Hannah Seifert McCalla
Partner
Overview
Hannah McCalla represents sophisticated clients in commercial litigation at the trial and appellate levels nationwide, with a focus on defense of insurance bad faith claims and class actions. She has experience and a history of success handling every stage of litigation.
Prior to joining Spencer Fane, Hannah worked at a Denver-based litigation firm where she successfully represented clients in complex commercial litigation in several jurisdictions. Before that, she served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Sam E. Haddon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana.
Credentials
Education
- University of Montana School of Law, 2016 (J.D.), with honors
- University of Montana, 2012 (B.A.), with high honors
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court for the District of Montana
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Trials
- Won a defense jury verdict in Colorado federal court against a policyholder who had sued for uninsured motorist benefits and insurance bad faith.
- Won a complete defense verdict in a five-day jury trial of underinsured motorist bad faith claims in Colorado in which the plaintiff demanded over $1 million.
- Won a defense jury verdict in New Mexico State Court for an insurer against underinsured motorist claims brought by two plaintiffs following a car accident. The jury found in the company’s favor in less than 30 minutes.
- Obtained a complete defense verdict following a two-week federal jury trial involving claims for breach of contract, common law bad faith, and unreasonable denial of underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits under C.R.S. §§ 10-3-1115 and -1116. Successfully defended against claims seeking millions of dollars in alleged damages arising from loosened spinal hardware following a motor vehicle accident, resulting in a defense verdict after approximately four hours of jury deliberation.
Class Actions
- Obtained summary judgment for a large national insurance company against a putative class action involving underinsured motorist coverage in Montana.
- Defeated class certification and declaratory claims in a putative class action in Montana regarding a large national insurer’s handling of claims for medical payments coverage.
- Secured dismissal of a putative class action brought under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act alleging an insurer failed to disclose the ability to stack multiple UM/UIM insurance policies. Successfully demonstrated the insurer had no duty to advise policyholders under the circumstances, earning an early Rule 12 motion and eliminating the need for costly discovery.
Insurance
- Won complete summary judgment in a residential property bad faith case for a large national insurer on an issue of first impression in Montana by proving the plaintiffs failed to cooperate as a matter of law.
- Secured a “walk away” dismissal of all claims in an underinsured motorist insurance lawsuit for bad faith in Colorado seeking over $1 million in damages against the client.
- Won complete summary judgment in an insurance bad faith case for an insurer in Colorado federal court by proving the plaintiffs’ failure to cooperate as a matter of law.
- Obtained favorable admissions from all of the plaintiff’s medical experts at deposition to win complete summary judgment in an insurance bad faith case for an insurer in Colorado federal court.
- Obtained complete summary judgment on coverage and bad faith claims arising from a motorcycle accident that resulted in significant injuries and a multimillion-dollar judgment against the insured. Successfully established that the motorcycle was excluded from coverage, defeated arguments based on waiver and estoppel, and secured dismissal of statutory and common law bad faith claims.
Appeals
- Obtained complete affirmance in the Ninth Circuit of a summary judgment dismissing residential property and bad-faith claims.
- Won affirmance in the Ninth Circuit of a summary judgment completely resolving a putative class action for a large national insurance company in Montana.
- Successfully defended a favorable summary judgment ruling before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, securing affirmance of the trial court’s decision in its entirety and defeating the opposing party’s attempt to certify questions to the Colorado Supreme Court.
- Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, 2022-2027
- Colorado Super Lawyers, Rising Star, Civil Litigation – Defense, 2022-2026
- National Moot Court Team, Regionals First Place
- Legal Writing Graduation Award
- State Bar of Montana
- Colorado Bar Association
- American Bar Association, Litigation Section
- “‘Embrace the Learning Process,’ Says Hannah McCalla of Spencer Fane,” Law.com, October 2025