$1,900,000 Settlement Payout (Inflation Adjusted)

The single mother of a young child was killed in a motor vehicle collision by a corn sileage truck in Merced County. The driver of the large truck blew through a stop sign on a county road colliding with the decedent’s pickup truck and killing her. The decedent’s young child and mother to whom she provided support were the plaintiffs. We recovered a partially structured settlement paying out a total of over $1,900,000 in 2021 Dollars to both plaintiffs in a combination of immediate lump sums and in tax free periodic monthly payments over a period of years.

Wrongful Death Of Minor Child – Full Policy Limits Paid
The entire six figure policy limits of a driver who struck and killed a toddler were paid to the parents of the deceased child in a settlement obtained by our firm. The parents heard the collision occur in the street outside their home. The driver also provided my clients with a declaration under oath and other proof that he had no substantial assets of his own which could be subject to recovery by the plaintiffs by enforcement of a judgment in excess of his insurance policy limits. The toddler had been running in and out of a door on the side of the house while the parents were nearby in the garage. When the toddler ran out but did not immediately return they went to look for him and heard a car screech to a halt and strike their child. The toddler had apparently darted out into the street chasing a dog and was hit by the driver. We obtained the maximum monetary recovery possible under the circumstances for the bereaved parents, although no amount of money could ever bring back their child.

Confidential Wrongful Death Settlement: Negligent Provision of Mental Health Care Resulting in Preventable Suicide

We recovered a confidential settlement against a health care contractor serving a school district for the father of a high school student who had been suffering serious mental health problems. The counselor was a trainee who was not properly supervised by the contractor, and she failed to notify the parents (despite her prior agreement) after the child, who had a history of suicidal thoughts and attempts, presented to her crying and extremely emotionally upset. The parents, who could have come to pick up their child, were not warned of his emotional state. The child committed suicide due to the gross negligence of the counselor within an hour of being sent home with no warning to the parents. 

Confidential Personal Injury Settlement – Sexual Assault
We obtained a confidential settlement for a client in a civil personal injury case where the client (confidential plaintiff) had less than Five Thousand Dollars of past medical expenses due to their injuries. Plaintiff was sexually assaulted by a health care provider during the negligent performance of health care procedures and while under the influence of sedation administered by the defendant. We coordinated with other plaintiff victims in a consolidated civil case against the defendant and were able to obtain a recovery that satisfied the client and to settle the matter while avoiding disclosure of the confidential plaintiff’s identity by their public testimony at a potential jury trial of the matter.

$700,000+ Settlement
We recently won a settlement in excess of $700,000 for our client, a beneficiary of several decedents’ trusts, in resolution of a contest of a disputed amendment to one trust and of claims regarding calculation of abatement of depleted trust assets, allocation of charges, disputes regarding completeness of inventory of assets and management of trust assets by the successor trustee. The trustee had delayed proposing a distribution of any kind to our client for approximately one year and then initially proposed distribution to our client of close to $250,000 less than we eventually recovered.

Dog Bite of Child (Merced Superior Court): $80,000 Settlement

We recovered a negotiated settlement of $80,000 for a young adult who had been bitten by a neighbor's dog years earlier as a minor child in Merced County. We prepared this case for trial by commissioning professional photographs of the injuries and consulting with medical experts regarding the need for future scar revision procedures, estimated future medical expenses and likely future emotional distress. 

Jury Verdict: Acquittal
I won a jury verdict of Not Guilty after trial in Merced County on a charge of driving under the influence of prescription drugs. After repeated attempts to settle this criminal case with the District Attorney’s office, the case went to jury trial and despite citizen testimony of “hard core” swerving by my client supposedly forcing a big rig truck to swerve onto the shoulder to avoid collision, and testing positive for three (3) prescription medications (opiates, amphetamines and a benzodiazepam depressant) the jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty acquitting my client of the charge after only 30-40 minutes of deliberations. A CHP dash-cam video of the arrest and field sobriety tests was admitted into evidence and I was pleased to exonerate my client, a 50+ year old man with no criminal record who had chronic back pain following multiple failed spinal surgeries. 

Muscle sprains and aches in Auto Collision (San Francisco Superior Court): $40,000 Settlement plus $15,000+ reduction of hospital reimbursement claims

A pregnant woman driving in the SF Bay Area was hit by another driver in commute traffic, causing neck and back pain. The expectant mother spent one night in the hospital for testing and observation and had no additional health care treatments or expenses resulting from the accident after the day of the collision. The client had aches and pains for about one week, temporary pain to the back of her head from hitting her head on the car head-rest, and some trauma to her abdomen from the seat/shoulder safety belt. Our client also suffered from fear and distress due to premature labor contractions, fear and anxiety regarding possible complications to her pregnancy, possible injuries to her unborn child, and possible unseen developmental problems or hidden injuries to her child on a daily basis for the following year after the birth of her child. Happily, her child was ultimately born healthy with no known developmental problems or prenatal injuries. We settled her personal injury claims for $40,000 and recovered additional money for damages to her property caused by the collision. After obtaining the settlement our firm successfully disputed (at no additional cost to our client) over $15,000 of claims by the hospital and client insurer against the client for services that should have been billed by the hospital to the client's insurance and paid by them. 

Probate/Real Estate Litigation

2022 Verdict: Petition to take real estate from client DENIED. DEFENSE JUDGMENT of costs and ATTORNEY'S FEES entered against petitioner after trial.

I recently won a trial defending against a lawsuit for an order to determine that title to real estate in my client’s name was not truly owned by her, but was property of a decedent’s estate. The deed to my client was recorded with the county after the grantor's death. The petitioner alleged that the deed from the decedent to my client, prepared and notarized by an attorney, was not validly delivered to my client during the grantor’s lifetime and was invalid. By producing eyewitness testimony regarding the execution of the deed and statements by the deceased grantor, we showed that petitioner had not only failed to meet her burden of proof, but we proved to the court that the deed and delivery were in fact valid and that the deceased grantor clearly intended to make a present transfer of a vested interest in real estate to my client by making the disputed deed. In addition to saving my client’s property I also obtained an order after trial that the petitioner pay my client’s attorney’s fees for having to prove facts that she had denied in response to a set of discovery requests prior to trial.