• Law Finance Group, LLC v. Key, 14 Cal.5th 932 (2023).  Obtained Supreme Court reversal of a judgment of the Court of Appeal, wherein the Supreme Court held that Code.of Civil Procedure section 1288.2 governing the timing of responses to petitions to confirm arbitration awards seeking vacatur is a nonjurisdictional statute of limitations.  Following a successful petition for review to the Supreme Court, on remand obtained affirmance by the Court of Appeal of the trial court judgment vacating the arbitration award on the ground that the time limit to file a petition to vacate had been equitably tolled and the award violated Key’s unwaivable statutory rights and contravened an express public policy governing consumer loans.

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• Allied Anesthesia Medical Group, Inc. v. Inland Empire Health Plan Inc., 80 Cal.App.5th 794 (2022).  Obtained affirmance of judgment following sustaining of demurrer for Medi-Cal managed health care plan, holding physician providers must accept the Medi-Cal fee schedule rate as full payment for medical services provided to beneficiaries of Medi-Cal managed health care plans, unless the providers contract with the plan to pay a different specified reimbursement rate.

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• Swallow v. California Gambling Control Commission, 77 Cal.App.5th 1037 (2022).  Applied statutory and regulatory interpretation to obtain reversal of unprecedented $13,672,000 monetary penalty by Commission against licensee, reversing Commission’s claim that Business and Professions Code section 19930 allowed it to impose unlimited monetary penalties against its licensees regardless of whether the licensee had violated the California Gambling Control Act. 

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• Banc of California, National Assn. v. Superior Court, 69 Cal.App.5th 357 (2021).  Prevailed on petition for writ of mandate following trial court’s erroneous granting of a motion to compel arbitration for breach of contract claims based on a later contract that never mentioned earlier contracts containing arbitration provisions.  The Court of Appeal determined that the issue of whether the dispute involved a contract with an arbitration provision should be decided prior to any delegation to an arbitrator.

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• Crump v. Superior Court, 37 Cal.App.5th 222 (2019).  Obtained reversal by the Court of Appeal of superior court’s denial of any criminal restitution to victims of a natural gas leak of natural gas from a storage facility adjacent to a residential community that continued for months, causing damage to thousands of residents of the area.  After the criminal defendant pled guilty to failure to immediately report the release of a hazardous material, victims affected by the gas leak moved to vacate the plea agreement and obtain restitution, but the superior court denied the motion.  The victims petitioned for a writ of mandate, which was granted and remanded to the superior court for further proceedings.  

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• Key v. Tyler, 34 Cal.App.5th 505 (2019).  Obtained reversal of order granting anti-SLAPP motion dismissing petition to enforce a no contest petition in probate proceedings on the ground petitioner had demonstrated a likelihood of prevailing on the merits by means of res judicata and law of the case and claim was not barred by the litigation privilege.

 

• Laker v. Board of Trustees of California State University, 32 Cal.App.5th 745 (2019).  Obtained partial reversal of order denying anti-SLAPP motion in FEHA action as to defamation claim on the ground claim made in connection with an internal investigation arose from protected activity and university professor failed to establish a probability of prevailing on the merits.

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• Fluidmaster, Inc. v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., 25 Cal.App.5th 545 (2018).  Obtained reversal of order disqualifying law firm based on vicarious disqualification arising from law firm's hiring of challenged e-discovery attorney following implementation of proper ethical wall.

 

• People v. ConAgra Grocery Products Co., 17 Cal.App.5th 51 (2017).  Obtained reversal of a judgment that allowed damages to be calculated based on all homes in the jurisdictions built through 1980, and limiting it to homes buile pre-1951, a multi-million dollar reduction.

 

• CRST, Inc. v. Superior Court, 11 Cal.App.5th 1255 (2017). Obtained a published decision in a case of first impression, holding that an employer’s admission of vicarious liability for its employee’s conduct did not bar evidence of the employer’s conduct for purposes of the employer’s separate punitive damages liability.

 

• Veera v. Banana Republic, LLC, 6 Cal.App.5th 907 (2016). In consumer class action, obtained reversal of summary judgment against plaintiffs. Defendant retailer advertised 40-percent-off purchases when the sale applied only to some items. In reliance on the sale signs, customers were lured into the store, selected items for purchase at the advertised discount, and bought some of the items at full price, after learning at the register that the discount did not apply, suffering injury in fact.

