Case Results
a. We recently settled a case for $992,000 for a construction worker who fell down an unmarked and unguarded elevator shaft. At first, the general contractor denied fault and testified that he warned our client about the elevator shaft, and indeed placed yellow caution tape in front of the doorway. Eventually, we subpoenaed two witnesses who testified that the contractor did not warn our client and that the caution tape was placed in front of the door after the accident.
b. We settled a case for tenants of cigar lounge who were tricked into leasing a store that leaked water and was full of mold for $485,000. Through investigation and discovery, we were able to prove that the landlord knew about the water leaks and mold for a number of years, and concealed this information from our clients when they were in the process of signing the lease.
c. We also just settled a sexual harassment case for $380,000 for a female police officer who was constantly sexually harassed by two of her supervisors. After our client made it clear that she was not interested in any type of relationship with her supervisor, they retaliated against her and ended up terminating her employment
d. I recently settled a sexual harassment case for $525,000 for an executive who worked in the corporate office of a large retail firm. One of her coworkers started making sexual comments to her and even invited her out to his car. When she refused, he became quite upset and tried to undermine her performance. When she complained to Human Resources, they essentially took sides with the harasser and refused to investigate or take any corrective action. My client was eventually forced to quit because the tension in the office was more than she could tolerate.
She retained my firm to represent her. I conducted several depositions, and just before trial, the defense firm agreed to a settlement of $525,000.00.
e. I recently settled a case for $1,525,000 on behalf of a young man who fell through a rotted wooden deck in the home he was renting in San Francisco. When he fell, his neighbor heard the noise and called 911. My client suffered several broken bones and had two surgeries.
The landlord was insured up to $1,000,000. Throughout the case, the landlord claimed that he did not have notice of the dangerous condition, and even accused my client of knowing about the rotted deck but neglecting to notify him. Through discovery and investigation with the San Francisco Department of Building & Safety, I was able to put together a trail of written communications that proved that the landlord had notice of the deteriorated deck.
We settled the case during mediation. The insurance company agreed to pay the policy limit of $1,000,000 and the landlord also contributed $525,000 of his own money.
f. I recently represented a young man who worked for a restaurant supply company doing general maintenance. His supervisor asked him to go up to the roof of the warehouse to clean pigeon droppings and repair an opening through which pigeons were entering the warehouse. When my client did as he was asked, he fell through the poorly maintained sheet metal roof and fell to the concrete floor of the warehouse. He had two surgeries to repair his broken bones. The defendants contended that we had no basis for a lawsuit because the case was governed by the Workers Compensation laws. We eventually convinced them otherwise and they settled the case for $950,000.
g. I recently tried a case in binding arbitration on behalf of an elderly woman in an elderly abuse case. My client was a resident at an Assisted Care facility. She was 87 years old and had dementia. The facility experienced an outbreak of scabies that infested my client’s body. My client’s friend was visiting when she noticed that my client was furiously itching and then discovered scabies bites over her torso and legs. My client was treated at a local hospital and released back to the facility. We tried this case in binding arbitration, and the arbitrator returned the highest verdict permitted by law under the MICRA statutes, $250,000.00.
h. In August this year, I went to trial for the first time since the courts reopened after the long COVID closures and postponements. I represented a 40 year-old man who was driving his motorcycle down Sunset Boulevard when a woman pulled out of driveway, directly into his path. He struck the side of her car and flew over the hood and landed in the street.
I went to trial with less than $5,000 in compensable past medical expenses, and $42,613 in loss of earnings. Although the defense contested nearly everything, we received a great verdict in my client's favor for $748,521.18. We added several thousand dollars more in costs and interest. It was great to be back in trial once again!
i. We recently represented a man who was an Uber passenger, and suffered serious injuries when his Uber driver ran through a red light. My client was sitting in the back seat of his Uber vehicle when his side of the car was T-boned as an SUV sped through the intersection.
