John P. Cunningham

Principal
Richland Plaza 1
525 West Main Street
Suite 200
Belleville, IL 62220-1547
618-355-5102
618-235-5591

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Mr. Cunningham is a shareholder in the Brown & James Belleville, Ill., office. He has been with the firm his entire career and has tried countless successful trials and appeals in the areas of first-party insurance claims and tort law, including arson and fraud litigation, premises liability, product liability, and automobile litigation.

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Education

  • Southern Illinois University (J.D., magna cum laude, 1986)
  • Elmhurst College (B.S., magna cum laude, 1983)

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois
  • Missouri
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

Recent Achievements

  • Best Lawyers - Litigation - Insurance, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants, Insurance Law, The Best Lawyers in America (2022-2024)
  • Super Lawyers - Personal Injury General: Defense, Illinois Super Lawyers (2014-2018)
  • IAAF Illinois Award for Recognition for dedication and service in CFI instruction
  • American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in Evidence
  • American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in Constitutional Law
  • American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in Equity/Injunctions
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent

Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association
  • Defense Research Institute
  • Illinois State Bar Association
  • International Association of Arson Investigators
  • Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers
  • East St. Louis Bar Association
  • St. Clair County Bar Association

Publications

  • Illinois Alters Defense of Misrepresentation in the Application
  • Employer's Liability Policy Does Not Cover Claim for Spoliation of Evidence in Illinois
  • Duty to Act in Good Faith Both Before and After Suit is Filed in Illinois
  • New Legislation in Illinois May Change the Way Innocent Co-Insured's Claims are Handled
  • Notice Clause Near Death in Missouri
  • Bad Faith Refusal to Settle - The Stakes Are Higher

Speaking

  • "Civil Case Law Update," Civil Case Law Update, Insurance Issues and Ethics Seminar, United States Arbitration & Mediation (June 2018)
  • "Case Law Update," Brown & James General Defense & Insurance Law Symposium (January 2017)
  • "Case Law Update," Brown & James Law Symposium (January 2014)
  • "Case Law Update," Brown & James Law Symposium (January 2013)
  • Co-presenter with Julia Jackson of Illinois Casualty Company, at the Property Loss Research Bureau (PLRB) national seminar in Orlando, Florida on ”Alcohol-Related Injury Liability” and Explored Liability and Defense Issues in Dram Shop and Negligence Claims Involving Alcohol (April 2012).
  • "Mold Litigation" seminar presented to attorneys and the insurance industry in Collinsville, Illinois (September 2002).
  • "Courtroom Testimony" seminar presented for the International Association of Arson Investigators in Belleville, Illinois (March 2002).
  • "Legal Issues in the Arson Defense" seminar presented to the National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators at the Advance Insurance Fraud Seminar in Lake Ozark, Missouri (April 2001).
  • Presented seminar to Hartford Insurance Company in Indianapolis, Indiana on a variety of topics, including duty to defend, premises liability claims, uninsured motorist claims and dram shop claims. (January 2000).
  • Author and Speaker: "Annual Symposium on Property Insurance Law" Brown & James, P.C., (1992 through 1999).
  • "General Liability Coverage Issues in Illinois" seminar presented to Commercial Union Insurance Company in St. Louis, Missouri (December 1998).
  • "First Party Claims Practices and Avoidance of Bad Faith Claims" seminar presented to State Farm Insurance Company in Bloomington, Illinois (April 1998).
  • "Vexatious Delay and Refusal to Pay" seminar presented to the insurance industry in St. Louis, Missouri (January 1997).
  • "Motive, Means and Opportunity" seminar presented to the insurance industry in St. Louis, Missouri (January 1997).