Civil Action with Brian & Shant

The former president of the CAOC discusses his first case, fresh out of law school, representing Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Union for farm workers charged with strike violence.  Ray comments on his experience working with Chavez and how impactful the qualities Chavez possessed were to the United Farm Workers movement.  More information on Ray Boucher and his consumer law firm, Bouche...

Brian and Shant discuss the following cases:   Loeb v. County of San Diego: Plaintiff was in a county park campground and was injured on an uneven pathway.  The county argued Trail Immunity and the court focused on whether the pathway had a dual purpose.   Kim v. Laguna Seca Raceway: Plaintiff signed a release to ride his motorcycle at the raceway and was subsequently injured.  In a possible attem...

Brian and Shant discuss the following cases:   Hood v. Gonzalez: A nightmare client who had gone through five lawyers.  The client signed the settlement agreement but refused to sign the check then the court appointed an elisor to endorse the check in lieu of the client’s endorsement.    Soni v. SimpleLayers, Inc.: An untimely request to arbitrate in a fee dispute leads to a $2.50 award.  The crit...

Steve discusses his journey and determination to make it through law school and find success in his practice. Steve goes into great detail about one of the most influential cases of his career and how it helped shape his future practice.  More information about Steve Vartarzarian and his team’s work can be found here:  http://thevlf.com/

Brian and Shant discuss the following cases:   Johnson v. MGM: Plaintiff argues that the District Court did not do an appropriate calculation to determine attorney fees and in response, the District Court lays out multiple factors to determine the appropriate percentage.     Handoush v. Lease Finance Group: For Choice of Law to be enforceable, CA looks to whether the application of another state’s...

An esteemed trial attorney in the state, Bill’s practice focuses on personal injury and product liability.  Bill recollects one of his more memorable first trials where he was defensed but ultimately won on appeal and settled the matter favorably.  Bill associates a lot of his success to that case and how it taught him how to persevere through a difficult trial.  Bill encourages young lawyers to f...

Casey is a second-generation Southern Californian and the first in his family to graduate from college.  A graduate of USC Gould School of Law and a partner at Aitken Aitken & Cohn, Casey’s practice is focused on single incident personal injury cases, elder abuse, professional medical malpractice, and insurance bad faith.  Casey is most passionate about his work in insurance bad faith and elder ab...

Brian and Shant discuss the following cases:   Brown v. Upside Gating: Defendants file an appeal to a judicial order arguing that it was tantamount to an injunction because it required appellants to take affirmative steps to affect invalidation of the releases at issue.  The court clarifies that an order is not an injunction and therefore not appealable.    Williams v. Impacts Lab, Inc.: Plaintiff...

Mary Alexander – Mary’s practice is comprised of product liability, toxic tort, auto accidents, pharmaceutical cases, and class actions.  With an undergraduate focus in science and an objective toward biology and toxicology, she has handled cases that address environmental and workplace risks associated with the use of dangerous chemicals.  Mary recently completed a 19-year long journey trying a m...

Brian and Shant discuss the following cases:   Monster Energy Company v. City Beverages LLC: When must the arbitrator disclose information regarding their financial interest in the arbitration company, and whether an unfair advantage exists when the arbitration company has handled numerous arbitrations for the advantageous party.   Nayab v. Capitol One Bank: What determines an “injury” under Artic...

Andy Speilberger – Partner at Balaban and Speilberger discuss his experiences ranging from the law of national treasures to fighting insurance companies.  Andy discusses his love for the movie Amadeus, his experiences traveling the world as the product of a military family, and how he and Daniel Balaban started their practice.  More information about Andy Speilberger and his team can be found here...

Brian and Shant discuss the following cases:   Legal Match.com Matter: The attorney defendant was sued by a legal referral website for unpaid bills, but counterclaimed arguing that the contact was illegal and therefore unenforceable because the company was not registered with the State Bar as a referral service. The website argued that they are not a referral service because do not screen potentia...

Brian and Shant discuss the following cases:   Dobbs v. City of LA (Convention Center): In terms of design immunity, to determine whether discretionary authority applies, a question of law, the Court states that as long as reasonable minds can differ, discretionary authority can be provided.  The Plaintiff lost when arguing that the design of a bollard, a sturdy pillar used to prevent access to a...

