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.

John P. Cunningham
Principal
Richland Plaza 1
525 West Main Street
Suite 200
Belleville, IL 62220-1547
525 West Main Street
Suite 200
Belleville, IL 62220-1547
618-355-5102
618-235-5591
More About John
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).