Kathleen S. Kizer Associate kkizer@nixonpeabody.com 415-984-8295 Fax: 866-904-8531 San Francisco, CA Download vCard

Practice Areas

Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Antitrust
Appellate
Insurance Litigation

Experience

Kathleen Kizer is an attorney in Nixon Peabody LLP’s Business Litigation Practice Group. In addition to commercial litigation, she has experience litigating director and officer liability, and has experience with breach of duty in the context of reinsurance, insurance coverage and bad faith matters, fraud, antitrust litigation and compliance, and the appellate practice.

Recently, Ms. Kizer served as second chair at a six-month bench trial prosecuting breach of fiduciary duty claims against former directors and officers of an insolvent workers’ compensation insurer on behalf of the California Insurance Commissioner as liquidator of the company. The case concerned allegations of breach of duty by a ceding company to its reinsurers based on underwriting conduct. The trial included thousands of documentary exhibits and testimony by dozens of fact witnesses, five expert witnesses for the Commissioner and six expert witnesses for the defendants, including experts in the fields of workers comp underwriting, actuarial science, reinsurance arbitration, and accounting. Ms. Kizer was heavily involved in all phases of the case after the complaint was filed, including taking numerous depositions, working with experts, opposing dispositive motions, and preparing the case for trial.  The six month bench trial in 2008-2009 took place before L.A. Superior Court Judge Ronald Sohigian, and was followed by a favorable settlement after the case was submitted. Insurance Commissioner v. Rampino, et al., Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BC 357691 (2009).

Admissions

Ms. Kizer is admitted in California.

Education

University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D.
Emory University, Ph.D. in English
Georgetown University, A.B.; magna cum laude