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Peter N. Swisher

Professor of Law

Office: Room 109
Tel. (804) 289-8206
Fax (804) 289-8683
pswisher@richmond.edu

Courses Taught: Insurance Law; Torts; Family Law; Advanced Family Law

Education

J.D., University of California, Hastings College of Law (1973)

M.A., Stanford University (1967)

B.A., Amherst College (1966).

Professional Experience

University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VA
Professor of Law, 1982-present;
Associate Professor of Law, 1977 - 1982;
Assistant Professor of Law, 1974-77

Selected Publications and Presentations

Insurance Law and Tort Law

Co-Author, Principles Of Insurance Law, Third Revised Edition (Lexis/Nexis 2006)

Co-Author,Principles Of Insurance Law, Second Edition (Matthew Bender, 1994)

Co-Author, Principles Of Insurance Law (Matthew Bender, 1986)

Judicial Rationales in Insurance Law: Dusting Off the Formal for the Function, 52 Ohio St. L.J. 1037 (1991)

Judicial Interpretations of Insurance Contract Disputes: Toward a Realistic Middle Ground Approach, 57 Ohio St. L.J. 544 (1996)

Symposium Introduction: The Insurance Law Doctrine of Reasonable Expectations After Three Decades, 5 Conn. Ins. L.J. 1(1998-99)

A Realistic Consensus Approach to the Insurance Law Doctrine of Reasonable Expectations 35 Tort & Ins. L.J. 729 (2000).

Insurance Causation Issues: The Legacy of Bird v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 2 Nev L. J. 351 (2002) (Insurance Symposium issue)

Insurance Binders Revisited 39 Tort Trial & Ins. Prac. L.J. 1011 (2004).

The Insurable Interest Requirement For Life Insurance: A Critical Reassessment 53 Drake L. Rev. 477 (2005), reprinted in 55 Defense L.J. 527 (2006), reprinted in 5 ICFAI J. of Insurance L. 41 (2007) [Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India].

Causation Requirements in Tort and Insurance Law Practice: Demystifying Some Legal Causation Riddles, 43 Tort Trial & Insurance Prac. L.J. 1 (2007).

Proposed Legislation: A (Second) Modest Proposal to Protect Virginia Consumers Against Defective Products, 43 U. Rich. L. Rev. 19 (2008).

Chapter 27, Settlement of Uninsured Motorist Claims, in No Fault And Uninsured Motorists Automobile Insurance (Matthew Bender, 1984).

Chapter 20, Death Actions in Frumer & Friedman's Products Liability Law (Matthew Bender, 1990 rev. ed.)

Virginia And West Virginia Wrongful Death Actions (Harrison Company, 1985 and 1994 Cumulative Supplement) .

Virginia And West Virginia Wrongful Death Actions With Forms, Second Edition(Harrison Company 1996).

Author and Lecturer, Recent Developments in Products Liability Law, presented to the Judicial Institute, Charlottesville, Virginia (June, 1990).

Products Liability Tort Reform: Why Virginia Should Adopt the Henderson Twerski Proposed Revision of Section 402A, Restatement (Second) of Torts 27 U. Rich. L. Rev. 857 (1993).

Co-Author, Legal and Risk Management Issues Surrounding Managed Care in Textbook On Critical Care (4th ED. 1999) (with Karen Swisher) .

Co-Author,Virginia Tort And Personal Injury Law (Thomson-West, 2007).

Chair, Insurance Law Section, Association of American Law Schools (1997-98).

Expert Witness in Insurance Cases (selected)

Stellute v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Ins. Co. (E.D. VA. 1999)
Expert witness for defendant insurance company in a homeowner/workers compensation insurance coverage dispute. Case dismissed in favor of insurer.

Brown v. Security Conn. Life Ins. Co. (W.D. VA. 2001)
Expert witness for plaintiff insured in a conditional receipt life insurance coverage dispute. Case settled prior to trial in favor of insured.

SR Int'l Bus. Co. v. World Trade Center Properties (S.D.N.Y 2002)
Expert witness (deposed) for St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co., one of 22 insurance companies involved in the World Trade Center property insurance coverage dispute. Summary judgment awarded to St. Paul. (See: World Trade Center Properties v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co., 345 F.3d 154 (2d Cir. 2003).

Pishky v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Ins. Co. (E.D. VA 2003)
Expert witness for defendant insurance company in a homeowners property insurance coverage dispute. Case settled prior to trial for nominal damages.

Martirosov v. Shenandoah Flight Services Inc. (Cir. Ct. Rockingham Co., VA 2004)
Expert witness for plaintiff insured in a wrongful death aviation insurance lawsuit. Summary judgment awarded to plaintiff insured.

Lee v. American Memorial Life Ins. Co. (Cir. Ct. Jefferson Co., KY 2005)
Expert witness for defendant insurer in pre-need funeral insurance case involving bad-faith coverage issues. This case went to trial and was settled prior to insurer's motion for a directed verdict and prior to a jury verdict.

Cantu v. Household Life Ins. Co. (Dist. Ct., AZ. 2005), Expert witness for defendant insurer in a group life credit insurance coverage dispute with bad faith allegations. This case was settled prior to trial.

Hanby v. Hanania (Cir. Ct., Montgomery County, MD. 2007), Expert witness for law firm in a legal malpractice/property insurance coverage dispute. Summary judgment awarded to law firm.

Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. v. Aon Corp ( Cir. Ct., City of Chesapeake, VA 2007) Expert witness for broker Aon in a worker's compensation coverage dispute. Summary judgment was awarded to Aon.

