Hon. Michelle R. Rosenblatt (Ret.)

• Claimant alleged breach of a contract to show of a collection of iconic movie memorabilia at a Hollywood landmark theater when the exhibit was closed by the Los Angeles Building and Safety Department due to Respondents' failure to have the building ready, including obtaining a permit for a temporary floor.
• Plaintiff’s construction company sued a skilled nursing company for breach of contract due to failure to pay for restoration work completed. The skilled nursing company and owner of the real property disputed the claims and cross-complained for construction defect and fraud.
• A pre-litigation business dispute regarding failure to pay on a promissory note for a stock purchase agreement in the sale of a business, and breach of a personal guaranty. Purchaser alleged, among other things, that the buyer paid for certain unauthorized charges with money from the business, causing him to withhold payment, and failed to disclose the fact that certain litigation was pending, in breach of the stock purchase agreement.
• A shareholder dispute in which one member disputed whether the other was the majority shareholder with control and in which there was an ongoing dispute regarding management, fraud, and legal ethics violations. Parties each sought to buy out the other party and retain the company rather than proceed with judicial dissolution.
• Plaintiff claimed that the license for his marijuana dispensary was moved to a new location by a joint venture without his consent, resulting in damages. Defendants and other individuals involved in several similar businesses with Plaintiff asserted their own claims, including regarding money owed to them by Plaintiff, regarding being excluded from previously jointly operating dispensaries.

• Case involved the breach of an exclusive distribution agreement for the sale of cosmetics in the People’s Republic of China. Plaintiff alleged that a distributor who was not party to the agreement intentionally interfered with the contract and caused the distributors who were obligated under contract to breach so that the non-party could become the distributor. Plaintiff alleged this inducement of breach caused a disruption in business and provable damages.
• Plaintiff owner of mobile home park claimed property management company and onsite landlord neglected, caused property damage, breach its fiduciary duties, allowed a theft of rents and that once a new management firm was hired, the revenue from the property and the conditions at the property increased greatly.
• Business dispute between the owners of cryptocurrency mining devices and the venue hosting the miners and providing the electricity. Allegations of breach of contract and fraud in the inducement; damage claim included lost profits.
• Mediated dispute regarding money owed for services between an importer and the company that picks up and stores the importer’s cargo.
• Handled a case regarding a breach of service contract between a company that provides a platform for advertisers on Facebook and a former client advertiser. The company alleged that the advertiser failed to pay legitimate invoices, and the advertiser made counter-claims regarding the legitimacy of those invoices, and the loss of revenue that occurred when the company removed its advertising from social media.
• A business development company sued a 501(c)(3) religious organization and the gurus who ran the organization for breach of contract for failure to pay its fees and other business torts.
• A corporation owning a supermarket chain claimed a vendor breached its contract by delivering seafood that was non-merchantable. It therefore refused to pay for the product that was delivered. Vendor claimed that the product was edible and within the guidelines set forth by the supermarket chain for the product, and that the supermarket chain should pay for the product delivered as provided in the contract.
• Plaintiff brought a fraudulent transfer action against a debtor and his relatives who transferred real property to a relative for no consideration within days of a pending trial in the underlying fraud case.
• A pre-litigation dispute in which a transportation company alleged that the company who sold the product and with whom it had an exclusive contract violated the contract by transporting some of the product itself, a material breach.
• Dispute between members of a Masonic Lodge and a non-profit benefit corporation alleging trespass for entering the Lodge and taking funds and items that belonged to the corporation and breaching their fiduciary duty to the corporation.
• An expert witness claimed a litigant with whom he contracted to provide services failed to pay the majority of the billed expert fees. The litigant claimed the fees were unreasonable.
• A horse trainer alleged the Defendant horse owner failed to repay fees for training and rent, while the horse owner claimed she offset what she owed the horse trainer for repayment of a personal loan. The two parties formerly were close friends; the horse trainer disputed the loan and claimed it was a gift.
• Dispute regarding money owed for services between importer and company that picks up and stores cargo.
• Dispute over a contract between a video company and a movie studio to make the studio’s movies available for its customers via authorized networks at U.S. airports. In this action brought by the studio for failure of the video company to make its second payment to plaintiff studio, the video company alleged frustration of purpose
  because the agreement contemplated that the video company would enter into a joint venture with a wireless network to provide movie streaming at airports, but no authorized networks would enter into an agreement with the video company.
• Action for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and conversion. Plaintiff companies wanted to sell electronic products to Wal-Mart but were not “approved vendors”. Defendant company, an “approved vendor”, agreed to be the middleman. The agreement was for plaintiffs to ship goods from China to defendant
  company, who would in turn ship them to Wal-Mart. Defendant’s principal also promised to use his best efforts to obtain “approved vendor” status for Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs alleged that within months, defendant company and its principal forwarded only a portion of the Wal-Mart payments to Plaintiffs, keeping millions of dollars
  belonging to Plaintiffs. Further, Defendant principal made no effort to obtain approved “vendor status” for Plaintiff companies. Defendants filed a cross-complaint for breach of a joint venture agreement, breach of express and implied warranties and breach of express oral and implied contractual indemnity.
• Action for breach of contract, false promise, unfair business practice and quantum meruit seeking recovery by a law firm of fees it alleged it earned in connection with plaintiff’s representation in multiple lawsuits of defendant surgery centers and individual with ownership interests in the surgery centers. The gravamen of the suit was whether individual defendants should be held liable for the obligations of the surgery centers based upon a theory of alter ego liability.
• Action for breach of contract and for recovery of reasonable fees in quantum meruit brought by an attorney against his former client. The client signed a written retainer agreement to have the attorney represent him in an arbitration before FINRA against a stock brokerage for breach of fiduciary duties related to investment advice and its trading practices regarding the client’s positions in certain stocks and securities. Plaintiff alleged that the client refused to cooperate in his representation, refused to pay the expert costs, and following the Award, contacted the brokerage’s counsel to demand that they send the Award directly to the client in an attempt to circumvent his counsel and to prevent the attorney from receiving what he was due under the contingency fee agreement.
• Breach of contract in the purchase of domain names.
• Action for breach of written contract brought by the assignee of a closing car dealership against defendant car broker alleging failure to pay for forty-three used cars.
• Dispute between Plaintiff concrete company and the project manager regarding who should bear responsibility for payment of concrete materials delivered to a school district construction site after concrete manager served a stop notice on the school district and claimed some of the lien releases were forged by the contractor who abandoned the project.
• Action for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, quiet title and fraudulent transfer in connection with a partnership agreement in which each partner accused the other of confiscating business inventory, conversion of partnership assets and retaining partnership income.
• Action for misappropriation of trade secrets in which plaintiff graphic design and marketing company alleged that after it terminated defendant’s employment as a graphic designer, defendant was hired by one of plaintiff’s clients to maintain the website he had created for them and that while working in the new position, defendant published images he created while working for plaintiff, which he stole from plaintiff, and over which plaintiff had a proprietary interest.
• Action by an insurance provider whose agents sell life insurance policies and annuities against an independent agent alleging that the agent sent by email unsolicited deceptive advertisements. When the insurance provider terminated the agent, he sued the provider and hired a public relations firm to send emails to people
  working in the insurance industry about his lawsuits and the injustices he claimed to have suffered. Plaintiff alleged the header information or subject line on the emails contained false and misleading information.
• Action for breach of contract and common counts against a defunct corporation and its principal on an alter ego theory and cross complaint for breach of implied warranty of merchantability, negligent misrepresentation and unfair business practices where the parties entered into a series of transactions for the purchase of
  fabrics and garments that defendants refused to pay for, claiming some were not delivered and others were defective.
• Action for breach of subcontracts for maintenance, repair and facility modification of statewide buildings in which the defendants asserted as a defense that the plaintiffs were required to have a valid contractor’s license to perform the majority of the work and since they did not, that plaintiffs were not entitled to be paid for the work.
• Action followed the foreclosure of a partially completed condominium construction project after default on a construction loan. One dispute was over the right to the settlement proceeds as between the purchaser of the condominium project at a nonjudicial foreclosure and the original investors following the settlement of a lenderliability lawsuit between the bank that issued the real estate loan and the
  condominium developer whose condominium project went into foreclosure allegedly due to misdeeds by the bank. Another dispute was whether there was an oral agreement between the condominium developer and the purchaser of the project not to interfere with the foreclosure or challenge title to the property.
• Action for damages for breach of contract and fraud against several limited liability companies, corporations and an individual on an alter ego /single enterprise theory brought by a developer of a makeup line who sold her interest in her limited liability company to a corporation which defaulted in its payments.
• Action brought by a producer against his financial manager and an attorney for breach of fiduciary duty, constructive fraud, legal malpractice and declaratory relief contesting their right to profits made by defendants in connection with real estate investments made by limited liability companies in which they were both managers
  and investors. The primary dispute concerned the legal interpretation of the terms of distribution of proceeds upon sale of an asset or dissolution, as set forth in the written operating agreements.
• Action brought by a legal fees auditor for payment of disputed fees billed for conducting a review and analysis of legal fees and expenses invoiced by law firms in a major litigation with the defendant company.
• Action brought by a manager of recording artists against a photographer for breach of a contract to provide photographs from a celebrity shoot in exchange for publicity and promotion on social media.
• Consumer class action against a motorcycle dealership asserting illegal business practices and seeking restitution and injunctive relief for motorcycle customers to whom the dealership allegedly sold motorcycles not displaying the hanger tag containing the MSRP, the amounts charged for transportation and assembly, the amounts charged for accessories and the retail price, as required by the Vehicle Code.
• Action by an investor for breach of promissory note, money lent and money had and received against corporate entities and an individual as an alter ego in connection with a failed real estate project.
• Dispute between general partners in a real estate limited partnership established to purchase, complete and operate a large, unfinished apartment complex following the death of one of the partners. Plaintiff alleged breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and financial elder abuse in the manner defendant distributed the proceeds upon sale of the property, in violation of their written agreement.
• Plaintiff brought an action for breach of contract (settlement agreement) and negligent infliction of emotional distress following the settlement of a dispute with a funeral home that determined they cremated and held a funeral over the remains of the wrong decedent.
• Action for breach of contract and for violation of duties as a real estate broker and real estate consultant under the Civil Code, brought by Plaintiffs against foreclosure consultants who advertised on the radio that they could get clients a loan modification from their lenders. After paying a non-refundable fee up front for their
  foreclosure consulting services, they told Plaintiffs to default on their loan so that the lender would negotiate, but Plaintiff alleges they then did nothing to assist in obtaining a modification, resulting in foreclosure of their home.
• Actions under the Song-Beverly Act for failure to repair the vehicles to match the written warranty in a reasonable number of attempts or to promptly replace or repurchase the vehicles.

