Carmen C. Sarge

Phone: 

(513) 579-0080

Fax: 

(513) 579-0222

Areas of Practice

  • Insurance Coverage
  • Bad Faith Litigation
  • Claim Investigation
  • Property and Casualty Defense



Education

Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Northern Kentucky University
Juris Doctorate, 1999; Awards for Achieving the Highest Grades in Contracts and Professional Responsibility; Nicholas Bauer Scholarship; Student Participant in Inns of Court.

Northern Kentucky University
B.S. Economics, Interdisciplinary Minor in Environmental Studies, 1995.



Admitted to Practice

  • Ohio and Kentucky state courts
  • United States District Courts, Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio
  • United States District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky



Honors

Recognized as a Rising Star in the practice areas of insurance coverage in the 2007 Edition of Ohio Super Lawyers.



Carmen worked as a volunteer law clerk with the Ohio Attorney General, Consumer Protection Section, in Cincinnati in 1996. In the summer of 1997, he completed a clerkship with Judge Daniel T. Guidugli at the Kentucky Court of Appeals, Sixth Appellate District. He started work at Smith, Rolfes & Skavdahl as a law clerk in 1997 and joined the firm as a partner in 2010.

Cincinnati, OH

600 Vine St.
Suite 2600
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
(513) 579-0080
(513) 579-0222

    Notable Experience

    SIGNIFICANT APPELLATE DECISIONS

    Yazell v. Foremost Insurance Company, 2003-CA-002155-MR, 2004-CA-000219-MR, unreported.
    http://162.114.92.72/COA/2003-CA-002155.pdf#xml=http://162.114.92.72/dtsearch.asp?cmd=pdfhits&DocId=14240&Index=D%3a%5cInetpub%5cwwwroot%5cindices%5cCourt%5fof%5fAppeals%5fIndex&HitCount=3&hits=2+3+4+&hc=93&req=November+4%2C+2005

    The Cincinnati Insurance Company v. Spencer, Twelfth Appellate District of Ohio, Butler County Case No. CA2004-05-108, unreported.

     

    SIGNIFICANT JURY VERDICTS

    Judgment in excess of $23,000.00 in favor of insurer in Butler County Court of Common Pleas following a jury trial in a case involving an insured’s alleged fraudulent alteration of and submission of false receipts to support a motorcycle theft claim.

     

    PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

    Civil Fraud Trials
    Presentation to students at Northern Kentucky University, November 2010 and February 2011

    Concealment, Misrepresentation and Fraud in Property Insurance Claims
    Ohio Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, October 2010

    Investigating Misrepresentation, Concealment and Fraud in Property Insurance Claims
    In-House Presentation, August, 2009.

    What is Cooperation in an Insurance Claim Investigation?
    In-House Presentation, April, 2009.

    What is Bad Faith?
    In-House Presentation, September, 2008.

    Legal Update Workshop
    Ohio Auto Theft Investigators Association, Motor Vehicle Theft Seminar, May, 2007.

    Claim Investigation
    Presentation to Insurer SIU Department, April, 2007.

    Ohio Legal Update Articles
    National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators (NSPII) Newsletter, Spring & Winter 2007.

    Kentucky Case Law Update
    Presentation to Kentucky Mutual & Co-operative Fire Insurance Association, October, 2005.

    Summary of New Developments in Kentucky Insurance Law, Case Law and Legislative Update
    Northern Kentucky Claims Association, October, 2005.

    NSPII Legal Update Panel – A Multi-State View of SIU Legal Issues
    Including Article: Bad Faith, A Case Study: Simpson v. Permanent General Insurance Company
    Ohio Panelist, NSPII Advanced Insurance Fraud Seminar, November, 2004.


    COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

    Economics Advisory Board Member, Northern Kentucky University
    Member of Advisory Board involved in providing the NKU Economics & Finance department faculty with insight from the local business community on various issues, including student development, hiring and accreditation, 2003 – 2010.

    BLAC-CBA Volunteer
    Attended meeting to give guidance to law students relative to resume development and interviewing in connection with diversity program administered by Cincinnati Bar Association and the Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati, 2008.


    MEMBERSHIPS

    • Ohio State Bar Association
    • Kentucky Bar Association
    • National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators
           National President, 2010-2011   
           Ohio Chapter Past President, 2010-2011     
           National First Vice President, 2010
           Ohio Chapter President, 2010
           3-Year Planning Committee, 2008 – 2010
           National Second Vice President, 2009
           Ohio Chapter First Vice President, Chapter Delegate, 2009
           Newsletter Committee, 2007 - 2008       
    • Cincinnati Claims Association
           Director, 2008 - 2009
           President, 2007
    • Northern Kentucky University, Economics Advisory Board Member, 2003 - 2010