Johnson • Provo-Petersen • O’Neill, LLP

Gregory J. Johnson
Johnson Provo-Petersen O'Neill, LLP
332 Minnesota Street
First National Bank Building
Suite West 975
St. Paul, MN 55101

Communication Center

Phone:

(651) 227-2534

E-mail:

johnson.greg@johnsonpetersenlaw.com

Fax:

(651) 297-6226

Web site:

http://www.johnsonpetersenlaw.com

Position	Areas of Practice	Bar Admissions
Education	Honors	Published Works
Affiliations	Representative Cases

Gregory J. Johnson has practiced exclusively in civil defense litigation since graduating magna cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law in 1989. In 1985, Greg obtained a Business Administration degree, majoring in finance, from Minnesota State University at Mankato, graduating cum laude. Prior to starting the law firm in 1995 in downtown St. Paul, Greg practiced for several years at an insurance defense firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell, its highest rating, and has been awarded "Super Lawyer" status by Minnesota Law & Politics, an annual award bestowed upon approximately 6% of Minnesota attorneys, on five occasions.

Greg's practice is primarily focused upon the defense of consumer and commercial finance litigation. He has represented a broad spectrum of consumer finance clients, including automobile dealerships, finance companies, banks, real estate brokers, and repossession companies. He has considerable experience in defending consumer claims brought under federal and state laws and regulations such as the Truth-In-Lending Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Minnesota Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act and Consumer Fraud Act, as well as claims alleging violations of state and federal odometer laws, usury, deceptive trade practices, credit discrimination and invasion of privacy. He has considerable experience in defending class action litigation and has also served as a consultant on consumer litigation around the country.

Greg's family owned an automobile dealership in the 1970's and 1980's. This, coupled with his undergraduate degree in finance, naturally led him to gravitate toward representation of automobile dealerships and the defense of creditor rights. Greg provides a broad range of services to our clients, acting as general counsel to dealerships on various legal matters, to acting as liaison counsel for garage liability carriers and providing legal representation on specific legal matters. He has been involved in virtually every significant dealership and garage liability case law decision in Minnesota over the past decade. A listing of some of his published decisions are identified below. While Greg defends lawsuits brought by individual consumers in both state and federal court, he has also successfully represented the Greater Metropolitan Auto Dealers Association ("GMADA") in regulatory enforcement matters with the Department of Commerce. The range of services he provides include everything between drafting partnership buy-sell agreements and commission pay plans, to resolving sales and leasing matters and employment disputes. As the laws and regulations affecting the automobile retail industry become more complex and cumbersome, success in the courtroom depends upon the selection of an attorney who is knowledgeable and skilled in this area. There are few legal issues affecting the industry that Greg has not encountered and successfully resolved.

While litigation is a major focus at J&P, Greg also works with clients to adopt preventive practices to help reduce risk and exposure to litigation. He has been regularly engaged by dealerships and their garage insurers to provide compliance training and has drafted significant legislation, rental contracts and policy forms for dealerships and garage insurers to reduce their liability and litigation exposure. He provides legal updates to firm clients in an effort to identify and address issues before they become a problem. Greg is frequently invited to meetings of various trade associations in the automobile and insurance industry to keep them appraised of litigation and legal issues that may affect their members.

Greg also has vast experience in defending accident claims involving rental and loaner vehicles. A prolific writer and speaker, he co-authored the 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2001 editions of the Minnesota Motor Vehicle Insurance Manual , a treatise that has been recognized by Minnesota courts as an authority on automobile law. Greg has also drafted rental car contracts, temporary substitute loaner agreements and manuscript policy endorsements for dealership, rental car, and insurance clients. Over the past decade, he has been involved in several of the most significant case law decisions affecting the rental car industry, ranging from case law decisions addressing the priority of payment of liability claims to the constitutionality of the statutory caps on vicarious liability for rental car owners.

Greg also has comprehensive an in-depth knowledge of coverage forms and has written several publications on insurance coverage matters, including The Commercial General Liability Coverage Form: What's Covered and What's Not? A Comprehensive Review of Minnesota Case Law Interpreting the Form , (National Business Institute 1997) and Miller-Shugart Settlements and the Claims Professional: Recognizing and Understanding the Exposure and Using it as an Effective Settlement Tool, (1995). He is frequently asked to provide coverage opinions and defend insurance coverage disputes in declaratory judgment actions at the trial level and on appeal. He has appeared before the Minnesota Supreme Court and Court of Appeals in coverage related matters on numerous occasions and has successfully defended Miller-Shugart claims as well as claims alleging bad-faith against our insurer clients.

In his spare time, Greg enjoys spending time with his family, collecting sports memorabilia and coaching youth basketball, football and baseball. He is also on the Board of Directors for the Eastview Athletic Association (EVAA) Football in Apple Valley, Minnesota and is the Program Director for its traveling program.