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• Civil rights action in which plaintiff, the parent of a driver being detained by police in
  front of his home, involved himself in the situation although the police warned him
  not to interfere. Plaintiff alleged that the police subjected him to excessive and
  unreasonable force causing physical injury and intentional infliction of emotional
  distress.
• Civil rights action brought against a city challenging the legality of a detention of a
  homeowner during the service of a search warrant, and alleging assault and battery
  by a police officer.
• Disputes seeking statutory damages against restaurant owners for Americans with
  Disabilities Act of 1990 violations involving accessibility to bathrooms, admittance of
  service animals, and parking areas.
• Journalist alleged that a law enforcement agency confiscated first amendment protected material necessary to his livelihood by falsifying a search warrant issued by a judge.

• Plaintiff general contractor and owner of a residential parcel for the construction of a high-end custom residential property contracted with Defendant subcontractor, a licensed excavator to excavate a hillside. Plaintiff alleged that the Defendant over-excavated, not following the proper plans. Plaintiff alleged this caused serious damage to the project and resulted in delays and unexpected expenses. Additionally, a truck hauling company that Defendant subcontracted with recorded a mechanic’s lien on the property. Plaintiff alleged that this cost was the obligation of Defendant.
• Homeowner’s claim against contractor for doing substandard work that was not only not within code, but structurally affected the integrity of the home and property.
• Homeowner claimed construction defect and disgorgement for contracting without a license where homeowner claims that a flooring contractor acted as a general contractor and did not complete the work in a timely manner. Flooring contractor cross-complained for defamation, breach of contract, indemnity and contribution by sub-contractors, and asserted that it acted as a construction manager only as well as a licensed flooring contractor, not as a general contractor.
• Construction defect, including allegations of breach of contract, misrepresentation and construction defect by the homeowner, breach of contract by the general contractor against homeowner and for indemnification by the subcontractors.
• Breach of contract and construction defect in connection with a home remodel.

• Dispute over payment for the construction of a 23-unit condominium project.
  Plaintiff contractor corporation claimed outstanding payment on original contract
  and for change orders; developer limited liability company claimed the work was
  untimely, did not conform to the contract, incurred unwarranted costs and lost
  profits.
• Construction defect action brought by a homeowner for negligence, products liability
  and breach of implied warranty against a hardwood floor manufacturer, an installer
  and surety for defective hardwood flooring and negligent installation of the
  hardwood floors.
• Dispute by homeowners with the contractor who built and sold them their home,
  alleging negligence in construction resulting in movement of the foundation and
  damage to the interior and exterior of the home. The homeowner as well as the
  defendant contractor also alleged negligence against the geotechnical engineer, the
  civil engineer and the architect.
• Action for breach of contract brought by Plaintiff against defendant architect.
  Plaintiff purchased land and hired Defendant to furnish a design, construction
  documents, bidding and negotiations and construction administration for a singlefamily
  dwelling. The first phase involved preparation of construction documents
  acceptable to the city building department. Plaintiff alleged he timely paid, but
  defendant did not meet deadlines or perform satisfactorily so that plaintiff was
  unable to get his permits. Their dispute led to a repudiation of the contract by
  Plaintiff and a delay of over a year, allegedly resulting in a substantial decrease in
  value of the property, increased cost of construction and loss of use damage.