We sued the Uber driver and the driver of the SUV that sped through the intersection. My client had to undergo a surgery and extensive rehabilitation. After intense litigation, we settled his case against both defendants for $885,000. The money that he received from us helped him get his life back on track.
j. I recently settled a case against the County of Los Angeles for $325,000 on behalf of an employee who wanted nothing more than to return to work after she recovered from a stroke. When she returned to work, she was slower and gradually returning to her old self. But her supervisors targeted her and told her that she was slowing down the team. They not only refused to accommodate her, things got worse when her supervisors began retaliating against her. They increased her workload to impossible levels, and when she couldn’t keep up, they began issuing write-ups and imposing disciplinary action.
I handled the lawsuit for this employee, and after we beat the County on its motion for summary judgment, the case settled quickly thereafter.
k. I recently represented a former employer of large Southern California City who worked as a building inspector. His male supervisor engaged in regular sexually harassing conduct that consisted of sexually charged statements and unwanted touching. When our client protested and clearly communicated that the sexual advances were unwelcome, the supervisor retaliated against him and began issuing unjustified criticism of our client's work product. Of course, the criticisms were bogus, and I was able to expose all of the baseless criticisms during the deposition of various City employees who confirmed our theory. We filed the lawsuit, and took several depositions in this case. Despite a hard fought defense, the City settled the case for $900,000.00.
l. I represented a former employer of a very large Southern California County who worked as a medical doctor in the County's jail system. My client was a long term employee who was dedicated to her job and truly loved her work. However, she developed a medical condition known as Hypersomnia, which caused her to have difficulty staying awake. Despite her years of commitment and dedication, her supervisor refused to accommodate her, and instead, retaliated. The supervisor accused her of poor work quality, and issued poor performance evaluations and write-ups. The retaliation consisted of heaping even more work on her, despite the fact that he knew that her medical condition required that she be assigned less work. When my client was unable to keep up with the increased work load because of her medical condition, he again imposed even more disciplinary action and poor performance evaluations. After taking the deposition of the supervisor, the County agreed to resolve the case for $320,000
m. I represented a terrific young man who leased a public storage space from the defendant landlord so that he could run his business as an independent automotive upholsterer. Early one evening, as he was leaving work and walking across the parking lot toward his car, he tripped in a pot hole and suffered multiple fractures in his wrist. Because of his injuries, he had surgery and lost a lot of work opportunities. At first, the landlord accused my client of being at fault for the accident. The landlord further claimed that he did not have notice of the dangerous condition. During discovery, however, I was able to uncover documents that showed that the landlord knew about the pothole for at least a year before the accident, that the parking lot was in need of repair. Upon presenting this evidence during the landlord's deposition, the landlord was clearly surprised, things went downhill fast for him. Shortly after the landlord's deposition, the lawyer for the defendants asked if we were interested in settling the case, and we eventually resolved this case for $350,000.
n.I recently took a case to trial that resulted in a verdict of $748,521.00. The case arose when my client was riding his motorcycle one night down Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. The defendant driver suddenly pulled out of a private driveway, directly into the path of my client's motorcycle. My client was catapulted head-first over the hood and into the street on the other side of the defendant's car. As a result, my client broke his wrist and suffered other injuries as well. The defendants were both lawyers -- they were the owners and driver of the vehicle that pulled out directly in front of my client. The defendants refused to settle, and blamed my client for causing the accident. Because they refused to settle, we went to trial and received a verdict in the amount of $748,521.00!
o. I represented a woman who lived in a small apartment complex in the San Fernando Valley. Early one morning as she was leaving her apartment, she walked down the flight of stairs she had taken many times in the past. When she neared the bottom step, she realized that the landlord had begun a re-do of the walkway at the bottom of the staircase. When she realized the bottom step was missing, she stepped awkwardly, and when she landed on her outstretched ankle, breaking it in several places. The landlord initially claimed that it was my client’s fault for rushing down the stairs and not paying attention. But after about a year of litigation, and several depositions, we started talking settlement just before trial. As the trial was about to start, the defendants dramatically increased their offer to $800,000. We closed the case and my client was very happy.