Current Employment Position(s):: Partner

Areas Of Practice:: Automobile Dealerships; Creditor Rights; Class Actions; Consumer Fraud; Deceptive Trade Practices; Bad Faith; Insurance Coverage; Litigation & Appeals

Bar Admissions:: Minnesota, 1989; U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, 1989; U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 1990

Education:: William Mitchell College of Law, St Paul, Minnesota, 1989; J.D.; Honors: magna cum laude; Mankato State University, Mankato, MN, 1985; B.S.; Honors: cum laude; Major: Finance

Published Works:: Minnesota Motor Vehicle Insurance Manual, Co-Author, Education Alliance, 2nd Edition, 1994; Minnesota Motor Vehicle Insurance Manual, Co-Author, Minnesota Institute of Legal Education, 1991; Automobile Repossession in Minnesota: Wrongful Repossession Claims Under Cobb v. Midwest Recovery Bureau, the Uniform Commercial Code and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Minnesota Institute of Legal Education, 1999; The Garage Liability Policy and the Automobile Dealership: From Auto (BI,UIM, PIP, PD) Claims to Financing (TILA, MMVRISA, ECOA) Claims, Northwest Claims Managers Association, 1997; The Garage Liability Policy and the Automobile Dealership: From Auto (BI, UM/UIM, PIP, PD) Claims to Financing (TILA, MMVRISA, ECOA) Claims, Twin Cities Claims Association, 1997; The Commercial General Liability Coverage Form: What's Covered and What's Not? A Comprehensive Review of Minnesota Case Law Interpreting the Form, National Business Institute, 1997; Rentals, Loaners, Demos, Short Term and Long-Term Leases in Minnesota: Who Has The BI/P.D. Coverage and Responsibility for Damage to the Vehicle?, Twin Cities Claims Association, 1996; The Commercial General Liability Coverage Form: What's Covered and What's Not? A Comprehensive Review of Minnesota Case Law Interpreting the Form, National Business Institute, 1995; From Notice of Claim to Claim Resolution: The Major Coverage Decisions of 1994-1995, Twin Cities Claims Association, 1995; Loaners, Demos, Long-Term and Short Term Leases and Rentals--Who Has the Liability Coverage and Where Is It?, Annual Twin Cities Claims Seminar, 1994; Automobile Coverage: Recent Developments and Appellate Decisions, Minnesota Law & Litigation Seminar, 1994; Miller-Shugart Settlements and the Claims Professional: Recognizing and Understanding the Exposure and Using it as an Effective Settlement Tool, 1993; Minnesota Motor Vehicle Insurance Manual , Co-Author, Minnesota Institute of Legal Education , 2001 Supplement, 2001; Minnesota Motor Vehicle Insurance Manual, Co-Arthur, Minnesota Institute of Legal Education, 3rd Edition, 2000