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• Settled wrongful termination matter despite adamant claims by female former employee that she was terminated due to her pregnancy and needing time off due to high risk medical conditions, all of which the employer denied.
• Resolved matter involving claims of sexual harassment in a medical office. The office's receptionist alleged that the physician harrassed her through touching, leering, violating her space. She also asserted that the physician purposely loaded sexually suggestive photos of himself and other employees onto her devices. The physician denied all claims.
• Successful mediation settled employee's wrongful termination and harassment claims arising from allegations that an employee's supervisor made advances toward her and physically grabbed her and tried to kiss her. Per the employee, when she complained, she was terminated. Employer and supervisor denied the claims and alleged that the employee was terminated for excessive tardiness and absenteeism.
• Plaintiff claims she was off work for 4 weeks after she contracted a severe case of COVID-19 which exacerbated her other medical conditions. Defendants asserted they terminated Plaintiff for excessive absenteeism and failing to communicate with the employer. Plaintiff asserts causes of action for disability discrimination, failure to engage in the interactive process, failure to accommodate and wrongful termination.
• CFO is terminated from a non-profit institution and claims retaliation. Institution claims CFO was harassing other employees and creating a hostile work environment.

• Nanny/ House Manager for a very large household was terminated during the beginning of the pandemic. Employee claimed that she was terminated after taking two days off due to a cold. She further claimed she should not have had exempt status, and was due overtime, meal and rest breaks. Employer claimed that the termination was actually a reduction in force in which most of the household staff was laid off at the same time. Further, employer claimed that the House Manager was either a personal attendant or was covered by the executive or administrative exemption due to household and supervisory duties.
• Dispute between video relay service providing translation for the deaf and one of the employee translators who was repeatedly sexually harassed by a client. The employee translator's allegations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and FEHA include failure to prevent sexual harassment and retaliation by termination for reporting third party sexual harassment. Employer disputed allegations in part due to regulations of the FCC and disputed the termination by alleging that the employee was treated similarly to the other employees who were terminated or given other options when a call center closed.
• Plaintiff alleged she was sexually harassed by a supervisor at work and that she was wrongfully terminated in retaliation for not wanting to work in person without full PPE compliance
• Employee alleged he was required to take his lunch break after the fifth hour of work and when he complained he was terminated.
• Plaintiff alleged that she was terminated while on pregnancy leave. Defendant asserted that she sold her dental practice at that location and sent all employees letters that when the sale was final, the employees would be terminated but would probably be rehired by the new dentist. Defendant also asserted that her staff asked multiple times for Plaintiff's return date, but Plaintiff did not respond. Further, that the defendant did not terminate plaintiff while she was in practice at this location.
• School District did not hire plaintiff for a coaching position. Plaintiff alleges that was due to age discrimination.
• Injured employee alleged that her employer made negative comments about whether she was injured, whether she could do the job, and about her heritage. She alleged that the employer did not engage in the iterative process or seek to accommodate her so that she could work. Employer denied claims.
• Employee alleges he was retaliated against by his employer for complaining about wage and hour violations, including failure to pay overtime and per diem for out of the area work.
• Plaintiff alleged that Defendant discriminated against Plaintiff, who was out on leave, by failing to allow her to return to work, by discriminating against her for speaking Spanish on occasion, and by refusing to allow her to have her own uninterrupted time during meal and rest breaks.
• Appeal de novo from award of Labor Commissioner to a short haul trucker working with a logistics company under an independent contractor agreement who the Labor Commissioner determined should have been classified as an employee. The logistics company believed it would prevail based upon federal preemption, including under the FAAA.
• Pregnant employee alleged that she was forced to go on medical leave with no interactive process after refusing to do a task involving cleaning chemicals.
• Investment analyst alleged that the principal of a real estate investment business sexually harassed her over an extended period of time on a pervasive basis and that when she rejected his advances, he retaliated against her by withholding payment for certain transactions. Defendants denied and claimed that the analyst was not an employee. The analyst also was a limited partner in a number of the entity’s investments. The entity brought actions against the analyst in multiple states alleging license violations and seeking disgorgement of profits.
• Plaintiff tenant alleged gender violence, sexual battery, Bane Act violations, and negligent hiring against landlord personally and the entity owning/managing the residential property. Defendants denied all allegations in their entirety.
• Plaintiff alleged that she was misclassified as an exempt employee and therefore was entitled to overtime, meal and rest breaks, damages, penalties, and interest. Defendants denied and relied on the facts, expectations and job description to show that Plaintiff was exempt.
• A sexual relationship developed between a principal in a business and one of the employees. The employee alleged that when she ended the relationship, she was retaliated against, given an unwanted change of assignment, given poor reviews, and passed over for promotion. Subsequent to the constructive termination and the filing of her legal claim, the former employee learned that she had contracted a sexually transmitted disease from the business owner. She alleged that early in the relationship she had asked him whether he had any STDs and he had said no. The owner denied the employee’s claims and asserted that the employee would be unable to prove causation, alleging that she would be unable to prove that she did not contract the STD from another man.
• Commercial driver alleged racial discrimination and wrongful termination due to treatment by his employers during his employment and following an incident with another employee who made disparaging remarks.
• Plaintiff alleged that she was not accommodated following an injury at work and that she experienced disability discrimination, race discrimination, and sexual orientation discrimination. She alleged that she was terminated from her sales position for taking protected leave, in violation of law.
• Dental practice terminated a dental hygienist the same day she provided a doctor’s note seeking accommodation for an injury to her hand. The hygienist filed a complaint that included disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, wrongful termination, and wage and hour violations. The dental practice defendants denied that the termination had anything to do with the request for accommodation and asserted legitimate reasons for the termination.
• A disability discrimination and wrongful termination case in which Plaintiff claimed he was a warehouse employee who was terminated within one month of sustaining an injury while working and told that he could not have his job back unless he was 100% recovered. He was on light duty for three weeks due to restrictions placed by the doctor. After three weeks, he was terminated. Plaintiff claimed failure to engage in a good faith interactive process. Defendant claimed the employee worked there only one month before he was injured and that due to the type of work restrictions keeping him on was a hardship.
• Plaintiff alleged that the Defendant financial institution did not provide her with advancement opportunities and equal compensation due to her gender. She alleged constructive termination.
• Autobody shop employee alleged he was harassed because of his religion, not offered accommodations when he was injured at work, and terminated three months later due to his injury. He alleged he was not paid for all of his overtime, and was not provided his meal and rest breaks.
• Claimant alleged Respondent did not pay commissions due, disability discrimination, failure to accommodate and wrongful termination.
• Plaintiff dispatcher for a transportation company alleged that he was misclassified as an exempt salaried worker when his duties showed that he should have been classified as a non-exempt employee and therefore he was entitled to overtime pay, penalties, and he also alleged meal break violations.
• Plaintiff restaurant employee alleged he was misclassified as an exempt employee. Defendant claimed employee was a manager and therefore not entitled to bring claims for overtime, meal and rest breaks, or PAGA penalties.
