General Litigation

We have represented clients in many types of litigation matters outside our typical work in the First Amendment, privacy and copyright arenas.  A sample of our general litigation work includes the following:

Antitrust

  • Successfully defended funeral home against lawsuit alleging illegal tying of caskets to other funeral packages.

Banking Regulation

  • Represented directors against the FDIC.
  • Handled dispute involving fraudulent endorsements.
  • Represented bank in dispute regarding the sale of preferred stock to individual.

Breach of Contract

  • Represented Jeffrey MacDonald against author Joe McGinnis in breach of contract and fraud litigation over the book "Fatal Vision".
  • Represented fight promotion company against champion prize fighter in a breach of contract dispute concerning a fight contract.
  • Represented well-known actress in breach of contract action against famous actor pertaining to child support issues.

Breach of Fiduciary Duty

  • Defended studio and television clients against suit by profit participants in hit television game show.
  • Defended foundation from claims of breach of fiduciary duty made by donor.
  • Handled contract dispute regarding the exclusive right to print from art of Tamara de Lempicka.

Civil Rights & Civil Liberties

  • Represented prisoner, pro bono, in United States Supreme Court case concerning due process rights in prison disciplinary proceedings. Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472 (1995).
  • Brought civil rights action against the City of Los Angeles for the unlawful seizure of a video camera by the police.
  • Defended academic course on the role of women in literature.
  • Represented rabbi against Department of Prisons in a religious freedom case.

Construction Defect

  • Represented contractors in claims for construction defects.

Employment

  • Represented parties in harassment, discrimination, unlawful termination and ERISA cases, including principal roles in cutting edge reverse discrimination cases.
  • Successfully defended media company in a disability discrimination and failure to accommodate jury trial. Seevers v. Copley Press, Inc.
  • Defended radio station against claims for unlawful termination of disc jockey.

Environmental

  • Represented National Resource Defense Council in clean air, clean water and Proposition 65 matter.

Fraud

  • Represented Jeffrey MacDonald against author Joe McGinnis in breach of contract and fraud litigation over the book "Fatal Vision".
  • Represented prominent cable television network in hidden camera program, where plaintiff alleged that he was fraudulently induced to participate.

Legal Ethics

  • Defended attorney in disciplinary proceedings regarding comments made about a federal judge. Standing Committee on Discipline v. Yagman.
  • Represented attorney accused of mishandling funds.

Mass Disaster

  • Principal defense counsel in multi-district litigation involving fire at San Juan DuPont Plaza Hotel. In re San Juan DuPont Plaza Fire Litigation.

Partnership Dissolutions

  • Experienced in partnership dissolution disputes, including accounting partnerships and real estate partnerships.

Personal Injury

  • Defended individual in significant civil suit stemming from DUI incident.
  • Represented the family of actress Rebecca Shaeffer in lawsuit against gun store that sold gun to Ms. Schaeffer's killer.

Profit Participation

  • Defended studio and television clients against suit by profit participants in hit television game show.
  • Obtained summary judgment, which was upheld on appeal, for studio client in case brought by famous actor involving profit participation in series of motion pictures.
  • Represented profit participants in dispute regarding "Home Improvement" television program.

Real Estate

  • Handled disputes regarding various real estate issues.

Tax

  • Represented Writers Guild of America, west, in dispute regarding a municipal tax imposed on writers.