Representative Cases:: Stevens, et. al v. Brookdale Dodge, Inc., 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25406 (United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 2002); Scott v. Forest Lake Chrysler-Plymouth Dodge, 637 N.W.2d 587 (Minn. Ct. App. 2002); Vang, et. al v. Morrie's Minnetonka Ford, 2001 WL 1589614 (D. Minn. 2001); Lofquist, et. al. v. Whitaker Buick-Jeep-Eagle, Inc., 2001 WL 1530907 (Minn. Ct. App. 2001); Peter, et. al. v. Village Imports Co,, 2001 WL 1640130 (D. Minn. 2001); Sharlow v. Wally McCarthy Pontiac-GMC Trucks-Hyundai, Inc., 2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 15627 (United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit 2000); VanDanacker, et al v. Main Motor Sales Co., 109 F. Supp.2d 1045 (D. Minn. 2000); Scott v. Forest Lake Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge, 611 N.W.2d 346 (Minn. 2000); Scott v. Forest Lake Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge, 598 N.W.2d 713 (Minn. Ct. App. 1999); Evans, et. al. v. Rudy-Luther Toyota, Inc., 39 F. Supp.2d 1177 (D. Minn. 1999); Sharlow v. Wally McCarthy Pontiac-GMC Trucks-Hyundia, Inc., 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22726 (United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 1998); Sharlow v. Wally McCarthy Pontiac-GMC Trucks-Hyundia, Inc., 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22727 (United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 1998); Sharlow v. Wally McCarthy Pontiac-GMC Trucks-Hyundia, Inc., 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22744 (United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 1998); Sharlow v. Wally McCarthy Pontiac-GMC Trucks-Hyundia, Inc., 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22746 (1998 United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 1998); Lindholt, et. al. v. Walser Ford, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22765 (United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 1998); Picht, el. at. v. Stillwater Ford-Lincoln-Mercury, Inc., 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22766 (United States District Court of the District of Minnesota 1998); Logan, et al. v. McCarthy's Oldsmobile-GMC Trucks, Inc., 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22725 (United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 1998); Cullen v. Art Goebel, Inc., 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23682 (United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 1997); Kinzel, et. al. v. Southview Chevrolet Co., 892 F. Supp. 1211 (D. Minn. 1995); Reinke, et. al. v. Harold Chevrolet Co., File No.: CT 02-009001 (Henn. Cty. Dist. Ct.); Scott v. Forest Lake Chrysler-Plymouth, File No.: 82-C6-97-004980 (Wash. Cty. Dist. Ct. 2002); Webb, et. al. v. Harold Chevorlet, File No.: CT-00-008398 (Henn. Cty. Dist. Ct.); Brown, et. al. v. Saturn of St. Paul, File No.: 62-C1-00-007295 (Ramsey Cty. Dist. Ct.); O'Brien v. Morrie's Buffalo Ford, File No.: 86-C2-00-002500 (Wright Cty. Dist. Ct.); McMahon, et. al. v. Merit Chevrolet, Co., File No.: CX 00-6808 (Ramsey Cty. Dist. Ct.); Hubbard, et. al. v. Brooklyn Park Automotive, Inc., File No.: CT 01-000099 (Henn. Cty. Dist. Ct.); Halstead, et. al. v. Forest Lake Ford, File No.: C2-00-3353 (Wash. Cty. Dist. Ct.); Constant, et. al. v. White Bear Dodge, Inc., File No.: CX-00-6274 (Wash. Cty. Dist. Ct.); Peter v. Village Imports, Co., File No. : 82-C6-00-5073 (Wash. Cty. Dist. Ct.); Barnes, et. al. v. Village Chevrolet Co., CT 00-8377 (Henn. Cty. Dist. Ct.); Liabo et. al. v. Wayzata Nissan, File No.: CT99-010569 (Henn. Cty. Dist. Ct.); Clausen v. Arvid Beyer Ford, File No.: C2-09-168 (Stevens Cty. Dist. Ct.); Alsen v. Forest Lake Chrysler-Plymouth, File No.: 82-C3-97-005052 (Wash. Cty. Dist. Ct.); Logan v. Wally McCarthy GMC, File No.: 97-1834 (United States Dist. Ct., Dist. Minn. 1998); McElroy v. Airlake Ford, File No.: 19-C2-97-6917 (Dakota Cty. Dist. Ct.); Huber v. Courtesy Ford et. al., File No.: 97-124 (United States Dist. Ct. Dist. Minn.); Sims, et. al. v. AFS Financial, File No.: 62-C8-96-007899 (Ramsey Cty. Dist. Ct.); Davis v. Jensen & Burnett Realty Co., File No. : C4-96-9971 (Dakota Cty. Dist.); Scott v. Forest Lake Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge, File No.: 3-96-671 (U.S.D.C. Dist. Minn.); In Re All Automobile Dealers v. Minnesota Dept. of Commerce, et. al., File No.: C9-96-9967 (Ramsey Cty. Dist. Co.); Meyer v. Dondelinger Chevrolet, File No.: CV 4-96-446 (United States Dist. Ct., Dist. Minn.); Sims v. Tousely Ford, Inc. et. al, File No.: 4-69-7 (United States Dist. Ct., D. Minn.); Sims, et. al. v. Tousley Ford, File No.: 62-C8-96-02007899 (Ramsey Cty. Dist. Ct.); Bardeaux v. Norwest Bank, N.A., File No.: C4-96-2523 (Ramsey Cty. Dist. Ct.); Van Tassle v. Eden Prairie Ford, File No.: CT-95-10873 (Henn. Cty. Dist. Ct.); Strand, et. al. v. Southview Chevrolet, Co., File No.: 19-C8-93-7223 (Dakota Cty. Dist. Ct.); Jacobson v. Universal Underwriters Ins.Group, 645 N.W. 2d 741 (Minn. Ct. App. 2002); State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co. v. Universal Underwriters Ins. Co., 625 N.W. 2d 160 (Minn. Ct. App. 2001); Mutual Service Cas. Ins. Co. v. West Bend Mut. Ins. Co., 599 N.W. 2d 585 (Minn. Ct. App. 1999); Kivel v. Milwaukee Guardian Ins. Co., 1994 WL 637816 (Minn. Ct. App. 1994); Agency Rent-A-Car, Inc. v. American Family Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 519 N.W. 2d 483 (Minn. Ct. App. 1994); Richards v. Milwaukee Ins. Co., 518 N.W. 2d 26 (Minn. 1994); Waataja v. American States Inc. Co., 1993 WL 89657 (Minn. Ct. App. 1993); Northbrook Ins. Co. v. American States Ins. Co., 495 N.W. 2d 450 (Minn. Ct. App. 1993); Clusiau's Range Drive-U-Self, Inc. v. Federated Mut. Ins. Co., 1992 WL 340521 (Minn. Ct. App. 1992); Gieser v. Home Indem. Co., 484 N.W.2d 256 (Minn. Ct. App. 1992); State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Strope, 481 N.W. 2d 853 (Minn. Ct. App. 1992); Meister v. Western Nat. Mut. Ins. Co., 479 N.W. 2d 372 (Minn. 1992); Kothrade v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co., 462 N.W. 2d 413 (Minn. Ct. App. 1990); U.S. Fire Ins. Co. v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., 461 N.W. 2d 230 (Minn. Ct. App. 1990); Johnson v. Credit Acceptance Corp., 165 F. Supp. 2d 923 (D. Minn. 2001); Clarin v. Minnesota Repossessors, Inc., 198 F.3d 661 (8th Cir. 1999); Revering v. Norwest Bank Minn., N.A., 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20726 (1999 United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 1999); Saice v. MidAmerica Bank, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20845 (United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 1999); Ripka v. City & County Employees Credit Union, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21977 (United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 1999); Oehrlein v. Western Funding, Inc., 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17919 (United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 1999); Shelly v. Wells Fargo et. al., 1998 U.S. LEXIS 22580 (United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 1999)