• Plaintiff’s claims for defamation, retaliation, and constructive discharge included that her employer retaliated against her for reporting illegal conduct to human resources and that as a result, protocol for investigating, informing the employee of the outcome and lack of help by the company in finding the employee a position in which the employee would feel safe, resulted in retaliation by the manager who was involved in the illegal activity by adding tasks beyond the job description to the employee’s work, and offering her only a position working for another manager who had a close and personal relationship with the manager about whom she complained.
• Plaintiff was a grocery employee who alleged his employer did not pay him the overtime rate for overtime, did not accurately document or pay for his hours, when he did pay overtime, it was straight time and in case, and that the employer violated meal and rest break laws.
• A high level employee claimed, pre-litigation, that he was induced by employer to take a new management position outside of the United States by making certain representations of what his autonomy would be and what would be expected of him. However, after moving his family, which included the need for his spouse to change jobs and for the family to lease a new residence, the company hired regional management, in contravention of its original representation, who micromanaged his work and would not let him grow the new out-of-U.S. market in the way that he believed would benefit the company, causing stress and attendant physical and psychological symptoms. When the symptoms were reported to the company, he claimed that the company did nothing to provide him with his contractual benefits. He was removed from the position and went out on medical leave. He claimed constructive termination. His damages included loss of stock options, salary, and emotional distress.
• Former employee of an airport baggage handling service claimed that his employer ignored his reports that supervisors harassed him on the basis of his ethnicity and also sexually harassed him, calling him derogatory names, and further claims that the racial discrimination was the basis of his termination.
• Home health care worker paid on a piece basis alleged that she was paid under minimum wage, was not paid overtime, nor given meal and rest breaks. Employer alleged the worker cheated on her time and was not due any additional compensation or penalties.
• Claimant alleged she was discriminated against and wrongfully terminated because she asked for accommodations while pregnant.
• Plaintiffs each worked at a restaurant. Once each one became pregnant, they alleged they were not accommodated, their hours were cut, and they were not given uninterrupted meal and rest breaks. Defendants denied discrimination, asserted that everyone’s hours were cut – not just the pregnant workers’, and that there were no wage and hour violations.
• In a disability discrimination/wrongful termination case, Plaintiff alleged he was discharged after informing his supervisor that he would need to take additional time off to deal with a medical condition.
• Plaintiff, a nurse supervisor at an acute care facility, alleged she was wrongfully terminated for refusing to fraudulently change patient records or for asserting that she would report the facility. Defendants denied and asserted that Plaintiff was terminated for failing to go to work without getting permission.
• Claimant alleged supervisor sexually harassed her through unwanted sexual advances, texts, touching, and got mad when she told him to stop.
• Employee who returned from medical leave with restriction alleged that she was not offered available jobs or an accommodation.
• An African American bus driver alleged that his workplace was permeated with sexual banter, conduct, and racial epithets. When he complained, he was retaliated against, written up, when others were not, and ultimately terminated.
• Alleged embezzlement by an employee/shareholder. Wage and hour violations alleged against the employee.
• Dispute involving a wage and hour class action brought on behalf of delivery drivers for a delivery company.
• Pre-litigation dispute between a media transmission company and a former IT employee who alleged he was wrongfully terminated for asking a company to pay for continuing education, for reporting safety violations, and for taking paid time off. Company alleged the employee was late on an almost daily basis and had production issues.
• Dispute by a former employee regarding his classification as an exempt employee involving individual and PAGA claims. Plaintiff was a field manager for a real estate management company.
• Settled dispute involving a local delivery driver for a bakery who alleged that he worked overtime on a daily basis, six days a week, but was paid only his regular hourly rate rather than 1.5 times the regular hourly rate for his overtime hours and was not paid at the overtime rate for his entire shift that was over the 40 hours. He further alleged that he was not provided any meal or rest breaks or paid a premium for the missed breaks. He alleged the company cut his work schedule in retaliation for filing the complaint. The company denied all of the allegations.
• Arbitrated matter in which the Claimant brought causes of action for disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, retaliation, and wrongful termination. Respondent’s Motion for Summary Judgment was granted.
• Sexual harassment, sexual battery, gender orientation harassment, racial harassment and wrongful termination case brought by five employees against an employer/ business owner who was accused of making lewd comments to his employees on a regular basis in the workplace, requiring them to attend parties outside of work, drugging one of the employees and attempting sexual contact with her, making derogatory comments about an employee’s perceived gender orientation, making racial slurs and terminating the employees who complained of his conduct.
• Sexual harassment, sexual assault, constructive termination, failure to pay overtime, meal and rest breaks case brought by two employees of a credit card sales company alleging that their employer would make sexual comments about them, stand over them and look down their blouses, and touch them inappropriately, causing them to leave their employment.
• Sexual harassment case brought by a current employee of a governmental agency seeking damages for emotional distress due to allegations that a co-worker touched her without consent several times and made sexual comments on a regular basis all with the knowledge and acquiescence of the employer.
• Male corrections officer at private correctional facility claimed gender discrimination as the reason for his discharge, given that a female corrections officer who was also involved in an incident regarding a thwarted escape attempt was not discharged until after her pregnancy leave.
• Action for sexual harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination brought by an employee alleging she complained of sexually explicit comments made by a supervisor and was terminated as a result. Defendant employer asserted it had legitimate business reason for the termination, including allegations of violation of the company’s written policy by falsifying time off requests, sending highly confidential client information to her personal email account and by bullying co-workers.
• Action brought by a delivery driver against his employer for constructive wrongful termination in violation of public policy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent supervision and retention alleging that he was forced to quit his employment because of the employer’s continuing sexual advances and sexual harassment.
• Action for sexual harassment in the workplace, constructive termination and intentional infliction of emotional distress in which plaintiff alleged that one of the other employees played x- rated videos on his computer in view of the plaintiff with the knowledge of the employer.
• Action for sexual discrimination and harassment, hostile work environment and failure to prevent discrimination and harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress against a men’s clothing manufacturer who forced the salesmen and co-workers to undress in front of her in the course of trying on the clothing line, calling her and her co-workers sexual and ethnic names, asking her about her sex life and circulating a letter inferring she had sex with a co-worker.
• Sexual harassment case brought by a current employee of a governmental agency seeking damages for emotional distress due to allegations that a co-worker touched her without consent several times and made sexual comments on a regular basis all with the knowledge and acquiescence of the employer.
• Action against a staffing agency and a manufacturer for discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation, retaliation and defamation, alleging he was treated unfairly and singled out for tasks outside of his job function because he was homosexual.
• Two employees claimed wrongful termination from a car dealership; one for disability discrimination resulting from PTSD and his military status and one for racial/national origin discrimination. The employer claimed that each employee was terminated for violating company rules.
