Mr. Thayer is first and foremost a trial lawyer. He has been trying cases to verdict in front of juries and judges since his first year after law school. Mr. Thayer has substantial litigation experience in civil and criminal litigation involving fraud, embezzlement, and complex financial transactions. He has also represented plaintiffs and defendants in product liability cases, fidelity bond matters, insurance fraud cases, SEC matters, and other similar types of cases.

Mr. Thayer is a member of Durham Jones & Pinegar’s Board of Directors and is the Managing Shareholder of the Lehi, Utah office.

He was one of the Plaintiffs’ Class Counsel in an eight million member class action lawsuit against Prudential Insurance Co. in the matter entitled In re: The Prudential Insurance Company of America Sales Practices Litigation, in a federal multi-district case in Newark, NJ.

Representative Cases

• While Mr. Thayer has been involved in numerous reported cases, the most significant, from a complex litigation stand point, as well as monetary value, was as one of Plaintiffs’ Class Counsel in the In re: The Prudential Insurance Company of America Sales Practices Litigation, in a federal multi-district case in Newark, NJ.
• This case involved Plaintiffs’ Class Counsel bringing a nationwide class action lawsuit against Prudential Life Insurance Company alleging deceptive sales practices affecting over eight million claimants throughout the fifty states and the District of Columbia.
• The class was comprised of Prudential policy holders who were the victims of fraudulent and misleading sales practices employed by Prudential’s sales force.
• The challenged sales practices consisted primarily of churning, vanishing premiums and fraudulent investment plans, and each cause of action was based on fraud or deceptive conduct.
• More than two billion dollars were paid by Prudential to eight million class members through an ADR process set up as part of the settlement of the case.

Durham Jones & Pinegar

Durham Jones & Pinegar is a top-tier law firm with more than 95 attorneys. It is one of the largest and fastest growing law firms in Utah based in Salt Lake City with additional offices in Lehi, Utah; St. George, Utah; and Ogden, Utah

As a business-focused law firm, we offer a spectrum of legal services in a number of specialized fields. These include complex business & finance law, banking, commercial litigation, intellectual property, bankruptcy, real estate, tax, estate planning, employment, family law, immigration and more.

Our attorneys provide innovative and practical solutions, rapid response and attentive service. We offer a range of legal services to a diverse client base — from large public and private companies to individuals.