Partners:

Steven H. Gurnee

Since his admission to the California Bar in 1975, Mr. Gurnee has focused on civil trial work, primarily from the defense perspective. He has a wide range of jury trial experience in high exposure cases involving professional negligence, employment, products and public entity liability, construction defects, flood fire and agriculture losses, and general personal injury. He is known as an expert in the defense of funeral and cemetery claims and serves as California litigation counsel for the world's largest funeral provider.

Mr. Gurnee received his undergraduate education at the University of California Santa Barbara, the Université d' Aix-Marseilles, France, and the University of California San Diego (B.A. 1971), and his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco (J.D. 1975). After many years as a partner with Sacramento's Bolling, Walter and Gawthrop and, later, as resident partner in charge of Ropers, Majeski, Kohn & Bentley's Sacramento office, he established his own firm in Sacramento in January 1996. The firm relocated to Roseville in 1998.

Mr. Gurnee not only is rated "AV" by Martindale-Hubbell, but also was named the 2007 Trial Lawyer of the Year by of the Sacramento Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates "ABOTA." He has been a member of ABOTA since 1990 , and is also a member of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA), the Defense Research Institute (DRI) and the local bar association of Placer and Sacramento Counties. An active member of the Association of Defense Council of Northern California (ADC) since 1978, Mr. Gurnee served as a member of its Board of Directors and as that group's senior advisor. As an active, instrument-rated pilot, he is also a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA).

Mr. Gurnee has wide experience and specialized training in alternative dispute resolution and is frequently appointed as an arbitrator, mediator and settlement judge pro tempore. He frequently lectures to bar groups, other lawyer and client trade association on trail practice techniques, claims avoidance, employment and management issues and new development in the law. Mr. Gurnee has been retained on cases filed in courts located throughout the State of California and beyond included the State of Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Florida and Texas.

As founder of the firm, Mr. Gurnee takes great pride in the wealth of talent, skill and experience reflected by the attorneys at Gurnee & Daniels.

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David M. Daniels

David Daniels was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1994. Since then, he has practiced exclusively in the field of civil litigation primarily from the defense perspective. He has a wide range of experience in courts throughout California, in cases involving professional negligence, product liability, medical malpractice, employment law, construction defects, business transactions and general personal injury.

Mr. Daniels is a native of Sacramento. He graduated from Santa Clara University in June 1987 with a bachelors of science in combined Sciences (emphasis in Chemistry and Biology). Following graduation, he became a sales representative with Marion Merrell Dow, Inc., managing the sales and use of pharmaceutical products and designing and implementing research protocols for teaching hospitals in Arizona and New Mexico.

In 1993, Mr. Daniels graduated from the Crieghton University School of Law, Omaha, Nebraska, where he received Honors for "Outstanding Service to the Community" and the Christian Leadership Award for "Outstanding Leadership to the Students."

In 1994, Mr. Daniels joined the Sacramento firm of Duncan, Ball, Evans & Ubaldi, specializing in complex automobile liability and construction liability.

He is a Judge Pro Tem in El Dorado and Placer Counties. He joined the law offices of Steven H. Gurnee & Associates in July 2000, and in January 2003, was named partner. He continues to specialize in the representation of defendants in complex construction defect litigation, employment law, business transactions and other professional liability matters.

Mr. Daniels is admitted to the practice before all courts in the State of California. Mr. Daniels is a member of the Association of Defense Council of Northern California, the Association of Defense Trail Attorneys, the American Bar Association, and the Sacramento and Placer County Bar Association.

Published Cases:

• Mills v. Forestex Co., (2003) 108 Cal.App.4th 625, 134 Cal.Rptr.2d 273
• Taylor v. Roseville Toyota, (2006) 138 Cal.App. 4th 994, 42 Cal.Rptr. 3d 68.

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John A. Mason

John Mason received his Bachelor of Science Degree with high honors from the University of California, Berkeley in 1988, and his Juris Doctor from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1993. During law school, he was a member of the 1992-93 Moot Court Honors Board.

Prior to entering the practice of law, Mr. Mason served as a Consultant to the California State Assembly, Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.

From 1993 through 1995, Mr. Mason was an attorney with the Sacramento based law firm of Duncan, Ball, Evans & Ubaldi. In 1996, he joined the Law Offices of Douglas P. Adams where he maintained a civil litigation, trial and appellate practice defending insurance carriers, self - insured organizations, public entities, corporate clients, non-profit and individuals. In 1999, he became a shareholder and the firm name was changed to Adams & Mason, Inc., and then to Adams, Mason & Corzine in 2002. In December 2003, Mr. Mason joined the law offices of Gurnee & Daniels, LLP, and in January 2007 became a partner in the firm. His practice focuses on defending class actions, unfair business practices claims and other complex civil litigation matters.

Mr. Mason is rated "BV" by Martindale-Hubbell and is a member of the State Bar of California, the Sacramento and Placer County Bar Associations, the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California, and the Northern California Fraud Investigators Association. He is admitted to practice in all California state courts, as well as the Northern, Eastern and Central Districts of the United States District Court in California and the 9 th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

Mr. Mason regularly serves as Judge Pro Team in Sacramento and Placer Counties. A graduate of the Leadership Roseville program, he was recently appointed to the City of Roseville's Growth Management Visioning Committee. He is also a current member of the Government Relations Committee of the Roseville Chamber of Commerce and from 1998 through 2002, served as President of the Board of Directors for the Sacramento S.P.C.A.

Published Cases:

• Savnik v. Hall (1999) 74 Cal.App.4th 733, 88 Cal.Rptr.2d 417.
• Patterson v. Sacramento City Unified School Dist. (2007) 155 Cal.App.4th 821.