• Discrimination claim in which employee was laid off shortly after she notified her employer that she was pregnant.
• Disability Discrimination case with a wage and hour component in which an employee of a golf course alleged she requested accomodation for a foot injury after having worked at this position for six months. She requested a temporary change of duties, but instead she alleged her hours were reduced. One day she could not work for medical reasons and could not reach her manager to explain. When she came to work for her next shift, she was terminated.
• Disability Discrimination case in which a forklift driver alleged the company failed to accommodate his medical restrictions and retaliated against by changing his shift time and shortening his hours and then terminated for requesting work with restrictions. Defendant claimed that there was no retaliation; that there was a global company change in shift times and Plaintiff was not singled out.
• Disability Discrimination dispute in which a delivery driver was terminated after his physician placed him on medical leave. Plaintiff also alleged wage and hour violations. Defendant alleged the employee abandoned his job.
• Disability Discrimination disputes in which employees alleged they were terminated because they took disability leave. They faulted their employers for failing to engage in the interactive process as well as failure to rehire. The employers asserted the terminations were legitimately due to poor attendance, hours and job performance issues.
• Employee of a retail chain alleged she was singled out for discipline and later terminated based on the employer having to accommodate her disability. The employer claimed poor job performance was the reason for the discipline and termination.
• Disability discrimination and wrongful termination case in which Plaintiff alleged she was treated differently and in a condescending way after her injury and multiple eye surgeries for which she was required to take medical leave and have some minor accommodations at work.
• Nurse alleged Disability Discrimination and California Disability Act violation against a medical facility for refusing to allow her to bring her service dog to work at the medical facility.
• Action by a bus driver against her former employer for disability discrimination under the FEHA for failure to accommodate her disability. She also sued for violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, including retaliation and termination of her employment for taking her leave of absence.
• Action by the executive director of an organization for disability discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination after she disclosed her cancer diagnosis.
• Plaintiff employee, who alleged his disability prevented him from sitting for more than two hours at a time, brought an action against his former employer for terminating him while he was on medical leave, failing to engage in the interactive process and failing to provide a reasonable accommodation.
• Disability Discrimination case with a wage and hour component in which an employee of a golf course alleged she requested accomodation for a foot injury after having worked at this position for six months. She requested a temporary change of duties, but instead she alleged her hours were reduced. One day she could not work for medical reasons and could not reach her manager to explain. When she came to work for her next shift, she was terminated.
• Disability Discrimination case in which a forklift driver alleged the company failed to accommodate his medical restrictions and retaliated against by changing his shift time and shortening his hours and then terminated for requesting work with restrictions. Defendant claimed that there was no retaliation; that there was a global company change in shift times and Plaintiff was not singled out.
• Disability Discrimination dispute in which a delivery driver was terminated after his physician placed him on medical leave. Plaintiff also alleged wage and hour violations. Defendant alleged the employee abandoned his job.
• Disability Discrimination disputes in which employees alleged they were terminated because they took disability leave. They faulted their employers for failing to engage in the interactive process as well as failure to rehire. The employers asserted the terminations were legitimately due to poor attendance, hours and job performance issues.
• Employee of a retail chain alleged she was singled out for discipline and later terminated based on the employer having to accommodate her disability. The employer claimed poor job performance was the reason for the discipline and termination.
• Wrongful termination, racial discrimination and gender orientation harassment brought by an employee who alleged the supervisor referred to him on a regular basis by racial slurs and made constant derogatory remarks about his sexual orientation. Employee alleged that after he complained to the employer’s human resources department, the supervisor then wrote him up for poor work performance, which the employee claimed was pretext.
• Action for race discrimination, harassment, retaliation and failure to investigate FEHA protected complaints by a 911 dispatcher against a city. Plaintiff alleged that supervisors treated her disrespectfully and in a demeaning manner based on her race, and that because of ongoing harassment and discrimination she was forced to quit her employment.
• Action brought by a school principal for wrongful termination from her position due to race and to mandate the school district to reinstate her as principal for failure to comply with Education Code section 44951, which requires that the notice of termination be sent by registered mail or signed by the affected employee no later than the 15th of March preceding the following school year.
• Wrongful termination, retaliation, wage an hour case brought by an employee who was a computer analyst for a large company and was terminated on the stated grounds of performance issues. The employee alleged that this reason was pretext because he was terminated right after his questions and complaints about misclassification.
• Action for wrongful termination by a shipping clerk who alleges he was terminated for failing to follow his employer’s instructions for disposal of expired toxic and hazardous materials in a manner that violated state and federal regulations.
• Police detective brought an action against his employer governmental entity for retaliation alleging he was not promoted or given coveted assignments because he engaged in protected activity.
• Action for retaliatory discharge brought against an employer working on government contracts who discharged one of its scientists. The scientist alleged, among other things, that he was terminated for reporting what he believed was non-compliance with a federal statute. The company alleged that the discharge was for a proper reason and that the decision maker did not have knowledge that the Plaintiff was engaged in protected activity.
• Plaintiff employee brought an action for age discrimination, defamation, pregnancy discrimination and wrongful termination. A videotape operator claimed he was discharged, not for sending clients the wrong tape, which he alleged was pretextual, but because a supervisor made comments about his age and because he had scheduled a three-month paternity leave, using vacation and sick time, to begin at the birth of his child.
• Plaintiff brought an action for breach of implied contract, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, age discrimination, retaliation and unfair business practices. When he joined the company he had a three-year employment contract. Two years later, he was promoted and an addendum was added to his contract. The following year, the firm designated him a participant in the company’s long-term incentive plan. A year later, plaintiff alleges he noted illegal, fraudulent or nom-compliant conduct in accounting or reporting practices that he brought his concerns to senior management’s attention. Plaintiff alleges that after raising the issue multiple times, the company terminated his employment. The company asserted that the employment agreement was at will, that they terminated plaintiff due to downsizing, and that they did not terminate other individuals in the same or similar job category who were older than plaintiff.
• Wage and hour dispute in which a security guard sued the owner of the building for whom he provided security, as a joint employer, in addition to the security company for whom he was employed.
• Cargo ramp agents alleged they were not provided breaks or lunch periods due to work demands.
• Class action lawsuit brought by a certified class of plumbers against their employer for classifying them as exempt employees, for failure to pay overtime compensation and failure to provide adequate meal and rest breaks.
• Class action lawsuit brought by a certified class of exotic dancers against a strip club for misappropriation of the dancers’ tips, misclassification and other wage and hour violations. The club required the dancers to pay the club a portion of the monies that customers paid to the dancers for lap dances, which the class alleged to be illegal under Labor Code Sections 351 and 350(e). Further, the dancers alleged that they were employees rather than independent contractors.
• Class action brought by a certified class of insurance agents for misclassification as exempt employees and failure to pay overtime.

