Laura Nash

Full Profile

Laura Nash has over 30 years of experience representing surety clients in the evaluation, resolution, and litigation of a variety of surety matters, including public and private payment and performance bonds, subdivision bonds, fiduciary bonds, civil litigation bonds, and license and permit bonds. She has also advised surety clients on regulatory matters.

Laura works with the Alliance for Children’s Rights, providing legal representation to caregivers willing to care for minors whose parents cannot care for them by establishing them as the minors’ legal guardians.

Admissions

• California
• US Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
• US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
• US Court of Federal Claims
• US District Courts of Central, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of California

Education

• J.D., University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1988
• B.A., cum laude, Loyola Marymount University

Memberships

• American Bar Association (Tort and Insurance Practice Section and Fidelity and Surety Law Committee)
• State Bar of California

Experience

• Great West Contractors, Inc. v. WSS Industrial Construction, Inc., 162 Cal.App.4th 581 (Cal.App. 2008) - Defended surety against a claim by a contractor seeking payment under a statutory public works payment bond. The Court of Appeal ruled that plaintiff's failure to comply with the strict licensing requirements imposed by statute on California contractors precluded the plaintiff from recovering in the action. Based upon the ruling, the surety had no liability to the plaintiff.

• Nissho of California, Inc. v. Bond Safeguard Insurance Co., 220 Cal.App.4th 974 (Cal.App. 2013) - Represented Amicus Curiae, a surety trade association, concerning a claim by a landscape contractor seeking payment on seven statutory subdivision map act labor and material bonds regardless of the scope of work delineated in the titles of the labor and material bonds. The Court of Appeal agreed with Amicus Curiae that the landscape contractor’s recovery was limited to the one bond for offsite landscaping. The trial court award to the landscape contractor was reversed and remanded with directions for the trial court to determine the amount of damages the landscape contractor could prove limited to the penal sum of the single landscape labor and material bond. The Court of Appeal further agreed with Amicus Curiae that subcontractors do not have a right to recover attorney fees under labor and material bonds issued pursuant to the California Subdivision Map Act, affirming the trial court’s judgment denying the landscape contractor’s motion for attorney fees.

• Defeated motion for judgment on the pleadings and motion for summary judgment in fraud action brought on behalf of insurer in fraud action against former insured arising from the former insured’s misrepresentations to gain coverage on a USD 1 million crime policy.

• Successfully recovered over USD 7 million on a USD 10 million fidelity policy loss arising from an employee embezzlement.
• Successfully secured for client the bulk of assets available for recovery by obtaining pre-judgment lien early in litigation against guarantors thereby preserving available assets and putting the client in a priority position over competing creditors.
• After obtaining a USD 2.4 million judgment in favor of client, successfully defeated the defendants’ efforts to overturn the summary judgment order and resulting judgment via objections to the order, objections to the judgment and a motion to set aside and vacate the judgment.
• Obtained legal guardianship for multiple caregivers of children whose parents cannot care for them on a pro bono basis.
• Successfully defended or obtained settlements to mitigate loss of numerous stop payment notice and payment bond claim lawsuits for surety client, securing construction project contract balances to offset surety losses on a multi-project default situation.
• Representation of surety client in efforts to secure recovery of USD 22 million loss arising from the 2015 oil spill which deposited 142,800 gallons of crude oil near Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara, California.

Publications

• Co-author, “The Law of Commercial Surety and Miscellaneous Bonds,” Third Edition, Ch. 17 Lost Instrument Bonds, 2022