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Overview

Civil litigation is expensive, risky, contentious, and very hard on most clients. But, it may be necessary when important rights and assets are in dispute, or major losses have been suffered. Sometimes, it is the only viable option.

We believe in avoiding litigation if possible, resolving it quickly, efficiently, and ethically when it cannot be avoided, and doing everything reasonably possible to win if a fair settlement cannot be achieved.

Our two partners and associated counsel have decades of practical experience in doing exactly that. One of them will be personally responsible for every aspect of your case from start to finish. The following examples of some of our more recent and significant cases show what can be achieved in hard-fought civil litigation that could not be avoided:

• A housing developer was sued for $15 million by a paraplegic who claimed his collision was caused by signs blocking visibility at an intersection, but the developer won summary judgment and paid nothing after proving that the signs did not cause the accident.
• A plaintiff class of over 550,000 California homeowners sued an insurance company for charging premiums on needless coverage to protect their mortgage lenders, and settled for refunds and premium reductions worth about $90 million.

• A young motorcyclist and his wife recovered $3.5 million in settlement after he was hit by a school bus, suffered multiple fractures, and was left with permanent pain, even though he had very little objective proof of his pain.
• A small business sued the largest home mortgage lender in the country for breach of contract, and overcame a long and tenacious defense on every issue to recover $3.15 million in arbitration, plus all legal fees and costs of litigation.

• A ship owner was sued for over $2 million by crewmen claiming labor law violations after they were put ashore on a remote island for refusing extra work, but the owner won a defense jury verdict and paid nothing after proving the captain had power to require the work.

These cases may be very different than yours. Many cases — including some we have handled — could involve difficult facts or adverse law that must be very carefully litigated in order to avoid an unacceptable outcome.

The point is that we have the skill and experience in a broad range of litigation matters to maximize the benefit of a good case, minimize the harm of a bad case, and handle any case as efficiently as possible. But, if your case falls outside our expertise, or is otherwise better suited to other counsel, we will tell you so immediately.