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• Plaintiffs alleged insurance companies wrongfully failed to defend a lawsuit that Plaintiffs asserted contained language covered under the policy. Additionally, Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants refused to pay attorney’s fees for one of two firms hired by Plaintiffs to defend them in another lawsuit. Plaintiffs alleged coverage and bad faith.
• Homeowner alleged insurance company acted in bad faith by delaying payment for claims requested after sewage back up caused major damage to the home. Additionally, homeowner alleged the insurance company purposely denied living expenses that were justified when the family was forced to live outside the home for over four months.
• Insurance fraud, unlawful business practice claims brought by an insurance company against a law firm alleging the unlawful practice of law by non-lawyers and capping as part of the unlawful business practice.
• Fraudulent transfer claim brought by an insurance company against a chiropractor and his family members for transferring title to real estate to a family member in order to prevent the insurance company from collecting an anticipated judgment in a qui tam action against the chiropractor for insurance fraud and unlawful business practices.
• Pre-litigation dispute regarding allegations of billing fraud in which an insurance company investigated a physician who takes patients on medical liens and anticipated filing a qui tam action if the matter did not resolve.

• Dispute in which an insurance company brought a Qui Tam action against a group of medical providers who the insurance company alleged committed violations of the Insurance code in the way they billed patients with whom they had medical liens due to the patients’ involvement in motor vehicle accident litigation.
• Action by an Insurance company against a person who was claiming coverage under
  a homeowner’s policy. The homeowner shot and killed an intruder and was
  criminally charged with homicide. Following the criminal case and a wrongful death
  action brought against the homeowner, the mother of the deceased intruder sought
  coverage from the insurance company that issued the homeowner’s policy. The
  insurance company in this action challenged the assertion that the loss was covered
  by the policy on the ground that the insurer only promised to indemnify or defend
  actions involving bodily injury caused by an accident resulting in bodily injury neither
  expected nor intended by the insured.
• Action brought against an insurance company alleging bad faith in delaying payment
  for 14 months of underinsured motorist benefits for dental injuries sustained in a
  motor vehicle accident in which plaintiff’s teeth were knocked out. Plaintiff alleged
  he sustained emotional distress damages by reason of the delay alone as he could
  not afford to get his teeth fixed while he waited for the insurance company to pay
  the claim and he was embarrassed to leave his home or go to his job in the hospitality
  field without teeth.
• Action brought against an insurance company alleging plaintiff’s auto liability policy
  was “uncapped” by the insurance company’s failure to accept a demand for
  settlement within policy limits or interplead, and seeking to have the insurance
  company pay the multi-million dollar judgment. The insurance company defended
  based upon the evidence that it did issue a settlement check for policy limits but
  included the hospital’s lien, and Plaintiff refused to accept the payment, making new
  demands.
• Action by an insurance company for declaratory relief seeking a determination that
  a bar’s liability insurance policy precluded coverage for an attack by a patron that
  left a dancer with burns over forty percent of her body. The dancer sued her
  assailant as well as the bar owner, who stipulated to a $10 million judgment and
  agreed to assign its rights under the insurance policy to the dancer. The insurer
  rejected the claim and brought this action.
• Dispute over coverage under a title policy and whether the title insurance company
  had a duty to defend its insured, the holders of the first trust deed, against the holder
  of the second trust deed and whether the denial of the request to provide a defense
  upon request was in bad faith.
• Pre-litigation dispute regarding allegations of billing fraud in which an insurance company investigated a physician who takes patients on medical liens and anticipated filing a qui tam action if the matter did not resolve.
• Dispute in which an insurance company brought a Qui Tam action against a group of medical providers who the insurance company alleged committed violations of the Insurance code in the way they billed patients with whom they had medical liens due to the patients’ involvement in motor vehicle accident litigation.

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• Plaintiff alleged that he hired Defendant to represent him in opposing a post-trial motion for attorney’s fees and costs after he lost a trial against a mobile home developer for trespass and nuisance and after his cross-complaint for race discrimination under the FEHA was dismissed by the Court on a directed verdict. Plaintiff alleged that Defendant did not prepare a written opposition and did not appear at the hearing of the motion, and but for the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff would have prevailed. Defendant alleged that the Court of Appeals ruled that there were statutory grounds upon which a judge could find that attorney’s fees were warranted. There were additional allegations based upon the attorney-client contract, and additional defenses in mitigation of Defendant’s conduct.
• Plaintiff alleged that Defendant attorney failed to carefully review and advise Plaintiff regarding her husband’s investment, which was at issue during the settlement of Plaintiff’s marital dissolution. Plaintiff alleged that due to the attorney’s negligence, she lost millions of dollars to which she was entitled.
• Plaintiffs alleged they retained Defendant immigration attorney to apply for an adjustment in an immigrant petition for work visa status and that Defendant was non-responsive, forged their signature, and in other ways acted below the standard of care, causing the denial of the petition.
• Plaintiff tenant retained attorney to represent him in an action for breach of contract, conversion, nuisance, negligence, abuse of process, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. When the court granted an anti-SLAPP motion, Plaintiff retained attorney to represent him on appeal and on cert to the California Supreme Court. Plaintiff alleged in this action that Defendant’s representation fell below the standard of care in opposing the anti-SLAPP, and that Defendant’s advice and counsel on appeal subjected Plaintiff to attorney fee judgments and attorney’s fees for the subsequent attorney retained to handled the subsequent case.
• Business owner accused of sexual harassment in the workplace and other employment violations filed an action against his attorneys for professional negligence in advising him not to work with his insurance company and not to accept Cumis counsel, which led the insurance company to obtain a judgment from the court that the business owner breached his insurance policy by his failure to cooperate and therefore the insurance company had no duty to defend. The judgment of the court was affirmed on appeal. The business owner, having to defend against the employment claims without insurance defense coverage, therefore asserted counsel’s advice fell below the standard of care. Defendant attorneys disagreed based upon certain information they had regarding their former client’s business practices and potential criminal liability.

• A child sustained a head injury when hit by an automobile traveling on a dark street. Mother alleged she hired an attorney who promised that in addition to settling with the driver, he would file a claim with the city for not properly lighting the street. The attorney failed to file a government claim. Once the mother found out that no claim had been filed, the government claim was time-barred and the attorney was deceased. The child, with mother as guardian ad litem, sued the attorney’s estate and the practice administrator for professional negligence. Defendants claimed, among other things, lack of causation by the city in the underlying case.
• Legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty action brought by the former manager
  of a country club against an attorney from whom he sought advice after the club
  offered him a demotion or, in the alternative, a severance package. When Plaintiff
  read derogatory and untrue statements made against him in a club newsletter, he
  sought the advice of the attorney to determine whether to revoke a severance
  agreement and sue for defamation. The malpractice suit alleged that the resulting
  advice and inaction of counsel fell below the standard of care and led to both the
  determination that there was no case against the country club as well as the club’s
  revocation of the severance package, causing the plaintiff damage.
• Action against an attorney and a realtor and their corporations for fraud and
  malpractice brought by an elderly homeowner who alleged that the attorney and
  realtor claimed that they could get her a loan modification for a certain fee as well
  as funds necessary to process the modification. Plaintiff alleged that despite paying
  the amount requested, no loan modification was ever requested and that the
  attorney fell below the standard of care.
• Action in which attorney sued his client for unpaid fees and client filed a cross-complaint for legal malpractice in advising the client to go to arbitration in the underlying action.