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Of-Counsel:

Jerry M. Duncan

Since his admission to the Bar in 1967, Mr. Duncan has practiced all areas of civil defense litigation, including personal injury, mass tort, construction defect, medical malpractice, and employment discrimination. He is also an experienced insurance coverage attorney. He has handled 70 jury trials throughout Northern California from 1969 through the present.

Mr. Duncan is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where he received his Bachelor's of Arts Degree in 1964. He received his Juris Doctor in 1967 from Hastings College of the Law. He was a Participant and Publications Editor for the Hasting Law Review, from 1965 through 1967. From 1967 through 1969, he was in the United States Army, and from 1970 through 1993, he was in the California Army National Guard. He retired as a Colonel in 1993.

Mr. Duncan was a founding member of the Sacramento based law firm of Duncan, Ball & Evans, where he worked from 1980 through early 2006. He rated "AV" by Martindale-Hubbell, and is a member of the Sacramento County Bar Association, the State Bar of California, the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California, and the Defense Research Institute of Northern California. He also regularly serves as a pro tem Settlement Conference judge/ADR provider in local civil venues. Mr. Duncan joined Gurnee & Daniels as "Of Counsel" in 2006.

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Associates:

Nicholas P. Forestiere

Nicholas Forestiere was admitted to the California State Bar in1986. He is an esteemed litigation and business attorney with a wide range of experience before trial and appellate courts in California.

Mr. Forestiere's litigation expertise includes all aspects of construction, complex business and commercial litigation, professional negligence, employment law, class actions, insurance coverage and bad faith, commercial landlord/tenants, property damage, debt collections, creditor rights, bankruptcy, workers' compensation, insurance premiums and ratings, cemetery law and personal injury disputes. Several national, state and local banks and business have retained Mr. Forestiere concerning there daily operations. He represented California Insurance Commissioner regarding debt collection and asset liquidation. He has substantial experience in businesses formations, organizations, the purchase and sale of business and operational matters. He is also a California State Bar Special Master, and he has served as a pro temp judge, small claims court judge, arbitrator and settlement conference judge.

Mr. Forestiere started his legal career working for prominent insurance defense and business litigation law firms before opening his own successful law practice for eight years with offices in Sacramento and Fresno. Mr. Forestiere subsequently joined California's largest, private workers' compensation insurance carrier, as counsel responsible for opening and managing its Northern California legal office. As an adjunct faculty member at Fresno City College, Mr. Forestiere taught several legal and business classes and was lecture on the legal topics for the California CPA Exam Review Course.

Mr. Forestiere received his Bachelor of Arts from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo (1982), with honors, and received the Outstanding Graduating Senior Award for Contribution to the University. He obtained his law degree from the University to the Pacific McGeorge School of Law (1986) where he was Editor-In-Chief of a six-volume legal treatise on California's civil procedure and forms. He was also a judicial intern for the Sacramento Municipal and Superior Courts assisting with law and motion research and the rewriting of its local courts rules. Mr. Forestiere joined the firm in January, 2003.

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Toby M. Magarian

Toby Magarian graduated from the University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Political Science in 1984. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1987. Mr. Magarian was admitted to the California State Bar in 1987.

After several years practicing as a litigator in the Bay Area concentrating in the areas of construction defect, toxic torts and product liability defense, Mr. Magarian moved to the Sacramento area in 1998, continuing his focus in complex civil litigation including construction defect, product liability, personal injury as well as complex commercial and unfair competition litigation. He has successfully represented clients at trial, arbitration and mediation. In construction related matters he has successfully represented developers, manufactures, general contractors and a variety of trades in complex litigation and binding arbitration.

Mr. Magarian joined Gurnee & Daniels, LLP in 2003, where he continues to concentrate on construction defects, product liability, personal injury as well as complex commercial litigation. He represented clients in litigation throughout the West Coast. He is admitted to practice in all trail and appellate courts in California and the United States District Court, Northern, Eastern and Central Districts.

Mr. Magarian is a member of the Placer County Bar Association, the Sacramento County Bar Association and the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California. He also currently serves as a Commissioner of the Architectural Review Commission of a local city.

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Ellen C. Arabian-Lee

Ellen Arabian-Lee received her Bachelor's of Arts degree in English (cum laude) from Santa Clara University in 1987, and her Juris Doctor degree from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1990. She was a judicial intern at the California Court of Appeals 6th Appellate District for the Honorable Justice Patricia Bamattre-Manoukian. She was also an Associate Editor of Santa Clara University's Computer and High Technology Law Journal. She is admitted to practice before all state and federal trial and appellate courts in California.

From 1999 through 2005, Ms. Arabian was a partner at the law firm of Lanahan & Reilley LLP. She joined Gurnee and Daniels LLP in 2006.

Ms. Arabian-Lee is an experienced litigator who has handled mediations, arbitrations and trials in both State and Federal Court. She has experience defending private clients, insurance companies, public entities, non-profits, retail stores and self-insured entities against property damage, construction defect, personal injury and products liability claims. She is also experienced in insurance coverage issues.

Ms. Arabian-Lee has handled numerous employment law matters in the areas of wrongful termination, sexual harassment, retaliation, discrimination and ADA alleged violations. She provides regulatory compliance service to private and corporate clients, on-site seminars for management teams, and she drafts, edits and revises employee handbooks and other essential corporate records.

Ms. Arabian-Lee is an experienced mediator/settlement conference Judge Pro Tem for El Dorado County. In addition, she is a member of the State Bar of California and the Sacramento Bar Association. From 1992-1994, she was a member of the Anthony M. Kennedy Inn of Court.

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