PARTNER
Mr. Rasmussen joined McCormick Barstow’s Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Litigation Practice Group in 2012.
Nicholas H. Rasmussen
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Rasmussen served as a research clerk to Professor D. Bruce La Pierre, Professor of Constitutional Law. Mr. Rasmussen also conducted supervised appellate practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit with the Washington University Appellate Clinic. Since joining the firm, Mr. Rasmussen’s practice has focused on insurance coverage addressing general liability, motor carrier, personal lines, and public entity coverages, as well as complex coverage disputes and litigation in both State and Federal Courts throughout California.
Mr. Rasmussen is admitted to practice before all California State Courts, as well as the United States District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Central, and Southern Districts of California.
Juris Doctor, 2012 (with distinction)
Washington University in St. Louis School of Law
Washington University Appellate Clinic
Executive Articles Editor, Washington University Global Studies Law Review
Department of Political Science, 2004-2005
State University of New York, Stony Brook
Presidential Fellowship
Bachelor of Arts, History, Political Science and Government, 2004 (with honors)
University of California, San Diego
Provost’s Honors, Revelle College
Mr. Rasmussen has provided coverage analysis and opinions in complex and high-value claims in a variety of fields, including commercial general liability, commercial auto, trucking, workers’ compensation, EPLI, and personal lines including both auto, high-value homeowners’ coverages and other specialty policies. Mr. Rasmussen has also advised a number of public entity risk-pools.
Mr. Rasmussen has also represented insurers in bad faith litigation in both California state and Federal District Courts, including both trial and appeals.
Mr. Rasmussen is a member of the State Bar of California, the Federal Bar Association, and the Fresno County Bar Association. Mr. Rasmussen is also a Member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Defense Counsel for Northern California and Nevada, as well as Co-Chair of the Association’s Insurance Sub-Committee.
Community Involvement
Mr. Rasmussen serves on the Board of Directors of the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra.
Reported Cases
Courts of Appeals
Swinerton Builders v. Fresno Plumbing & Heating (2018) 2018 WL 3640722 Indemnity agreement enforceable against non-negligent subcontractor.
Mercury Ins. Co. v. Chartis Property Casualty Company (2018) 2018 WL 739755 Insurance Code section 11580.9(d) applies to require excess insurer to pay before insurer of permissive user covered under primary auto policy extending coverage to “non-owned” autos on an excess basis.
Taylor v. Dormire, 690 F.3d 898 (8th Cir. 2012) (successful representation of prisoner asserting §1983 claims, obtaining reversal of trial court judgment and remand for new trial).
Kaden v. Slykhuis, 651 F.3d 966 (8th Cir. 2011) (successful representation of prisoner asserting First Amendment and §1983 claims reversing lower court’s dismissal).
U.S. District Court
Mark Tarakanov, et al. v. Lexington Insurance Company, 441 F.Supp.3d 887 (N.D.Cal. 2020) (granting dismissal of claims for breach of contract and bad faith on the ground that clear and unambiguous policy language limited insurer’s obligation to pay code upgrade or extended replacement costs until the insured had repaired or rebuilt the insured structure).
Publications and Lectures
California Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters – 2018 SEED/Earthquake and SIU Training, Lecturer: California SIU Regulations and Earthquake Mediation Program
“Tools, Rules and Fools: Civil Investigation of Suspected Insurance Fraud,” Western States Auto Theft Investigators Association (WSATI) Annual Training Seminar, Lake Tahoe, NV, October 5-8, 2014.
Nicholas H. Rasmussen, Efficient Exclusions: Improving the Efficiency of United States International Trade Commission Exclusion Order Enforcement, 11 Wash. U. Glob. Stud. L. Rev. 845 (2012).
Nicholas H. Rasmussen, Photographs (assorted), Washington University Law Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Spring 2011).
Nicholas H. Rasmussen, The United States and the Citizen Soldier, American Ex-POW Papers, Vol. 3, (2000), V.A. San Diego Healthcare, University of California, San Diego.
Honors & Awards
Mr. Rasmussen was selected for inclusion in the Northern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars list (2017-2022).
Nicholas H. Rasmussen, Efficient Exclusions: Improving the Efficiency of United States International Trade Commission Exclusion Order Enforcement, 11 Wash. U. Glob. Stud. L. Rev. 845 (2012).
Nicholas H. Rasmussen, Photographs (assorted), Washington University Law Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Spring 2011).
Nicholas H. Rasmussen, The United States and the Citizen Soldier, American Ex-POW Papers, Vol. 3, (2000), V.A. San Diego Healthcare, University of California, San Diego.