Affiliations

• American Bar Association
• Beverly Hills Bar Association
• Los Angeles County Bar Association

Representative Engagements

• Harrington v. Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Case No. BC 324571 (Cal. Super. Ct.) (defending wage-hour class action seeking meal-period and rest-break pay, unpaid wages, and uniform and tool cost reimbursement)
• Ellis v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Case No. C04 3341 MHP (N.D. Cal.) (defending nationwide gender discrimination class action by women claiming denial of promotion to upper warehouse manager positions)
• Edmisten v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., Case No. 03CC00505 (Cal. Super. Ct.) (defending wage-hour class action seeking wages and penalties for meal-period and rest-break violations)
• Williams v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., Case No. 03CC00505 (Cal. Super. Ct.) (defending wage-hour class action seeking overtime pay for allegedly misclassified store managers)
• Randall v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Case No. BC 296369 (Cal. Super. Ct.) (defending wage-hour class action by department managers claiming they were misclassified as exempt and are owed overtime pay)
• Ha v. Daewoo Motor America, Inc., Case No. BC 227451 (Cal. Super. Ct.) (defending wage-hour class action seeking minimum wage and overtime pay by 5,000 student workers who allegedly were employees, not independent contractors)
• Wessling v. AMN Healthcare, Inc., Case No. 01 CV 0757 W (RBB) (defending putative class action by female employees alleging that exclusion of prescription contraceptives in otherwise comprehensive health care plan violates Title VII)
• Erickson v. Bartell Drug Co., Case No. C00-1213L (W.D. Wash.)(acting as associate appellate counsel and negotiating settlement of certified class action by female employees alleging that exclusion of prescription contraceptives in comprehensive health care plan violates Title VII)
• Miranda v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., Case No. C96-9372 (W.D. Wash.) (defending employment discrimination claims of putative class action of insurance sales agents; class action allegations dismissed after discovery)
• Ackerman v. Warnaco Inc., Case No. 94-3527 (W.D. Pa. 1994) (defending lawsuit by 169 plaintiffs alleging wrongful denial of severance pay after plant shutdown)
• Elliott v. Kaiser Steel Corp., Case No. (C.D. Cal.) (defending and settling certified class action for retiree benefits by 2400 retirees)
• Selman v. Foote Cone & Belding, JAMS Case No. 1100034348 (September 16, 2002) (achieving defense award, after 17-day hearing, against claims of breach of contract, sexual harassment, retaliation, and disability discrimination brought by dismissed executive creative director)
• White v. Ultramar Inc., 21 Cal. 4th 563 (1999) (holding that “managing agent,” whose actions create vicarious employer liability for punitive damages, must be employee who exercised substantial discretionary authority over significant aspects of corporation’s business)
• Burrahm v. Impco Technologies, Inc., Case No. VC 026992 (Cal. Super. Ct. 1999) (complete defense jury verdicts against three plaintiffs on all claims, including breach of contract, fraud, and wrongful termination in breach of public policy)
• Movsesian v. Bosley Medical Institute, Case No. BC 187752 (Cal. Super. Ct. 1999) (defense jury verdicts on behalf of individual defendant on sexual harassment and defamation claims and corporate defendant on retaliation claims)
• Strother v. Southern California Permanente Medical Group, 79 F.3d 859 (9th Cir. 1996) (partially affirming summary judgment and holding that plaintiff alleging harassment in employment cannot pursue claims under California Unruh Act or directly under California Constitution)
• Gonzalez v. MethPath Inc., 214 Cal. App. 3d 422, 262 Cal. Rptr. 654 (1989) (upholding summary judgment and awarding defendant $10,000 in attorney’s fees against plaintiff claiming discriminatory denial of promotion)
• Harris v. Alumax Inc., 897 F.2d 400 (9th Cir. 1985) (upholding summary judgment against breach of contract and emotional distress claims)
• Potter v. Daewoo Motor America, Inc., Case No. TC012556 (Cal. Super. Ct. 2000) (summary judgment against executive alleging constructive discharge as a whistleblower and asserting pseudo-class allegations on behalf of American workers with respect to Korean expatriates)
• Howard v. Honeywell Inc., Case No. SC033003 (Cal. Super. Ct. 1996) (summary judgment against company paralegal allegedly fired for whistleblowing)
• Hart v. Times Advocate Co., Case No. N65552 (Cal. Super. Ct. 1996) (summary judgment against claim of disability discrimination)
• Adams v. NEC America, Inc., Case No. BC 127812 (Cal. Super. Ct. 1996) (summary judgment against dismissed salesperson’s claim of breach of employment contract)
• Brown v. AT&T, Case No. CV?93?02656?LGB (C.D. Cal. 1994) (summary judgment granted against claim of race and age discrimination), aff’d mem., (9th Cir. 1996)
• Czerny v. Hilton Hotels Corp., Case No. BC 015653 (Cal. Super. Ct. 1993)(defense jury verdict against sexual harassment complaint)
• Portillo v. McAnally Enterprises, Inc. (Cal. Super. Ct. 1988) (defense judgment in bench trial on contract and employment discrimination claims)