John C. McCarthy practiced in Claremont, California. He was a graduate of the University of Southern California and UCLA Law School, where he was named Alumnus of the Year in 1973. In 1989, he was named Trial Lawyer of the Year by the California Employment Lawyers’ Association.
Mr. McCarthy specialized in punitive damages, insurance bad faith, and wrongful discharge litigation. He was plaintiff’s trial and appellate counsel in several landmark punitive damage and insurance bad faith cases, including Silberg v. California Life Ins. Co. (11 Cal 3d 452), Hale v. Farmers Ins. Exch. (42 CA 3d 681), and Roth v. Shell Oil Co. (185 CA 2d 676). In 1989, he obtained a $45 million verdict in federal court against the Las Vegas Hilton for the wrongful discharge of casino employees (Brooks, et al. v. Las Vegas Hilton).
Mr. McCarthy lectured widely on the subject of bad faith before organizations including many national and state bar associations, the Association of American Trial Lawyers, the California Trial Lawyers Association, and the California Continuing Education of the Bar. He is the author of Recovery for Damages for Bad Faith and Recovery of Damages for Wrongful Discharge.