michael-j-gayan

Michael J. Gayan

Michael J. Gayan is a partner at Kemp Jones, LLP and practices in many areas of civil litigation, including complex commercial disputes and the prosecution of class actions and mass actions, wrongful death actions, and commercial and residential construction defect litigation. He has helped try cases to verdict and recovered more than $300 million for his clients, including In re: Kitec Fitting Litigation, the largest class action case ever tried in Nevada. Michael also represents companies and individuals in prosecuting and defending commercial litigation, including contract disputes, insurance coverage disputes, shareholder derivative suits and class actions, partnership disputes, and antitrust actions. He recently secured a complete defense verdict and award of nearly $600,000 in fees and costs for a client accused of committing legal malpractice. Michael has litigated cases before state and federal trial courts in Nevada and throughout the country from California to Massachusetts as well as the Nevada Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Based on his successes, Michael has been recognized by Best Lawyers for his commercial litigation work and as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers for his class action and mass tort work. Since 2015, he has authored the Nevada section of the American Bar Association’s Survey of State Class Action Law. Michael also serves on the Nevada Justice Association’s Construction Defect committee and drafts amicus curiae briefs on the NJA’s behalf. Reported cases on which he’s worked include Panorama Towers Condo. Unit Owners’ Ass’n v. Hallier, 498 P.3d 222 (Nev. 2021), Principal Investments, Inc. v. Harrison, 366 P.3d 688 (Nev. 2016), Barrett v. Eighth Judicial District Court, 331 P.3d 892 (Nev. 2014), Vanguard Piping Systems, Inc. v. Eighth Judicial District Court, 309 P.3d 1017 (Nev. 2013), Slaughter v. Uponor, Inc., 475 Fed.Appx. 150 (9th Cir. 2012).

Michael enjoys giving back to the community by litigating pro bono matters for those in need and has received several awards for the number of hours he has donated. His pro bono matters have ranged from representing foster children in family court to successfully litigating a construction defect matter on behalf of the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada to prosecuting and settling a class action on behalf of more than 10,000 Nevada payday loan customers. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Michael earned his undergraduate degree in business/finance from Brigham Young University in 2004 and graduated cum laude from the Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada Las Vegas in 2008. He is admitted in Nevada state and federal courts and the Supreme Court of the United States. He is also a member of Public Justice’s Class Action Preservation Project Committee.

BAR ADMISSIONS

Nevada
U.S. District Court District of Nevada
U.S. Supreme Court

EDUCATION

William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, J.D., cum laude, 2008
Brigham Young University, B.S. in Business Management, 2004

HONORS AND AWARDS

The Best Lawyers In America (Commercial Litigation, Construction Law), 2021-Present
Super Lawyers, Mountain States Rising Stars, 2012–2017 (Class Actions/Mass Torts)
Clark County Pro Bono Project, Honor Roll, Multiple Years

PUBLISHED WORKS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Speaker: Preparing Witnesses with Documents: Risks and Rewards, May 2022
Co-Author: “How to Avoid (or Compel) Disclosure of Documents a Witness Reviewed Before Testifying.” Communiqué, Apr. 2022.
Author: “NRCP 23: Its Recent Amendments and Powerful Features.” Communiqué, Oct. 2019
Author: Survey of State Class Action Law, Nevada published annually by the American Bar Association, 2015 to present
Author: Judge Dredd: Hollywood Fiction or Las Vegas Reality? 8 NLJ 698 (2008)

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

State Bar of Nevada
Clark County Bar Association
Nevada Justice Association
Public Justice, Patron Member

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

Panorama Towers Condo. Unit Owners’ Ass’n v. Hallier, 137 Nev. Adv. Op. 67, 498 P.3d 222 (2021)
In re: Kitec Fitting Litigation
Principal Investments, Inc. v. Harrison, 366 P.3d 688 (Nev. 2016)
Barrett v. Eighth Judicial District Court, 331 P.3d 892 (Nev. 2014)
Vanguard Piping Systems, Inc. v. Eighth Judicial District Court, 309 P.3d 1017 (Nev. 2013)
Slaughter v. Uponor, Inc., 475 Fed.Appx. 150 (9th Cir. 2012)

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Judicial extern to Honorable Robert C. Jones, United States