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Examples of our Work These examples are for illustrative purposes only. Every case or legal issue depends on its own facts, law and the unique credibility of the witnesses involved. Results similar to the following are not and cannot be guaranteed. We represented the last private land owner on Santa Cruz Island when the federal government sued to acquire the land for the Channel Islands National Park. The government offered our clients $4.25 million. The jury awarded $12.782 million, plus an additional $1.5 million in interest. We obtained a jury verdict of $14 million in favor of a property owner whose land was taken for the Staples Center arena and the expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles. The redevelopment agency had offered only $5.5 million for the property. After the verdict, the redevelopment agency increased its offer to another client of the firm, who ultimately settled for $13 million. When a local redevelopment agency incorporated a street into a redevelopment project, the agency first offered our client $100 for his interest in the road, then raised the offer to $1,000 before the trial of the first phase of the case. We took the case to trial, established our client’s title to the property, and then settled the case for more than $900,000. We were retained to represent a group of business owners in a major flood damage inverse condemnation case shortly before the date set for trial. We were able to quickly take charge, resolve pending discovery disputes, win key motions, obtain qualified experts and complete preparations for trial. The end result--negotiated settlements in favor of the firm’s clients totaling $2.3 million. We represented a large group of homeowners who recovered $3 million in inverse condemnation damages from Caltrans in damages for the flooding of their tract caused by inadequate culverts in the freeway downstream from their homes. We negotiated a settlement of $1.34 million in loss of business goodwill, severance damages and other compensation resulting from the taking of a 900 square foot portion of land owned by our client for the improvement and widening of the I-10 freeway. Caltrans had offered only $64,000. When Caltrans appraised the landlocked parcel of one of the firm’s clients at $0, We took the case to trial and obtained a jury verdict of $295,000, including attorneys fees and litigation expenses awarded because of the unreasonable offer made by Caltrans. The firm has helped private universities and hospitals acquire adjacent land needed for expansion by using the power of eminent domain delegated by law to them. When local municipalities attempted to extract exorbitant franchise fees from a public utility pipeline company, the firm stepped in to win a landmark decision on the utility’s behalf that confirmed the pipeline company’s right to use the power of eminent domain to acquire easement rights at much lower cost than the franchise fees that had been demanded. The Metropolitan Transit Authority initiated eminent domain proceedings to acquire a subterranean easement for construction and operation of a subway beneath a commercial office building owned by one of the firm’s clients. The MTA offered to pay $218,000 for the easement. At trial, however, the firm obtained a jury verdict awarding over $5.5 million. In a landmark appellate decision reversing prior law, the firm established that business owners are entitled to compensation for the value of their inventory when the land where the business operated is taken in eminent domain, and, as a result, the inventory loses its value.
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