The DRAGONMagazine - Bishop O'Dowd High School

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Dan Dell’Osso ’71 AdvocAting for Justice The case was heartbreaking - a young girl fatally burned in her family’s hot tub when the temperature control switch malfunctioned and the water temperature rose to 160 degrees. Though Dan Dell’Osso ’71 negotiated a settlement for the girl’s family as part of a product liability case, he readily admits that no amount of money could compensate for the loss that his clients had suffered. However, he was gratified that the hot tub company agreed to correct the defect at no cost to consumers. That meant no one else would face a similar tragedy. “Success is usually measured by the size of the verdict,” he said. “It’s certainly a measure, but it’s not the only or most important measure.” Because of his stellar work in the area of personal injury litigation, Dell’Osso was recently recognized as the 2012 San Francisco Lawyer of the Year for personal injury litigation by “Best Lawyers” magazine. The lawyers honored in the publication are chosen for inclusion based solely on a vote of their peers. “It’s flattering and very humbling,” Dell’Osso said. A lawyer with The Brandi Firm, Dell’Osso specializes in product liability, auto crashworthiness and aviation, and typically represents individuals who are catastrophically injured by malfunctioning products. In the hot tub case, Dell’Osso engaged an electrical engineer to investigate why the temperature control switch failed. The engineer discovered that some hot tub models had a different wiring set up – one in which the temperature control switch cut off power to the heater only, not the entire hot tub. That meant that the hot tub pump continued to run, and the heat exchange that occurred when water passed by the active pump could raise the water temperature one degree an hour. The “Success is usually measured by the size of the verdict. It’s certainly a measure, but it’s not the only or most important measure.” 30 THE DRAGON Dan Dell’Osso ’71 family had been away for the weekend and turned the hot tub off, but never realized that the pump remained active and could raise the water temperature to a deadly level. Born and raised in Oakland, Dell’Osso went to Our Lady of Lourdes School prior to enrolling at O’Dowd. Six of his siblings also attended O’Dowd – older sisters Jeannette and Paula ’69 and younger brothers Enrico ’74, Peter ’75 and David ’78. At O’Dowd, Dell’Osso participated in a wide variety of activities, including the jazz and concert bands and the ski club. Along with John Cecconi ’71, Dell’Osso served as captain of O’Dowd’s first football team. He also played baseball, ran cross country, and helped secure a league title for the swim team during his senior year when he agreed to enter the diving events in order to score points for the team. “I enjoyed my time at O’Dowd. It was a fun place, and it certainly gave me a great
academic foundation. There was nothing I saw in college that I hadn’t already seen at O’Dowd,” he said. Dell’Osso graduated with honors from Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in 1975, with a degree in English, and was selected as a Rhodes Scholar nominee from the state of Virginia. After graduating from VMI, Dell’Osso was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, and spent six years on active duty as a fighter pilot. He continued to serve as a pilot with the Marine Corps Reserve and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was the commanding officer of the Marine A-4 squadron in Alameda before retiring with 22 years of service. During his years of active duty, Dell’Osso was stationed in Hawaii, but was deployed on average 200 days a year. A newlywed at the time, Dell’Osso said communications with his wife, Lisa, were limited. “This was before e-mail and cell phones,” he said. “The only communication available to you and your spouse in those days was writing letters. Once a week, if there was time available, you could talk on a short wave radio.” Some of Dell’Osso’s most memorable experiences as a pilot include his first carrier landing during flight training, going Supersonic for the first time (he says it’s physically imperceptible), flying from Hawaii to Japan via Midway Island, and being selected as the commanding officer of the A-4 Squadron in Alameda. Inspired by his father, who was a lawyer, Dell’Osso earned his law degree from Golden Gate University