Law Practice
Aug. 9, 2002
Litigator Volunteered With Women's Shelter
LOS ANGELES - Litigator and longtime Pasadena resident John Davison Cairns has died. He was 59. Cairns died unexpectedly on July 18 of organ failure that followed a brief illness, at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena.
Cairns died unexpectedly on July 18 of organ failure that followed a brief illness, at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena.
"He took his career seriously but had a good sense of fairness," said medical malpractice attorney Mary Lawrence Test of Bonne, Bridges, Mueller, O'Keefe & Nichols in Los Angeles, who was Cairns' first cousin.
Born in Los Angeles on Sept. 2, 1942, Cairns earned his bachelor's degree at USC in 1969. He went on to law school at the University of San Diego and graduated in 1972. He was admitted to the bar that same year.
He immediately began practicing at Kirtland, Darby & Hager in 1973.
His areas of practice include liability, insurance defense, general civil litigation and tort law, Test said.
Between 1989 and 1998, he was a partner with Hosp, Granieri & Cairns and then with Cairns Doyle Lans Nicholas & Soni, both in Los Angeles.
Cairns was practicing at the time of his death with his firm Cairns & Lans in Pasadena.
The firm was formed with Stephen Lans, a general commercial litigator also of Pasadena.
Even though Cairns was known for taking his work seriously, "he had a great sense of humor," Test said.
He also acted as a judge pro tempore and settlement officer for the Los Angeles Superior Court in Pasadena on and off throughout his career, according to Test.
A resident of Pasadena for many years, Cairns was active in his community and a member of the Pasadena Bar Association, a director of the Pasadena Southwest Little League and volunteer counsel for the Haven House women's shelter.
Outside of his practice, Cairns spent time with his wife wine-tasting, cooking and traveling, Test said.
Cairns is survived by his wife, Margaret "Peggy" Cairns, of Pasadena; his son, John D. Cairns, of Pasadena; and his daughter, Laura C. Johnson, of Santa Barbara.
A memorial reception took place for Cairns at Mijares Mexican Restaurant in Pasadena.
Sandra Corrales
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