Molina v. Household Lif Ins. Co., (Superior Ct., Pima Co. AZ 2009) Expert witness for defendant insurer in a group life credit insurance coverage dispute with bad faith allegations. I was deposed in this case and testified at trial. Jury verdict was for the defendant insurer.

Family Law/ Domestic Relations

Co-Author, Family Law: Cases, Materials, And Problems, Second Edition (Matthew Bender, 1998)

Co-Author,Family Law: Cases, Materials, And Problems (Matthew Bender, 1990)

Co-Author, Virginia Family Law: Theory And Practice (Harrison Company, 1991)

Co-Author, Virginia Practice: Family Law (Thomson-West, 2004-present)

Co-Author, Virginia Family Law: Theory And Practice, Second Edition (Harrison Company, 1997)

Co-Author, Virginia Family Law: Theory And Practice, Third Edition (Harrison Company, 2002)

Co-Author, Understanding Family Law (Matthew Bender, 1993)

Co-Author, Understanding Family Law, Second Edition(Matthew Bender 2001)

Co-Author, Understanding Family Law, Third Edition(Lexis-Nexis 2005)

Co-Author, Chapter 62, Nondivorce Support and Property Rights in Family Law And Practice (Matthew Bender, revised ed. 1994)

Marriage and Some Troubling Issues With No-Fault Divorce, 17 Regent U. L. Rev. 243 (2005) (symposium issue).

Co-Author, The Last-in-Time Marriage Presumption, 29 Fam. L.Q. 409 (1995).

Co-Author, Bottoms v. Bottoms: In Whose Best Interest ? Analysis of a Lesbian Mother Child Custody Dispute, 34 J. Fam. L. 843 (1996)

Reassessing Fault Factors In No-Fault Divorce, 31 Fam. L. Q. 269 (1997)

The ALI Principles: A Farewell to Fault--But What Remedy for the Egregious Marital Misconduct of An Abusive Spouse, 8 Duke J. of Gender L. & Policy 213 (2001)

Foreign Migratory Divorces: A Reappraisal, 21 J. Fam. L. 9 (1982)

Divorce Planning in Antenuptial Agreements: Toward a New Objectivity, 13 U. Rich. L. Rev. 175 (1979)

Proving the Validity of Marriage, 43 Va Lawyer 29 (December, 1994)

Teaching Legal Reasoning in Law School, 74 L. Lib. J. 534 (1981)

Techniques of Legal Drafting: A Survival Manual, 15 U. Rich. L. Rev. 873 (1981), reprinted in 31 Law Review Digest 4 (1982)

Editor, Family Law News,a quarterly publication of the Virginia State Bar (1982-1990)

Editor, AALS Family Law Section Newsletter, a publication of the Family Law Section, American Association of Law Schools (1992-93)

Secretary-Treasurer, AALS , Family and Juvenile Law Section (1992-93)

Chair-Elect and Program Chair, AALS Family and Juvenile Law Section (1993-94)

Chair, AALS Family and Juvenile Law Section (1994-95)

Member, Board of Governors, Family Law Section of the Virginia State Bar (1982 1990, 1993-1997)

Author and Lecturer, Recent Developments in Domestic Relations Law, presented to the Judicial Institute, Charlottesville, Va. (1992 and 1996)

Lecturer at the Judicial Institute Pre-Bench Orientation Program, Charlottesville, Va. in Domestic Relations Law (1992-present)

A.B.A. Trained Mediator and Arbitrator (1984-present)
Volunteer Mediator and Arbitrator, Dispute Resolution Center (1988-present), Richmond, Va.

Domestic Relations Lecturer, BAR/BRI Bar Review Course (Washington D.C. and Charlottesville, Williamsburg, and Richmond, Va.) (1984-2003)

Law School, University, and Community Activities

University Honors and Activities

1994 and 2002 University of Richmond Distinguished Educator Award

Former Chair and Member, University Committee on Committees

Former Chair, University Planning and Priorities Committee, Program Improvements Subcommittee

Former Chair and Member, Honorary Degree Committee

Law School Activities

Former Chair and Member, Law School Admissions and Financial Aid Committee

Former Chair and Member, Promotion & Tenure Committee

Member, Law School Executive Committee

Member, Law School Curriculum and Strategic Planning Committee

Former Chair and Member, Promotion and Tenure Committee

Faculty Advisor, P.A.D. Legal Fraternity

Faculty Advisor, J.D./M.H.A. Joint Degree Program

Faculty Advisor, Health Law Forum

National and Community Activities

Court Reporter for Civil Cases, Virginia Court of Appeals (2008 - present)

Secretary-Treasurer, AALS Family Law Section (1992-93)

Chair-Elect, AALS Family Law Section (1993-94)

Chair, AALS Family Law Section (1994-95)

Secretary-Treasurer, AALS Insurance Law Section (1994-95)

Chair-Elect, AALS Insurance Law Section (1996-97)

Chair, AALS Insurance Law Section (1997-98)

Member of the Family Law Section Board of Governors of the Virginia State Bar and Former Editor of the Virginia Family Law Section Newsletter (1980-1990, 1993-97)

Member, Domestic Relations Council, Virginia Bar Association

Member, ABA Section on Family Law; and ABA Section on Tort and Insurance Law

Member, AALS Sections on Family Law, Insurance Law, and Tort Law

Volunteer Mediator and Arbitrator, Richmond Dispute Resolution Center

Former Secretary and Former Member of the Board of Directors, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central Virginia

Member, Board of Directors, Deep Run Hunt Club, Inc

Member, AALS House of Representatives

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