Kevin F. Calcagnie

Income Partner

• “Lawyer of the Year” – OC Product Liability, Best Lawyers®
• “Attorney of the Year” – Appellate Law, California Lawyer Magazine
• “Top 50 Orange County” – Super Lawyers
• “Lawyer of the Year” – OC Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions, Best Lawyers®
•  “America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyers” – The Trial Lawyer Magazine
• “Best Lawyers in America” – Products Liability Litigation, Best Lawyers®
• “Attorney of the Year” – Toxic Tort, Daily Journal/California Lawyer
• “Trial Team of the Year” –  The Trial Lawyer Magazine
• “Top 100 Southern California” – Super Lawyers

Kevin F. Calcagnie is a partner in the Newport Beach office of Robinson Calcagnie‚ Inc.‚ specializing in civil litigation with an emphasis in products liability. He was admitted to the California Bar in 1983‚ and has been admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Ninth and Fifth Circuits. Kevin is listed in The Best Lawyers in America®, a peer-reviewed survey listing outstanding attorneys throughout the United States, and was named the Best Lawyers® 2018 Product Liability Litigation “Plaintiffs Lawyer of the Year” in Orange County, California. He was also named the Best Lawyers® 2017 Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions “Plaintiffs Lawyer of the Year.” Kevin has been listed for several years by the attorney rating service Super Lawyers, and has been named in the Super Lawyers Top 50 Orange County and Top 100 Southern California lists. In 2015 he was named by The Trial Lawyer Magazine in its annual list of “America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyers.” In 2009, and again in 2018, he was honored as a recipient of one of the California Lawyer Attorney of the Year Awards, and in 2011 he was inducted into the Western State University Alumni Hall of Fame. He has an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards under the national legal directory’s peer review system.

He was one of the lead attorneys representing the County of Los Angeles in its suit against several tobacco manufacturers‚ which resulted in a settlement under which the County will receive approximately $2.5 billion over 25 years. He also served as associate counsel with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office in the prosecution of actions against oil companies arising from underground storage tank leakage, and in actions brought on behalf of the People of the State of California against major automobile manufacturers under California’s unfair competition and false advertising laws. Kevin has tried cases in California‚ Arizona and Texas‚ and has acted as counsel pro hac vice in state and federal courts in several other states. He was a member of the trial team in Echeverria v. Johnson & Johnson, which resulted in a $417 million jury verdict in 2017. He was also co-counsel in Ketchum vs. Hyundai‚ which resulted in a $15 million jury verdict‚ as well as In re Aircrash in Bali‚ Indonesia‚ where a jury in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles found Pan American World Airways liable for willful misconduct in the crash of a jet airliner.

Kevin has three decades of experience in automotive products liability litigation relating to fuel system design‚ rollover protection‚ structural crashworthiness‚ dynamic stability and occupant restraint systems. He also has a broad range of experience in mass tort litigation involving pharmaceuticals‚ medical devices and other defective products‚ in both federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) and California Coordinated Proceedings (JCCP). Kevin has also represented a number of clients in connection with commercial and military aviation accidents‚ including crashes involving EgyptAir‚ Alaska Airlines‚ Pan Am‚ U.S. Marine Corps helicopters and ultralight aircraft.

For several years he taught as an adjunct professor at the University of California‚ Irvine School of Law‚ and he has been a frequent lecturer and writer on topics related to civil litigation for a number of organizations‚ including the American Bar Association‚ the Practicing Law Institute‚ the American Association for Justice‚ the Orange County Bar Association‚ the Western Trial Lawyers Association‚ the Consumer Attorneys of California‚ the Ventura County Trial Lawyers Association‚ the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association‚ the Montana Trial Lawyers Association, and the Continuing Education of the Bar. He has been a member of the Executive Council of the College of Business and Economics at California State University, Fullerton‚ has served for many years as a member of the Council’s Advisory Board‚ and is a Founding Fellow of the Orange County Bar Foundation Society of Fellows.

In 1997, Kevin was elected to the Board of Governors of the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC)‚ and served for several years as a member of the At-Large Board of Governors. He received CAOC’s Presidential Award of Merit in 1994‚ 1995‚ 1996 and 2000. He also served as the organization’s Education Chair and as Editor-in-Chief of FORUM Magazine‚ a monthly publication of CAOC.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and Finance from California State University at Fullerton‚ and a Juris Doctor degree from Western State University College of Law‚ where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Western State University Law Review. Kevin and his wife Peggy live in Coto de Caza‚ California. Their daughter Kelly is also a graduate of Cal State Fullerton‚ and their son Sean is a graduate of USC and a former wide receiver for the Trojans.

From 1995 to 2019 Kevin authored a regular feature for CAOC’s FORUM Magazine, updating attorneys, legislators and judges on recent opinions from the California Supreme Court and courts of appeal. He assisted the Judicial Council Task Force on Jury Instructions in the preparation of the Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI), and has been a contributing editor to three practice guides for attorneys, including California Practice Guide: Civil Procedure Before Trial, Claims and Defenses (The Rutter Group 2012); Products Liability Litigation: Product Studies, Clark Boardman Callaghan (1996); and A Guide to Toxic Torts, Matthew Bender & Company (1987).

He has also authored or co-authored a number of articles relating to civil practice, including:

“Apex Discovery: Why Top Level Executives Are Not Immune from Deposition,” FORUM, Consumer Attorneys of California, November/December 2016.