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• Medical malpractice action brought against a surgeon and a hospital when a surgical
  sponge was left in a patient during surgery, causing complications.
• Medical malpractice action brought against cardiologist over the diagnosis and
  treatment of a patient with a pacemaker.
• Medical malpractice action brought against a plastic surgeon following breast
  implant replacement and bilateral mastopexy as a result of the patient’s
  dissatisfaction with a subsequent scar revision surgery.
• Medical malpractice, wrongful death, battery, and intentional infliction of emotion
  distress action brought against a hospital and several physicians by the decedent’s
  heir, alleging that the doctors and staff were negligent implementing a comfort care
  treatment plan for the decedent, failed to obtain consent and fell below the standard
  of care in their treatment of the patient’s medical conditions.
• Dental malpractice action brought against an oral surgeon alleging that the oral
  surgeon fell below the standard of care in not taking steps to determine that the
  Penrose drain he temporarily placed in the patient’s mouth, following surgery for a
  dental abscess, fell into the wound rather than out of the patient’s mouth. Following
  surgery, the oral surgeon had the patient admitted overnight to the hospital and saw
  him for follow up in his office the next day. The patient at that time reported to the
  oral surgeon that the drain was missing or had fallen out. There was no further pain
  and the patient healed from the dental surgery. However, the drain had not fallen
  out, and over time it migrated to the patient’s neck and remained there unknown to
  Plaintiff for over two years, until he later experienced pain and a mass in his neck
  which, when removed and dissected, revealed the presence of the Penrose drain.

• Action against a dermatologist and compounding pharmacy for causes of action
  including medical negligence and strict liability for defective product after Plaintiff
  suffered permanent damage to her eyes in connection with an anesthetic applied to
  Plaintiff’s face in the course of a skin care treatment.

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• In this wrongful death case, plaintiffs alleged that defendant Board and Care was negligent in the fail to get its resident emergency medical care for a prolonged period, which caused his demise. Defendant's position was the resident would have died even if defendant had called 911 right away.
• Plaintiff’s vehicle was hit by a bus on the freeway when she changed lanes to avoid an accident in front of her. Defendant disputed liability, asserting that her lane change caused the accident with the bus, which did not have time and distance to stop short of hitting the vehicle. Plaintiff alleged that in addition to orthopedic problems, she sustained a TBI, which has affected her ability to focus, and has caused headaches and neuropsychiatric changes.
• Pre-litigation dispute in which tenant claimed her serious injuries were sustained in a trip and fall in the backyard of the home she was leasing. Landlord claimed the condition was trivial, open, and obvious.
• Slip and fall on stairs of commercial building. Plaintiff sustained orthopedic injuries and TBI. Plaintiff alleged negligence by owner, property management, general contractor, flooring contractor, and carpet cleaning company.
• Employee of audio-visual equipment company picking up equipment from a hotel sustained injury while lifting the equipment. Plaintiff claimed the injury was caused by Defendant’s failure to have an operating ramp. Defendant hotel claimed that it had no duty of care since the Plaintiff was an employee of the audio-visual equipment company.

• Plaintiff called Defendant tow truck company via an auto club to tow his personal vehicle. The tow truck operator was alleged to have instructed the Plaintiff to drive his vehicle onto the flatbed, in violation of company and industry standards. Plaintiff alleged he was injured when he fell from the flatbed, and as a result had to have three surgeries and sustain loss of past and future income. Defendant disputed the amount of damages
• Mediated a matter in which Plaintiff alleged a hospital’s care facility and physician failed to follow the medical directive, and maintained the patient on life support against Plaintiff’s wishes and for financial gain.
• Wrongful death action in which decedent was struck and killed when a delivery truck backed up. The family of the decedent sought damages against the truck driver and the company for whom he worked for love, comfort and support. The company disputed negligence.
• Plaintiff was rear-ended by a city bus and alleged soft tissue injuries and a traumatic brain injury that took an extended time to resolve, affecting her ability to do her work as head of a program at a local university. The city disputed the extent of the damages alleged.
• Patient sued the dentist, manufacturer and supplier of a dental light that fell on the patient while in the dental chair, causing burns and disfigurement. The manufacturer accused the dentist of failing to add a safety feature sent to the dentist by the supplier on behalf of the manufacturer. The dentist claimed he never received the safety feature.
• Following a DUI driver causing a fatal crash with an Access van, insurance company filed an interpleader action regarding the full policy limit. The claimants seeking a portion of the funds were the families of the two deceased individuals and an injured individual who claimed a traumatic brain injury caused his physical and mental deterioration.
• Dispute over damages sustained in an auto collision between a shared ride company and another vehicle in which liability was admitted.
• Auto accidents involving soft tissue where liability was admitted but damages were in issue.
• Action for wrongful death brought by the family of a deceased pilot following a
  helicopter crash. The survivors alleged that the helicopter had a defective design of
  which the manufacturer had knowledge and defendants alleged pilot error.
• Action for wrongful death due to asbestos exposure against manufacturers of
  products containing asbestos brought by Plaintiff whose spouse died of
  mesothelioma.
• Action in which Plaintiff alleged his lung cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos.
• Action for products liability against a motor scooter manufacturer following a twovehicle
  accident alleging a defective design and warning defects in the scooter
  caused plaintiff a severe leg injury requiring amputation.
• Action for wrongful death brought by the family of a man who was struck and killed
  by a car driven by a law enforcement officer as the deceased stood on the freeway
  shoulder awaiting a tow truck following an accident.
• Action against a governmental agency and its representative for negligent training
  and supervision following the sexual assault of a minor incarcerated in a juvenile
  facility.
• Action by a patient against an acupuncturist for intentional tort (sexual assault) and
  negligent infliction of emotional distress.
• Dispute over whether a school district was liable for injuries sustained by a student
  during weight training class.
• Action brought by a freight trucker for negligence and OSHA violations against
  defendant lighting warehouse after lighting poles fell on him causing injuries.
  Plaintiff alleged the cause of his injuries was that the warehouse had insufficient staff
  to properly load the poles onto the truck. The plaintiff also sought recovery from the
  trucking company that employed him for failure to maintain a workers’
  compensation policy.
• Action for defamation and slander against members of an organization Plaintiff was
  investigating for misdeeds while he was president. Plaintiff alleged the members of
  the organization ousted him from his position and then accused him of criminal
  activities including assault and misappropriation of funds.
• Action for negligence and premises liability allegedly arising over injuries suffered by
  the Plaintiff visitor when Defendant homeowner fell on him.
• Action brought by an extra on a television show who slipped on a sound stage.
  Defendant studio claimed it was an alternate employer along with the producer of
  the television show and that the claim was therefore exclusively covered under
  workers’ compensation.
• Lawsuit for negligence with admitted liability in which injuries suffered by the
  Plaintiff dancer were in dispute.
• Action brought by a tenant who slipped and fell on apartment stairs that he claimed
  were negligently maintained and in need of repair.
• Action for negligence brought against a retailer for a slip and fall in the parking lot
  causing a knee fracture and chronic pain.
• Action brought against a stone dealer by a granite fabricator whose arm was crushed
  by granite slabs that he alleged the stone yard employees negligently loaded onto
  his truck.
• Action brought against a cable provider by an 86 year old man who sustained injuries,
  while riding his bicycle, from a dangling cable belonging to and maintained by the
  cable provider.
• Action brought by the parents of a student regarding corporal punishment by a
  teacher at school. Plaintiffs alleged assault, battery and intentional infliction of
  emotional distress. Defendant teacher cross-complained for defamation.
• Action brought by a tenant against a landlord for nuisance, constructive eviction,
  breach of warranty of habitability and negligence based upon a claim of exposure to
  mold mycotoxins.
• Premises liability action in which plaintiff, who was invited to a friend’s company
  event where there was a rock climbing wall, sustained injuries when he fell. Plaintiff
  claimed his fall was due to the negligence of the operators; defendants claimed
  assumption of the risk.
• Action for negligence by an individual against the roofing company that plaintiff
  alleged failed to fix a roof leak that he asserted was the cause of the wet floor on
  which he tripped.
• Dispute over damages sustained in an auto collision between a shared ride company and another vehicle in which liability was admitted.

