundreds of examinations under oath throughout Kansas, Missouri and the Midwest. We have significant expertise in evaluating questionable first party claims, preparation of reservation of rights letters and if appropriate, denial letters. Our firm has a network of cause and origin experts, mechanical and electrical engineers and other experts needed to properly evaluate fire and other first party loss claims.

Our firm is experienced in highly complex railroad litigation including railroad crossing accidents, railroad crossing signs/gates/safety, obstructive vegetation, and liability for the condition and presence of railroad cars. Our experience in this area includes analysis of both state and federal statutes covering railroad safety and preemption issues. We have represented railroads, tank and freight car businesses, and railroad contractors including vegetation control companies.