“Anticipating Daubert Challenges: Potential Attacks and Some Persuasive Authorities,” FORUM, Consumer Attorneys of California, March/April 2015.

“Roadway Design Litigation: A Legal Overview,” THE GAVEL, Orange County Trial Lawyers Association, Winter 2014.

“Strengthen Your Case With Other Similar Incidents‚” TRIAL‚ Journal of the American Association for Justice‚ July 2013.

“OSI Evidence In Products Liability Litigation‚” THE GAVEL‚ Orange County Trial Lawyers Association‚ Spring 2013.

“Relevance and Admissibility of Evidence of Other Incidents‚ Accidents and Product Failures in Products Liability Litigation‚” 42 Idaho Trial Lawyers Association Journal 1; FORUM‚ Consumer Attorneys of California‚ October 2012.

“Admissibility of Foreign Regulatory Activities in Pharmaceutical Litigation‚” FORUM‚ Consumer Attorneys of California‚ July 2011.

“Catalyst for Change: How Products Liability Litigation Has Made Products Safer‚” ADVOCATE‚ Journal of Consumer Attorneys Associations for Southern California‚ March 2010.

“A Catalyst for Safety‚” TRIAL‚ Journal of the American Association for Justice‚ November 2009.

“The Noerr-Pennington Doctrine: Defective Products and the First Amendment‚” FORUM‚ Consumer Attorneys of California‚ May 2008.

“Prescription Drug Overpromotion: How Marketing‚ Sales and Profit Evidence Can Affect Critical Issues of Warnings and Causation‚” ADVOCATE‚ Journal of Consumer Attorneys Associations for Southern California‚ February 2007.

“The ABC’s of School Liability in California: A Primer for Lawyers‚ School Districts and Educators‚” FORUM‚ Consumer Attorneys of California‚ March 2006.

“Vioxx and the Learned Intermediary Defense‚” Drug Recall Litigation Reporter‚ Andrews Publications‚ February 2005.

“Inertial Unlatching of Defectively Designed Seat Belts‚” FORUM‚ Consumer Attorneys of California‚ October 2004.

“Post-sale Duties to Warn‚ Recall and Retrofit Defective Products‚” ADVOCATE‚ Journal of Consumer Attorneys Associations for Southern California‚ July 2003.

“Selection of Experts in Auto Crashworthiness Cases‚” THE BRIEF‚ American Bar Association‚ Summer 2002.

“The Buckman Defense: Evidence of a Defendant’s Misrepresentations to a Government Agency Is Admissible to Prove State Tort Claims‚” FORUM‚ Consumer Attorneys of California‚ July/August 2002.

“Pharmaceutical Litigation: Choosing Between MDL’s and Coordinated State Litigation‚” FORUM‚ Consumer Attorneys of California‚ November 2001.

“To Join an MDL. . . or Not‚” TRIAL‚ Association of Trial Lawyers of America‚ July 2001.

“Vehicle Roof Crush Persists During Rollover Crashes‚” TRIAL‚ Association of Trial Lawyers of America‚ August 2000.

“Dangerous and Defective Roof Structures: Why Most Cars Are Not Crashworthy in Rollover Accidents‚” FORUM‚ Consumer Attorneys of California‚ March 2000.

“Defective Automobile Seats‚” FORUM‚ Consumer Attorneys of California‚ Jan./Feb.‚ 1999.

“Rear-impact Collisions Expose Seat Defects‚” TRIAL‚ Association of Trial Lawyers of America‚ March 1999.

“The Learned-Intermediary Doctrine in Fen-Phen Litigation‚” Fen-Phen Litigation Strategist‚ September 1998.

“The Case Against Nicotine‚” TRIAL‚ Association of Trial Lawyers of America‚ September 1997.

“Automotive Fuel System Crashworthiness Litigation‚” FORUM‚ Consumer Attorneys of California‚ January 1997.

“Fuel System Litigation: The Crashworthiness Angle‚” TRIAL‚ Association of Trial Lawyers of America‚ November 1996.

“Selection of Experts in Auto Crashworthiness Cases‚” TRIAL‚ Association of Trial Lawyers of America‚ May 1995.

“Selection of Experts in Auto Crashworthiness Cases‚” FORUM‚ California Trial Lawyers Association‚ September 1994.

“Roadway Design Litigation: Essential Statutory and Decisional Law‚” FORUM‚ California Trial Lawyers Association‚ November 1994.

“Occupant Restraint System Litigation‚” FORUM‚ California Trial Lawyers Association‚ October 1993.

“Breast Implant Litigation: Maintaining a Strict Liability Cause of Action‚” FORUM‚ California Trial Lawyers Association‚ 1993.

“Discovery Relating to Other Products‚ Complaints‚ Injuries and Subsequent Conduct‚” Western State University Consumer Law Journal‚ 1993.

“Discovery Relating to Other Products‚ Complaints‚ Injuries and Subsequent Conduct‚ ”  FORUM‚ California Trial Lawyers Association‚ 1992.

“Punitive Damages in Automobile Products Cases‚” Emerging Issues in Automobile Product Liability Litigation ‚ The American Bar Association‚ 1992.

“Overcoming Defenses of Alteration‚ Misuse and Superseding Causes‚” FORUM‚ California Trial Lawyers Association‚ April 1991.