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• Plaintiffs allege serious illness from landlord's failure to remediate water damage/mold.
• A pre-litigation dispute in which the parties signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to purchase a 50% interest in several properties subject to a right of first refusal (ROFR) by the owner of the other 50% interest. The disputed language in the LOI related to a fee to the proposed buyer should the ROFR be exercised, and whether the seller was bound.
• Buyer of residential property claimed that Seller failed to disclose drainage issues, construction defects, and noise/nuisances, and sought rescission or compensation. Seller claimed lack of knowledge of the defects and that the noise and issues that Buyer said were nuisances were de minimis and not something they should have been required to disclose.
• Plaintiff alleged that Defendants wrongfully foreclosed upon her commercial property despite irregularities in the foreclosure process and wrongfully ignored mortgage payments for the sole purpose of being able to take the property for themselves and sell it at a great profit. Plaintiff alleged fraud and Business & Professions Code section 17200 claims.
• Plaintiff apartment owner sued Defendant developer of adjoining hillside property alleging breach of a temporary easement agreement. Defendant alleged the work was timely completed and the TEA was not breached. Additionally, survey showed Plaintiff’s property was built on a small part of Defendant’s land and the parties resolved title as part of their settlement.

• Settled dispute in which the tenants sued the landlords for a violation of the LA Rent Stabilization Ordinance, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and unlawful business practice for eviction of tenants under the Ellis Act, but then renting the units as short-term vacation rentals using an online platform.
• Numerous tenants on multiple properties owned by landlord alleged habitability claims, including code violations.
• Pre-litigation dispute over breach of lease and misrepresentation relating to contracts involving the development of land for growing cannabis in California.
• Dispute between commercial tenant and landlord over an option to purchase, whether the landlord was able to sell the property to a third party, and which party was responsible for contamination remediation.
• Easement dispute in which neighbor claimed nuisance.
• Commercial tenant in a textile dye and finishing company claimed a right of first refusal to purchase a property. He filed an action for breach of contract and specific performance to compel the owner to sell him the property because, in reliance on the promised right of first refusal, he invested thousands of dollars to improve the property. The owner claimed tenant was in default on its rent, affecting the right of first refusal, and additionally that tenant caused hazardous substances on the property so that if the owner allowed tenant to purchase the property it was not owner’s responsibility to remediate the hazardous substances.
• Landlord sued for breach of commercial lease involving buildout for a gym. Tenant alleged misrepresentation by the landlord as to gym customer parking as required by the city.
• Lessee in short term rental of an estate home asserted the owner was liable for breach of lease, negligence and bodily harm from mold and water intrusion.
• Numerous cases involving multiple tenants in multi-unit apartment buildings suing current and former landlords for habitability, negligence and nuisance. Allegations included housing violations, substandard conditions, water leaks, mold, cockroaches, vermin, lack of hot water, broken screens and windows and other substandard conditions.
• Homeowner claimed construction defect and disgorgement for contracting without a license where homeowner claims that a flooring contractor acted as a general contractor and did not complete the work in a timely manner. Flooring contractor cross-complained for defamation, breach of contract, indemnity and contribution by sub-contractors, and asserted that it acted as a construction manager only as well as a licensed flooring contractor, not as a general contractor.
• Construction defect, including allegations of breach of contract, misrepresentation and construction defect by the homeowner, breach of contract by the general contractor against homeowner and for indemnification by the subcontractors.
• Sellers attempted to cancel purchase-sale agreement. Buyers claimed fraud and breach of contract.
• Pre-litigation dispute in which claimant maintained that landlord failed to fix water leaks maintain the premises, resulting in mold. Claimant alleged that as a result, she and her children developed respiratory ailments.
• Alter-ego liability was alleged against the landlord by Plaintiff tenants who obtained a judgment against the management company for breach of habitability.
• Several disputes over the enforcement of purchase-sale agreements or the return of deposits
• Dispute between the county assessor and a company that purchased hotel property
  regarding the property tax assessment. The primary disagreement was over the
  valuation approach taken by the purchaser versus the valuation method used and
  adopted by the assessor.
• Action for fraud, concealment, breach of fiduciary duty and negligent
  misrepresentation against the broker and seller alleging failure to disclose in the
  Transfer Disclosure Statement CC&Rs that would prevent Plaintiff from construction
  of the property in the way he planned, and alleging he made his intentions known to
  the real estate broker during the sale proceedings but that the broker and seller did
  not properly disclose the CC&Rs.
• Commercial unlawful detainer brought by a retail mall lessor.
• Commercial unlawful detainer in which tenant business defended asserting breach
  of lease for failure of the landlord to have construction of the building complete by
  the start date of the lease, and retaliatory eviction.
• Breach of lease, intentional interference with prospective advantage, intentional
  interference with contractual relations, constructive eviction, breach of covenant of
  good faith and fair dealing. The property in dispute was a multi-acre large parcel
  commercial horse facility used for boarding, lessons and summer camp. Lessee
  alleged a failure to disclose a serious horse disease on the property, issues regarding
  water to the property, zoning and building permits.
• Action for declaratory relief, damages for negligence and injunctive relief. The prior
  owner of a multi-family dwelling obtained an easement for ingress and egress from
  the prior owner of the adjoining property, now owned by plaintiff. Plaintiff alleges
  that rather than using the property as zoned by the City, the defendants used the
  property as a motel or boarding house for short stay rentals. The renters allegedly
  blocked the easement with their vehicles, parked on the easement, made loud noise,
  engaged in drinking and in physical altercations on the easement. Plaintiffs, among
  other things, sought to extinguish the easement.
• Dispute with the city over the just compensation for a sewer backup on plaintiff’s
  property and whether the city was liable for an alleged loss in the fair market value
  of the house.
• Dispute for quiet title against a claim of adverse possession.
• Action followed the foreclosure of a partially completed condominium construction
  project after default on a construction loan. One dispute was over the right to the
  settlement proceeds as between the purchaser of the condominium project at a nonjudicial
  foreclosure and the original investors following the settlement of a lenderliability
  lawsuit between the bank that issued the real estate loan and the
  condominium developer whose condominium project went into foreclosure
  allegedly due to misdeeds by the bank. Another dispute was whether there was an
  oral agreement between the condominium developer and the purchaser of the
  project not to interfere with the foreclosure or challenge title to the property.

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