 

• Dalton v. Santander Consumer United States, Inc., 2016-NMSC-035 (2016). Obtained reversal of order denying Defendant lender’s request to compel arbitration, holding that carve outs of both parties’ small
  claims and non-judicial, self-help remedies from the arbitration agreement did not make the
  agreement unconscionable.           

 

• In re Marriage of Fajota, 230 Cal.App.4th 1487 (2014). Prevailed in a pro bono appeal of a child custody dispute. The opinion addressed significant and unresolved issues of first impression regarding child custody when one parent engages in domestic violence against the other and reversed custody award to father.

 

• Romine v. Johnson Controls, Inc., 224 Cal.App.4th 990 (2014). Reversed judgment against engineering company that simply designed a product, because engineers are not subject to strict products liability.

 

• Quarry v. Doe 1, 53 Cal.4th 945 (2012). Reversed Court of Appeal on matter of first impression and held statute of limitations precluded plaintiffs' claims.

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• Prevailed on appeal and obtained a Court of Appeal affirmance of the granting of a summary judgment motion in favor of a public university based on the plaintiffs' failure to comply with the Government Code deadlines for filing a lawsuit.
   

• Obtained Court of Appeal reversal of judment for a personal injury plaintiff based on jury misconduct following a jury trial.
   

• Obtained Court of Appeal's dismissal of a non-party's immediate appeal of the denial of a motion to quash a deposition subpoena with an award of sanctions.
   

• Following the trial court's granting of a discovery motion due to the crime-fraud exception, the Court of Appeal denied a petition for writ of mandate, and the Supreme Court also denied the petition for review, but not before requesting that an answer be filed.
   

• Dissolution judgment following marital settlement agreement had been set aside by the trial court for coercion; reversed by the Court of Appeal on substantial evidence with the dissolution judgment reinstated.
   

• Obtained affirmance of a summary judgment motion granted in public university's favor in the Ninth Circuit on Fourth Amendment and state negligence case involving campus police.
   

• Obtained affirmance of summary judgment in 9th Circuit where an employee of an independent contractor unsuccessfully claimed non-employers did not provide him with additional notice of adverse employment action under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.
   

• After trial counsel obtained a $10 million judgment, drafted oppositions to motions for new trial and for JNOV, both of which were denied, preserving the plaintiffs' judgment.
   

• Obtained complete set aside of multi-million dollar default judgment and reinstatement of the case on the active trial court docket.
   

• Prevailed on appeal and obtained reversal of the trial court's order issuing an injunction preventing a homeless man from returning to a shelter, based on the language of the applicable statute.
   

• Secured affirmance by the Eighth Circuit of judgments of dismissal of three plaintiffs’ medical device actions for failure to comply with multi-district litigation rules.
   

• Retained sizable judgment for plaintiffs based on intentional infliction of emotional distress and defamation claims, following the issuance of terminating sanctions.
   

• After client obtained a $6 million jury verdict, trial court granted a new trial, but the Court of Appeal reversed, ordering the client’s verdict reinstated in full.
   

• After jury verdict in plaintiff’s favor in a partnership dispute, trial court granted the client’s JNOV on the punitive damages award and Court of Appeal affirmed.
   

• Court of Appeal affirmed forum non conveniens dismissal on behalf of a foreign individual client.
   

• Obtained affirmance of summary judgment in California Court of Appeal on behalf of a client against a claim that emails were sent in violation of California’s Anti-Spam Act.
   

• Obtained affirmance of partial summary judgment on appeal in the Seventh Circuit on behalf of a client regarding a contractual licensing dispute.

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Trial Consulting

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• Trial consulting services including reviewing daily trial transcripts for months-long trials, providing daily summaries before trial each morning, consulting on appellate issues, reviewing jury instructions and verdict forms, and drafting pocket briefs.

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• Consulted for three weeks on a products liability trial in Kern County, where I reviewed daily transcripts, provided summaries, and drafted various motions including a motion for directed verdict during the trial.

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• Consulted for two weeks on an employment/harassment trial in Los Angeles, where I reviewed daily transcripts, provided summaries, and drafted a successful nonsuit motion on several causes of action during the trial.

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• Consulted for two weeks on an asbestos trial in Torrance, where I reviewed daily transcripts, provided summaries and which resulted in a favorable settlement shortly before closing arguments.

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• Consulted for one week on an asbestos trial in Long Beach, which resulted in a favorable settlement soon after trial began.

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• Consulted for three weeks on a contractual dispute trial in Los Angeles, where I reviewed daily transcripts, provided summaries and which resulted in a settlement during the trial.