Brian and Shant discuss the following cases: CIGA v. Azar, Sec. of HHS: When Medicare has a primary claim against an insured party and the insurer becomes insolvent, state-mandated CIGA steps in but as an insolvency insurer not a secondary payor. Kim v. United States: Two young boys fall victim to a deadly outcome when a tree limb breaks loose while camping in Yosemite. Unfortunately for the famil...

Brian and Shant interview Taylor Rayfield, a trial attorney at Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP. Taylor focuses on many aspects of plaintiffs’ litigation but has found a passion in litigating cases that involve sexual abuse. Taylor was recently named as a finalist for CAALA’s Rising Star Award, and was awarded the 2018 CAOC Street Fighter of the Year Award for settling a school sex abuse case. Taylo...

Brian and Shant discuss the following cases:   Sharon v. Porter: Establishing standing in a legal malpractice cases, the statutory framework of the statute of limitations, and the importance of specifying the amount or filing a statement of damages along with a default judgment.     Sprengel v. Zbylut: Implied attorney-client relationships and the distinctions between how it applies to a relations...

Brian and Shant sit down with Michael Childress, the newest attorney to join the Kabateck LLP team. Michael Childress focuses his practice on protecting and enforcing the rights of policyholders. Since 1981, he has negotiated, adjusted and prosecuted insurance claims arising in 40 states, successfully coordinating thousands of investigations and working with experts from many fields. Michael discu...

Brian and Shant discuss the following cases: Salazar v. McDonald’s Corp.: Brian and Shant look at a 9th Circuit case involving the the Joint Employer Doctrine as it applies to a franchisor’s control over employees working for a franchisee.   Modaraei v. Action Property Management, Inc.: Brian and Shant discuss a holding from the California Court of Appeal in a misclassification class action where...

Brian and Shant discuss the following: The Estate of John Steinbeck: Brian and Shant do a dramatic reading of a case arising out of John Steinbeck’s estate.  Crouch v. Trinity Christian Broadcast Center of Santa Ana: A look at whether a familial relationship can be used to temper the legal impact of comments used to establish a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.   JH Boyd v. K...

Brian and Shant sit down with John K. Courtney, a trial attorney with Girardi & Keese who works on a variety of different areas of practice including aviation, mass tort, and insurance bad faith. Jake has successfully litigated cases wherein he has won verdicts in excess of $20 million, and has settled matters in excess of $70 million. Jake emphasizes the importance of young attorneys getting tria...

Brian and Shant discuss the following: OTO v. Kho: An arbitration agreement ruled void and unenforceable due to unconscionability.   Lopez v. Bartlett Care Center: A wrongful death matter that confronts the issue of agency authority and substantive unconscionability.  The Court held that an arbitration agreement signed by a daughter on behalf of her mother was procedurally unconscionable because t...

Brian and Shant have a conversation with Holly Boyer, a partner at Esner Chang & Boyer and is certified by the State Bar of California’s Board of Legal Specialization as an Appellate Specialist. Holly was recently awarded the “Appellate Attorney of the Year” award by the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. Holly’s work helped to establish a framework for negligence causes of action agai...

Brian and Shant interview Geoff Wells, a partner of Greene, Broillet & Wheeler in Santa Monica with an impressive record of verdicts and settlement in catastrophic personal injury cases. Geoff discusses the most impactful cases he has worked on and shares his advice for young lawyers. Geoff has obtained more than 250 multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements in complex legal actions. Geoff was...

Brian and Shant sit down with Elise Sanguinetti, a founding partner at Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos, LLP. Elise just completed her term as the president of the American Association for Justice, and she was previously president of both the Consumer Attorneys of California and the Alameda Contra Costa Trial Attorneys Association.  Elise discusses her concerns regarding forced arbitration, the p...

Brian and Shant take an in depth look at the history, successes, and challenges faced in litigating insurance bad faith cases brought on behalf of descendants of victims of the Armenian Genocide.  Brian shares his experiences handling these cases and talks about the political ripple effects which reached the highest levels of public office. As Armenian-Americans, Brian and Shant discuss the signif...