in 1984 and entered practice with Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger. At the same time, Dell’Osso was regularly flying as a reserve, keeping his skills current. “It was not unusual for me, during that time frame, to work 90 or 120 days straight,” he said. He left Walkup in 2000 and moved to Arizona where he worked for Coben and Associates. He returned to the Bay Area in 2005 and began working at The Brandi Firm. Dell’Osso says trial work is very gratifying because it is dynamic. “You never entirely know what a witness will say, or how a judge will rule,” he said. He has been involved in the preparation and/or trial of automobile crashworthiness cases against most of the major automobile manufacturers including Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, KIA, Nissan, General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Volvo and Mazda. He has tried automobile defect and crashworthiness cases in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania and participated in crashworthiness cases in New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio, Hawaii and Maine. Dell’Osso’s cases have involved a wide variety of vehicle defects, including poor roof design, vehicle stability, defective tires, seat failures, seat belt failures, airbag systems, child restraints, occupant door latch failures, and side structures. His $18 million verdict against Ford Motor Company in 2009 was one of the top 100 verdicts of that year. The case centered on a seat in a Ford E-350 van that became unlatched from the floor rendering the young man sitting in the seat a quadriplegic. “That verdict was satisfying because the person who was injured doesn’t have to worry about housing or medical care for the rest of his life,” Dell’Osso said. “That is significant because as a quadriplegic it is difficult for him to get full medical coverage, and his care costs are between $200,000 and $300,000 a year.” Adds Dell’Osso, “We all take so much for granted. Doing this work makes you appreciate the blessing of being in good health.” Dell’Osso is a firm believer in the saying luck is when preparation meets opportunity. “Opportunity starts with things like your education at O’Dowd. Because I learned fundamentals in high school, I had a certain level of confidence. I knew I could always compete academically,” he said. Being at the right place at the right time doesn’t hurt, either. While on a reserve deployment in Canada, and looking for his first job as a lawyer, Dell’Osso met up with a fellow pilot whose childhood friend was a partner in the Walkup firm. That pilot contacted his friend on behalf of Dell’Osso. As a result of this networking, Dell’Osso was hired as a summer intern charged with working on an aviation case. His background as a pilot proved helpful. “I went from working on that one case to being a partner,” he said. A Berkeley resident, Dell’Osso is an avid runner. He participated in seven consecutive Boston Marathons and is a regular in the local Dipsea race. He also enjoys swimming, surfing, reading, golf and traveling and antiquing with his wife. Looking ahead to the day when he gives up practicing law, Dell’Osso says he’d like to teach. “Certainly a trial advocacy class would be fine, but I’d be happy teaching middle school Math and coaching,” he said. 31 THE DRAGON Alumni Spotlight
Page 1 and 2: The DRAGON Magazine The Year of the
Page 3 and 4: Celebrating 60 Years of Catholic Ed
Page 5 and 6: Archbishop Francis T. Hurley, broth
Page 7 and 8: The bench is located in a peaceful
Page 9 and 10: About Bishop James T. O’Dowd Bish
Page 11 and 12: Leaders from throughout the decades
Page 13 and 14: A Sampling of the Original Rules of
Page 15 and 16: Celebration Attendees Bishop James
Page 17 and 18: Recently, Goodhart’s travels have
Page 19 and 20: wanted to show her individuality by
Page 21 and 22: Bishop O’Dowd High School 95% The
Page 23 and 24: 24 25 38 23 THE DRAGON The Dragon T
Page 25 and 26: By Romeo Baldeviso, M.S. Chief Info
Page 27 and 28: Getting Started After attending Cal
Page 29: Raised in Oakland, Cadenasso attend
Page 33 and 34: Class of 2006 Celebrates Five Year
Page 35 and 36: 35 THE DRAGON Alumni News Class of
Page 37 and 38: 2002 Christine Parry (pictured at r
Page 39 and 40: Student-Athletes Sign National Lett
Page 41 and 42: Special Thanks... Many of our most
Page 43 and 44: Barbara Murray Baxter ’56 Carol C

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