Partner
Location
Gulfport, MS
Practice Areas
- Construction
- General Casualty Litigation
- Labor & Employment
- Premises Liability
- Products Liability
- Professional Liability
- Transportation
Jurisdictions
- Alabama
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
Ms. van Zutphen is a partner in the firm. She is a civil litigation attorney in the Gulfport, Mississippi, office where she handles a diverse litigation practice in State and Federal Court. She has significant experience in insurance defense, with an emphasis in transportation and trucking law, construction liability, products liability, employment law (including ERISA actions), premise liability law and general casualty litigation.
Ms. van Zutphen attended the University of Alabama and the Cumberland School of Law where she was a member of the ATLA National Trial Team, and the American Journal of Trial Advocacy and where she was awarded the Scholar of Merit for Employment Discrimination.
Products Liability:
Ms. van Zutphen regularly defends a national elevator company and has represented a defendant manufacturer of firefighters' protective clothing in a lawsuit brought by two firefighters who allege that they sustained burns because of defective gear. She also defended an installer of a gasoline pump and dispenser in a lawsuit brought by a plaintiff who received burns after her clothing caught on fire while she was fueling her automobile.
Transportation and Trucking Law:
Ms. van Zutphen defended a trucking company against a plaintiff's claim that her miscarriage was the result of a collision with the defendant's tractor trailer After Ms. van Zutphen obtained dismissal of the miscarriage claim on summary judgment, the lawsuit was settled for little more than the property damage claim. Ms. van Zutphen has also assisted in defending a trucking company against a million dollar demand in a case in which the plaintiff died after colliding with a tractor trailer that was backing across a highway. In the last trial where she was defending a trucking company, defendants were able to substantially reduce damages from the plaintiff's claim of permanent disability despite assured liability.
Professional Liability:
Ms. van Zutphen is currently defending an insurance agent under an E&O policy against allegations that he fraudulently misrepresented coverage of the policy regarding a prior health condition of the Plaintiff. Ms. van Zutphen defended a real estate appraiser under an E&O policy in a lawsuit alleging that the appraiser was negligent and breached her professional duty in appraising property. Likewise, Ms. van Zutphen also defended an insurance agent who was sued in connection with sales of disappearing premium insurance policies.
Construction Liability:
Ms. Van Zutphen has defended contractors and builders against claims of defective construction. She has also represented a church in a lawsuit against a pest control company for extensive damages due to termite infestation. The church obtained a substantial monetary award after the matter was successfully arbitrated.
General Casualty Litigation:
Ms. van Zutphen has also handled numerous general litigation matters including defending slip and fall cases, representing a corporation in a lawsuit against its former employees for breach of a covenant not to compete, and in various employment law matters, including ERISA claims.
Professional Activities and Honors
American Bar Association
Mississippi Bar Association
Alabama Bar Association
Defense Research Institute
Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association
American Counsel Association
Education
J.D., Samford University, Cumberland School of Law,1997
M.S., University of Alabama, 1985
B.S., magna cum laude, Business Administration, University of Alabama, 1983
Ms. van Zutphen attended the University of Alabama and the Cumberland School of Law where she was a member of the ATLA National Trial Team, and the American Journal of Trial Advocacy and where she was awarded the Scholar of Merit for Employment Discrimination.
Products Liability:
Ms. van Zutphen regularly defends a national elevator company and has represented a defendant manufacturer of firefighters' protective clothing in a lawsuit brought by two firefighters who allege that they sustained burns because of defective gear. She also defended an installer of a gasoline pump and dispenser in a lawsuit brought by a plaintiff who received burns after her clothing caught on fire while she was fueling her automobile.
Transportation and Trucking Law:
Ms. van Zutphen defended a trucking company against a plaintiff's claim that her miscarriage was the result of a collision with the defendant's tractor trailer After Ms. van Zutphen obtained dismissal of the miscarriage claim on summary judgment, the lawsuit was settled for little more than the property damage claim. Ms. van Zutphen has also assisted in defending a trucking company against a million dollar demand in a case in which the plaintiff died after colliding with a tractor trailer that was backing across a highway. In the last trial where she was defending a trucking company, defendants were able to substantially reduce damages from the plaintiff's claim of permanent disability despite assured liability.
Professional Liability:
Ms. van Zutphen is currently defending an insurance agent under an E&O policy against allegations that he fraudulently misrepresented coverage of the policy regarding a prior health condition of the Plaintiff. Ms. van Zutphen defended a real estate appraiser under an E&O policy in a lawsuit alleging that the appraiser was negligent and breached her professional duty in appraising property. Likewise, Ms. van Zutphen also defended an insurance agent who was sued in connection with sales of disappearing premium insurance policies.
Construction Liability:
Ms. Van Zutphen has defended contractors and builders against claims of defective construction. She has also represented a church in a lawsuit against a pest control company for extensive damages due to termite infestation. The church obtained a substantial monetary award after the matter was successfully arbitrated.
General Casualty Litigation:
Ms. van Zutphen has also handled numerous general litigation matters including defending slip and fall cases, representing a corporation in a lawsuit against its former employees for breach of a covenant not to compete, and in various employment law matters, including ERISA claims.
Professional Activities and Honors
American Bar Association
Mississippi Bar Association
Alabama Bar Association
Defense Research Institute
Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association
American Counsel Association
Education
J.D., Samford University, Cumberland School of Law,1997
M.S., University of Alabama, 1985
B.S., magna cum laude, Business Administration, University of Alabama, 1983
