Jessica Goneau Scott

Partner

| vCard

| PDF

P 303.244.1846
| F 303.244.1879

Education

University of California, Berkeley - Boalt Hall School of Law, J.D., 2004
Order of the Coif
Humboldt State University, B.A., 2000, Major in Psychology; Minor in Criminal Justice, summa cum laude

Practice Areas

Industries

Jessica Scott's legal practice involves complex commercial litigation in federal and state court at both the trial and appellate levels. She serves as lead defense counsel on class and mass actions across the country, including California, Montana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Florida, and Colorado. She focuses her practice in the areas of employment, products, and insurance. Jessica has particular experience with employment classification issues (employee vs. independent contractor), joint employment allegations, and FLSA collective actions, particularly in the transportation field. She also has extensive experience handling punitive damages issues and appeals in a wide variety of areas.

Jessica has taken the lead on appeals in several jurisdictions, including the Colorado Court of Appeals, the Tenth Circuit, the Montana Supreme Court, and the Arizona Court of Appeals. All of the appeals have reached decision and resulted in wins for her clients. Jessica has also argued and prevailed on numerous dispositive motions in state and federal court, saving her clients time and money by circumventing the need to go to trial. One example includes a motion to dismiss a class action on which the WTO team prevailed. Additionally, Jessica has taken the lead on several mediations, all of which ended favorably for her clients.

Jessica has significant experience developing and implementing strategic plans for discovery in large-scale cases, including managing the collection, review, and production of electronic discovery for large companies. When faced with a new case or new challenge presented by a client, Jessica first discusses with the client its goals for the litigation and then works hand-in-hand with the client to develop the best strategy for implementing those goals and doing so with as little burden on the client as possible.

Jessica's notable results include a unanimous affirmance by the Montana Supreme Court for Ford Motor Co.; reducing punitive damages in an appeal in Arizona state court from an 8:1 ratio to 1:1; and, as second chair in a two-and-a-half week jury trial in a high-exposure insurance bad faith case, winning a full defense verdict for WTO's client in less than two hours of jury deliberations.

Legal Memberships, Activities, and Honors

Colorado Rising Stars
    Class Action/Mass Torts, 2010-2019
Benchmark Litigation
Future Star - Colorado, 2015-2018
Law Week Colorado
    Up-and-Coming Lawyers, Finalist, 2010
Defense Research Institute
    Appellate Advocacy Committee
        Tenth Circuit Reporter
International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC)
American Bar Association
Colorado Bar Association
Denver Bar Association
University of California Boalt Hall School of Law
    Jurisprudence Award in Property, Criminal Procedure, & Evidence
    Prosser Award in Contracts, Legislation, Legal Professions, & Appellate Advocacy
    Moot Court Advocacy Award

Teaching Positions

National Institute for Trial Advocacy
    Rocky Mountain Trial Skills Seminar
       Instructor, 2011
    Advanced Advocates Training Program for the National Organization
            of Bar Counsel
       Instructor, 2011

Personal Interests

Swimming, Colorado Rockies baseball, and high school football

Jessica Scott has extensive appellate experience and focuses her practice on the defense of mass and class actions involving product liability, employment, and insurance disputes. She has significant experience in the distinct areas of punitive damages and employee classification issues.

Representative Cases

Won summary judgment for a multinational corporation in a putative class action dealing with employment misclassification issues in New Mexico, thereby ending over two years of litigation. The court also denied the plaintiff's motion for class certification as moot.
Successfully opposed conditional certification of an FLSA collective action and won summary judgment against the named plaintiff.
Snyder v. ACORD, 2019 WL 319407 & 2016 WL 192270 (D. Colo.) - Represented seven codefendants in a property insurance class action lawsuit in Colorado. Plaintiffs claimed they were systematically underinsured in a "monumental" conspiracy, in violation of federal RICO and antitrust laws, and involving virtually all property insurers in Colorado as well as industry trade groups. WTO served as liaison counsel and argued the successful motion for the fee award of more than $1.5 million.
Byorth et al. v. USAA, 2016 MT 32 - Won Montana Supreme Court reversal of class certification against USAA in bad faith litigation and remand to the district court for further proceedings.
Jewkes v. USAA (D. Colo. 2015) - Successfully defended insurer USAA in an insurance bad faith and breach of contract trial arising out of the devastating Waldo Canyon wildfire of 2012. The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed one claim the morning of trial, lost another claim, and was awarded just five figures on the third claim after having demanded more than $1 million.
Walker v. Ford Motor Co. (Colo. App. 2015) - Won reversal of a 2013 jury verdict against Ford Motor Co. in a case that alleged strict liability and negligence relating to a rear-end collision in a 1998 Ford Explorer. The Court of Appeals concluded that the application of consumer expectation as a standalone test in Colorado's pattern jury instructions does not comply with Colorado law as established by the Colorado Supreme Court in Camacho v. Honda Motor Co. (1987).
Represented an international shipping and package delivery company in numerous arbitrations involving independent contractor classification.
Won before the Colorado Court of Appeals on behalf of an insurance company in a breach of contract matter.
Defended the appeal to the Montana Supreme Court of a jury verdict favoring Ford Motor Company in a product liability case involving a fatal car accident.
Won a unanimous jury defense verdict in a three-week trial in Denver District Court for USAA. WTO lawyers defeated breach of contract and bad faith claims in connection with USAA's refusal to provide coverage for a roof on the plaintiffs' property. The jury returned a complete defense verdict in less than one hour.
Co-managed with one other law firm the response to requests from 418 dealers for arbitration relating to the bankruptcy of Chrysler Group LLC and following Chrysler's termination of those dealerships. WTO litigated 187 of these Section 747 arbitrations, and, as directed by Congress, resolved all of the litigation within seven months--with a 96% success rate.
Saaremets v. Whirlpool (E.D. Cal. 2010) - Obtained dismissal of a plaintiff's class action complaint alleging false advertising filed against Whirlpool.
Scoggins v. Encompass Insurance (Colo. App. 2009) - Defended an appeal to the Colorado Court of Appeals that affirmed the trial court's finding that WTO's client, Encompass Insurance, was not liable for the claims brought against it in an insurance case. Subsequently defended the award of costs to WTO's client.
Kail v. Whirlpool (D. Colo. 2009) - Obtained a highly favorable non-class settlement in a putative, multistate class action involving Whirlpool-made wall ovens.
Hudgins v. Southwest Airlines, 212 P.3d 810 (Ariz. App. 2009) - Obtained 88% reduction in the appeal of a punitive damages award.
Rush v. Whirlpool (W.D. Ark. 2008) - Defeated certification of a multistate class action in Arkansas federal court involving claims that certain Whirlpool-made refrigerators were defective.
Ganyard v. Allstate Insurance (Colo. App. 2008) - Summary judgment affirmed.
Wobst v. Allstate Insurance, 262 Fed. App'x 75 (10th Cir. 2008) - Summary judgment affirmed.
Allen v. Martin, 203 P.3d 546 (Colo. App. 2008.) - Obtained summary judgment on a previously undecided question of Colorado law.

Representative Clients

Advanced Bionics - National Trial Counsel
CNA - National Trial Counsel
Ford Motor Company
USAA
Whirlpool - National Trial Counsel

Bar and Court Admissions

Colorado
Montana
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Teaching Positions

Legal Memberships, Activities, and Honors

Government Service

Judicial Clerk to The Honorable Andrew J. Kleinfeld, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit