CASE SUMMARIES
FOR THE DEFENSE

Since 1954, our firm has handled thousands of cases. This page contains examples of cases we have handled on behalf of clients who were sued. Each one is either a current case, or resulted in a favorable settlement, arbitration award, or jury verdict.

Attorney-Client Disputes: Click here for detailed information on legal malpractice and attorney-client disputes.

Building Contractor: A general contractor who was fired and later sued for construction defects had to prove that the problems were caused by subcontractors hired by the owner.

Breach of Contract: Condominium developer that promised a refund if later units were sold for less than original buyer paid had to prove that later discount sale was not covered by the agreement.

Construction Defects: A structural engineer who was sued by homeowners had proof that the building's instability was caused by improper trenching by the general contractor.

Corporate Power Battles: The majority shareholders who were sued by a minority shareholder for mismanagement asserted that their decisions were proper.

Discrimination: A business that fired an ethnic minority employee proved that the job termination was solely because of poor performance.

Escrow Company: When a property sale fell through and the escrow company was blamed for errors in the instructions, the company proved that the non-performance had nothing to do with the instructions.

Fiduciary Breach: A real estate agent who was managing a commercial property maintained that he did not mislead the owner into selling him the property for less than its value.

Ground Contamination: Soil testing disclosed that chemical dumping had occurred sometime in the past, but the previous owners proved they had not been involved.

Fraud: The seller of a building proved that he was not liable for the cost of repairing undisclosed structural problems because he had sold the property "as is."

Infliction of Emotional Distress: A man who was accused by his former wife of giving her a sexually transmitted disease had proof that she had been involved with another man.

Insurance Broker: When a newly-purchased used car was involved in an accident and the insurance company denied that it was insured, the insurance broker was sued but proved that the non-coverage was the fault of the owner who had not reported the purchase.

Land Use: We successfully defended the Town of Mammoth Lakes when it was sued by a developer for allegedly violating a previous agreement to permit construction without fully complying with the permit and application process.

Legal Malpractice: Click here for detailed information on legal malpractice and attorney-client disputes.

Medical Malpractice: A lawsuit against an ear, nose and throat specialist filed by a former patient with throat cancer was dismissed when it was proven that the patient refused to follow his medical advice to have surgery.

Partnership Disputes: A partner in an airplane leasing enterprise was sued for not contributing money to keep the bank from foreclosing on the airplane.

Property Encroachment: When the owner of a "view lot" sued his neighbor for building a room addition that blocked part of his view, the neighbor proved that she had the right to improve her property.

Rental/Lease Disputes: The owner of a shopping center was sued by a liquor store tenant who claimed that his lease was violated when a supermarket tenant was also allowed to sell liquor. Click here for information on real estate law.

RICO: The Racketeering and Corrupt Organization Act was used by a shareholder in a lawsuit against an oil company whose officers denied that they were hiding profits.

Sexual Harassment: An arbitrator found that a restaurant owner sued by a waitress had not made improper advances.

Trademark Infringement: A restaurant owner denied that his eatery would be mistaken for another restaurant with a similar name.

Unfair Competition: The owner of an industrial business denied that he was selling a product with a formula he had sold to another business.

Will and Probate Contest: After one of the Marx Brothers died, a former wife claimed that she had been left out of his will because of undue influence by others, but we persuaded the judge to dismiss the case.

Wrongful Termination: When a paramedic sued the fire department for wrongful employment termination, we proved that he delayed responding to an emergency because he wanted to finish his lunch.

Plaintiff Case Summaries