David S. Evinger

David Evinger is of counsel in the firm’s Minneapolis office. Mr. Evinger’s practice focuses on catastrophe litigation with a primary emphasis on fires, explosions, structural, mechanical and electrical failures, construction project failures, floods, earthquakes and other natural and man-made disasters. He represents insurance companies as defendants and plaintiffs on such matters across the United States and abroad.

Mr. Evinger brings over 43 years of legal experience handling major catastrophe losses. His expertise includes property insurance coverage and loss measurement litigation. He also advises liability and excess insurers of the exposures presented by large industrial and commercial losses. Mr. Evinger is frequently retained by Energy Risk Insurers for losses involving refineries, chemical plants, oil and gas pipeline systems, power plants, mines, and wood product industry facilities. He has defended insurance clients in several nine figure disputes and he has obtained nine figure subrogation recoveries for his insurance clients. His experience also includes national and international contract dispute litigation and arbitration cases.

Mr. Evinger earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Jamestown in Jamestown, North Dakota and his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana. He also did undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, at Harvard University, and he studied Common Market Law at the London School of Economics. Mr. Evinger is licensed to practice law in Minnesota and North Dakota. He has pro hac vice admissions in most United States jurisdictions and is admitted in the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit and Eighth Circuit, as well as the U.S. District Courts of Colorado, Minnesota and North Dakota. 

Mr. Evinger was a member of the National Fire Protection Association and has been a principle member or an alternate member on the NFPA 921 Technical Committee, which writes the Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigation. The NFPA 921 document has been cited by more than 100 courts across the country. Mr. Evinger has served on the attorney advisory committee of the International Association of Arson Investigators. Mr. Evinger is also a Qualified Neutral under Minnesota Rule 114 and he is actively involved in mediations and arbitrations.

Mr. Evinger’s publications include, “A Guide to Fire and Explosion Investigations,” Law 360, May 10, 2010, and “How Fast Can a Fire or Explosion Case be Extinguished?: Recent Developments Involving NFPA 921: Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations,” Coverage, Vol. 20, No. 2, March/April, 2010.

Mr. Evinger has served on various boards at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minneapolis and St. Paul. He and his wife, Lynn, established the Samantha Lynn Evinger Foundation at Children’s Hospital that supports the Cancer Kids Fund at the hospital.

Mr. Evinger serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of Jamestown. He also serves on the Board of the CLPC in Minneapolis, a board the represents over 9,000 residents in the historic Loring Park neighborhood. Mr. Evinger has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Due Process and Reconciliation Board of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the Board of Directors for Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and on the Advisory Committee Board for St. Josephs Home for Children in Minneapolis.