Classes/Seminars Taught:: Speaker, Automobile Repossession in Minnesota: Wrongful Repossession Claims Under Cobb v. Midwest Recovery Bureau, the Uniform Commercial Code and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Minnesota Institute of Legal Education, November 10, 1999; Speaker, The Garage Liability Policy and the Automobile Dealership: From Auto (BI, UIM, PIP, PD) Claims to Financing (TILA, MMVRISA, ECOA) Claims, Northwest Claims Managers Association, December 6, 1997; Speaker, The Garage Liability Policy and the Automobile Dealership: From Auto (BI, UM/UIM, PIP, PD) Claims to Financing (TILA, MMVRISA, ECOA) Claims, Twin Cities Claims Association, April 18, 1997; Speaker, The Commercial General Liability Coverage Form: What's Covered and What's Not? A Comprehensive Review of Minnesota Case Law Interpreting the Form, National Business Institute, January 28, 1997; Speaker, Rentals, Loaners, Demos, Short Term and Long-Term Leases in Minnesota: Who Has The BI/P.D. Coverage and Responsibility for Damage to the Vehicle?, Twin Cities Claims Association, June 7, 1996; Speaker, The Commercial General Liability Coverage Form: What's Covered and What's Not? A Comprehensive Review of Minnesota Case Law Interpreting the Form, National Business Institute, July 27, 1995; Speaker, From Notice of Claim to Claim Resolution: The Major Coverage Decisions of 1994-1995, Annual Twin Cities Claims Seminar, 1995; Speaker, Advanced Liability Coverage Concerns, Understanding Garage, Rental and Self-Insurance Schemes, Minnesota Automobile Insurance & Claims Seminar, 1994; Speaker, Liability Insurance: An Insider's Look at Self Insurance, Rental Car and Garage Policies and Other Exotic Forms of "Non-Insurance", MDLA/MTLA Education Alliance Seminar, 1994; Speaker, Loaners, Demos, Long-Term and Short Term Leases and Rentals--Who Has the Liability Coverage and Where Is It?, Annual Twin Cities Claims Seminar, 1994; Speaker, Automobile Coverage: Recent Developments and Appellate Decisions, Seventh Annual Minnesota Law & Litigation Seminar, 1994; Guest Instructor, Uninsured and Under insured Motorist Coverage, William Mitchell College of Law, 1994; Speaker, Under insured Motorist Law: What is an "Under insured Motor Vehicle After Richards?, Twin Cities Claims Luncheon, 1993; Speaker, Insurance Coverage: Recent Appellate Decisions, Sixth Annual Minnesota Law & Litigation Seminar, 1993; Speaker, Garage Liability Policies and the No-Fault Act --Who pays, when and how much? Test drives and Loaners, is "Conditional Coverage" Dead?, Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association Seminar, October 25, 2001

Honors and Awards:: AV Rating by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory; Awarded Super Lawyer Designation Minnesota Law & Politics and MSP Communications, 1998 - 2001; Awarded Super Lawyer Designation Minnesota Law & Politics and MSP Communications, 2003; Listed in Best's Directory of Recommended Attorneys

Professional Associations and Memberships:: Minnesota State Bar Association; Ramsey County Bar Association; Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association; Defense Research Institute; St. Paul Chamber of Commerce; Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association; Associate Member

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