Goldberg Segalla logo
Our Team
Our Story
Practices
Industries
Offices
News & Knowledge
Our TeamOur StoryPracticesIndustriesOfficesNews & Knowledge
Contact
Contact Us
prenstrom@goldbergsegalla.com
415.432.6615
San Francisco
Practices
Toxic TortEnvironmental Law
Home
Our Team

Peter K. Renstrom

Partner

prenstrom@goldbergsegalla.com
415.432.6615
San Francisco

Peter K. Renstrom is an accomplished litigator who concentrates his practice on asbestos, toxic tort, product liability, and premises liability matters. He has managed complex civil litigation for more than 25 years, developing regional and national strategies for manufacturers, suppliers, premises owners, and contractors. He has taken on the role of national coordinating counsel for several clients. Peter handles all aspects of case management and analysis, from trial to appellate work. He develops and defends corporate witnesses and defense experts as well as deposing and cross-examining plaintiff medical and technical experts. He has tried cases throughout California and Washington.

Peter’s broad environmental experience includes defending cases of sick building syndrome, where plaintiffs who live or work in a particular building allege they have become ill or infected with a chronic disease because of the building. He has also defended manufacturers, distributors, property owners, and employers in California Proposition 65 matters in alleged cases of “failure to warn” consumers or employees of products, processes, or facilities that may expose individuals to chemicals “known to the state of California” to cause cancer or reproductive health issues.

Peter is frequently called upon to lecture for both national defense and plaintiff organizations. He is also the recipient of an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating through Martindale-Hubbell.

Related Areas

Toxic TortEnvironmental Law

Experience Highlights

Representative matters:

  • Robert Sisk, et al. v. Weir Valves: Obtained a favorable resolution before closing argument as the last remaining defendant during an all-remote trial. The plaintiff was a 79-year-old with mesothelioma and married for 60 years with a seven-figure economic damages claim involving a small number of defendants. This was the client’s first asbestos case; exposure to printing equipment was alleged.
  • Peter LaMonica, et al. v. Colgate-Palmolive Company: Secured a favorable resolution at end of the plaintiffs’ case-in-chief after two months of trial where the jury returned a $7 million verdict with no assignment of fault to the client. The plaintiff was a 72-year-old with mesothelioma with a wife of 50 years and a seven-figure economic damages claim with numerous low dose defendants at trial.
  • Bobbie and Helen Izell v. Union Carbide: Obtained a significantly reduced settlement by leveraging pre-trial motions to exclude plaintiff’s witnesses at opening statement. The plaintiff was an 85-year-old with mesothelioma with a wife of over 60 years with no economic damages going to verdict. The jury eventually returned a $30 million verdict against the remaining five defendants, which represented one of the largest plaintiff verdicts ever in the history of Los Angeles asbestos litigation.
  • John Brodeur v. Bowe Bell +Howell: Motion for nonsuit granted three weeks into trial in a case where the plaintiff claimed that he was injured through his work with an electronics equipment manufacturer.
  • Jack and Nadine Smith v. BNSF Railway Company: Secured a settlement for a significantly reduced amount during the plaintiff’s case-in-chief.
  • Anthony Chomo, et al. v. American Standard, Inc.: Secured a settlement in a living mesothelioma case in the middle of voir dire for a significantly reduced settlement amount.
  • Robert and Joan Guptill v. Bondex International, Inc.: Motion to dismiss granted after the plaintiff’s opening statement.
  • Marie Hutchinson v. Beazer East, Rowland Cox v. Beazer East: Secured a settlement on the third day of trial for a significantly reduced amount in two wrongful death consolidated cases.
  • Franz Losch, et al. v. A.W. Chesterton Company: Secured a settlement during voir dire for a much reduced settlement amount in a living mesothelioma case.
  • Frank and Mary Jo Meyers v. Bondex International, Inc.: Secured a settlement the night before opening statements for the lowest figure to date with this plaintiff’s firm in a living mesothelioma case.
  • Fernando Jauregui v. Valley Crest Tree Company: Obtained a defense verdict after a five-week jury trial after less than two hours of deliberations in a living mesothelioma case with a 27-year-old plaintiff. Retained to try the case just six weeks before trial commenced, assembling the experts and defense strategy from scratch. The plaintiff’s demand during trial was in the eight figures.
  • Arlen Branscum v. Foster Wheeler: Obtained a defense verdict 17 minutes after jury began deliberating.
  • Clarence Cunningham v. Asbestos Defendants: Secured a settlement for a nominal amount five days into the plaintiff’s case.
  • Brayton Group 70: Obtained dismissals for six of the 10 individual asbestosis cases during trial with the remaining four cases settling for significantly reduced amounts the night before closing arguments.

Honors & Awards

Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent

Admissions

  • California
  • U.S. District Courts for the Central, Eastern, and Northern Districts of California
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Education

  • University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, J.D., 1990
  • University of California, Santa Barbara, B.S., 1985

Professional Affiliations

  • Defense Research Institute
  • Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada

Publications & Events

  • “Talc Litigation Update,” (Co-Presenter), Emerging Risks CE/CLE, March 15, 2022

Recent Insights

Goldberg Segalla Expands into Northern California with the Addition of Five Veteran Litigators

November 15, 2021

Goldberg Segalla Logo - White and Red

Goldberg Segalla is a national civil litigation firm with more than 20 offices in 10 states spanning major metro markets across the U.S., providing strategic coverage wherever our clients do business. As a firm of experienced litigators and trial attorneys, our capabilities span business and commercial disputes, employment and labor, insurance coverage, product liability, and more. Today, our nearly 400 attorneys are trusted counselors to public and private clients in key sectors and industries including construction and energy, transportation, manufacturing, retail and hospitality, and insurance.

Subscribe

Attorney Advertising. © 2022 Goldberg Segalla. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Employee LoginCareersConnect with usPrivacy PolicyCalifornia Privacy PolicyLegal Disclaimer