For over eighteen years, Mark Kinley has focused his practice in the area of insurance defense litigation, including motor vehicle liability, premises liability, product liability, professional liability, "arson" and insurance fraud, bad faith and coverage matters. He opened and is a member in the firm's Wheeling office and has tried many civil cases in both the circuit courts of West Virginia and in the United States district courts. Mr. Kinley is also a member of the firm’s IFPAC team, Toxic and Mass Tort team, and a longstanding member of the firm’s Paralegal Committee. He enjoys trying civil cases and has a high rate of success as to the civil cases he has tried.

AREAS OF CONCENTRATION

Personal Injury Litigation
Mr. Kinley has represented hundreds of insureds in defense of personal injury actions brought against them arising out of:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Slip, trip and fall accidents
• Work-related accidents
• Allegedly defective products

He has also assisted insurance companies in establishing workable surveillance programs to detect and deter fraudulent personal injury claims.

First-Party Contractual Litigation
Mr. Kinley has assisted many insurance companies in the handling of property damage claims and has tried several intentional conduct or "arson" cases and misrepresentation or "fraud" cases. He has also defended insurance companies sued directly for:

• Breach of contract
• Bad faith
• Violation of the West Virginia Unfair Trade Practices Act
• Provided defense for insurance agents who were sued for failing to properly procure insurance coverage

Mr. Kinley is a member of the Ohio County Bar, West Virginia State Bar, and the American Bar Associations, as well as being a member of Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia. He is also actively involved in pro bono work, having served as a member of the Board of Directors of the West Virginia Legal Services Plan, Inc., now known as Legal Aid of West Virginia, Inc., and in working with the Ohio County Pro Bono Project. Additionally, Mr. Kinley is a member of the Vestry of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Wheeling as well as being a member of the Financial Committee of the church.

Mr. Kinley received his legal education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where he was Senior Editor of the Journal of Law and Commerce and was published in Volume 6, Issue 2 of that publication. He was a semi-finalist in the 1985-86 Appellate Moot Court Competition and a quarter-finalist in the 1986 Trial Moot Court Competition. He received both his B.S. and his M.P.A. degrees from the Pennsylvania State University.