• California

• United States District Court for the Central District of California
• United States District Court for the District of Nevada

• University of Michigan  (J.D., 1963)
• Harvard University  (B.A., 1960)

Real Estate Litigation

• Representation of a well known Midwest family in the defense of a $150 million claim for breach of a real estate partnership agreement; after a three-and-a-half month trial, the court determined that the client was not liable and was entitled to recover attorney’s fees incurred in the litigation
• The representation of an owner of property in a $40 million breach of contact claim against a large home builder; after a trial, the client obtained a $40 million judgment
• A case of first impression with respect to the validity of certain second trust deed liens; the case involved a $25 million claim against the client; the client prevailed at trial
• Representation of a major real estate developer in an action involving a claim in excess of $20 million by former business associates of the principal of the developer; the action involved complicated partnership accounting and damages issues; the case was settled on the eve of trial by payment of a small fraction of the claim
• Representation of a Hawaii real estate developer and builder in an action against one of Hawaii’s largest landowning trusts; the action was settled on the eve of trial by a very significant payment to the client of money, property and entitlements
• Representation of the former accountant for and partner of Michael Milken in an action against Mr. Milken and others for breach of a real estate partnership agreement; the action was settled on very favorable terms for the client
• Representation of a real estate developer in an action for fraud and breach of contract against J.P. Morgan; the action was settled for approximately $23 million as a jury trial was to begin
• Successfully defended at trial real estate developers in construction defect cases involving the sale of condominiums and golf course residences
• Represented several real estate developers and entrepreneurs in bad faith cases against some of the largest insurance companies in the country; these cases were resolved by large seven figure payments from the insurance companies to the clients

Business Litigation

• Representation of the City of New York in an action against ExxonMobil for poisoning New York City’s groundwater with the gasoline additive MTBE. After a four month trial, the client obtained a $104 million jury verdict
• Representation of an English reinsurance company in a legal malpractice action; after a month-long jury trial, the client obtained a multi-million dollar verdict
• A case involving cross-claims for breach of a contract between preferred provider organizations (PPOS) in the health care field; after a 50-day trial, the client obtained a $12.2 million-dollar judgment
• Representation of a significant number of high net worth individuals who sued a national accounting firm and major law firm for fraud arising from tax advantaged investments; the cases were settled on very favorable terms for the clients
• Representation of a major mortgage banking firm in an ERISA action involving real estate loans made by a pension trust; the claim asserted against the client totaled $100 million; the case was settled after lengthy discovery without the client having to make any payment