This was a complex product liability and wrongful death case against a European automobile manufacturer. The case involved allegations that a defective vehicle design caused a tragic incident in which a mother was run over and killed. Because the defendant was based overseas, service of process required compliance with the Hague Convention, making the litigation particularly complex. The case involved extensive discovery, including numerous depositions of engineers, product designers, and corporate representatives. The defense initially blamed the decedent for her own death, but through aggressive litigation and expert testimony, liability was established.

The case ultimately resolved for $8,000,000. This matter demonstrates the firm’s ability to handle complex international product defect cases and hold global manufacturers accountable under California law.

Sherril Phillips walked into AvantGarde Senior Living and Memory Care in Tarzana, California on June 9, 2018 happy and healthy. She was 88. She left AvantGarde 48 days later in an ambulance with a lacerated forehead, traumatic brain injury, and a broken neck. In a matter of 48 days while under the direct care and supervision of AvantGarde, Sherril was brought to urgent care once, hospitalized once, contracted E. coli twice, and was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection twice. In those same 48 days, Sherril also sustained multiple unexplained bruises, swelling and ankle edema, a hematoma and laceration to her forehead, traumatic brain injury, and multiple burst fractures to her cervical spine. Sherril was deprived of even the most basic hygienic services assistance with grooming, bathing, toileting, drinking, and escorting during her 48 days at AvantGarde. She was found routinely unbathed, ungroomed, and in one specific instance, without pants in soiled diapers that were doubled up to reduce the number of changings. The neglect was so rampant that the Head of the Care Department sent a text message to her staff, acknowledging that “[t]his is down right neglect[.]”

Despite this, the Administrator and the Care Department Head did little, if anything at all, to investigate, report, and correct their staff’s daily neglect of Sherril in conscious disregard of her rights and safety. To make matters worse, the Administrator hired an unqualified and untrained activities assistant who she personally authorized to escort Sherril Phillips and other residents despite knowing of her unfitness to provide direct care. The Administrator’s conscious decision culminated with the untrained and unqualified activities assistant negligently and recklessly diverting her attention from Sherril while escorting her around the property, which caused her to fall face first over her walker and sustain severe injuries that sent her mild pre-existing dementia spiraling out of control. Brian’s verdict was published and featured by ABC7 News, the Daily Journal, ALM Verdict Search, Yahoo! Finance, JuryVerdictAlert.com, and MarketWatch.

Brian’s 11 years-old client suffered a traumatic brain injury when he attempted to slide down a handrail and fell backwards over 8 ft to the concrete below. The young boy suffered multiple depressed fractures to his temporal and parietal skull bones, as well as his clavicle. The skull fractures and the force of the impact caused epidural and subdural brain hemorrhages, which required life-saving emergency brain surgery. Brian’s client is expected to make a full recovery and will begin high school this fall, which is a credit to the intense physical and cognitive rehabilitation that the young boy fought through. During litigation, the school blamed Brian’s client for his injuries, arguing that “he should’ve known better.”

The school denied liability even though it did not take attendance and could not account for the young boy for over an hour and half before his injury. The evidence was that the school knew that the boys were sliding down this same handrail for a decade but did absolutely nothing about it. To make matters worse, the school refused to produce tenured faculty and staff for deposition and hid thousands of pages of documents, e-mails, and internal memoranda. Brian filed countless motions to compel, arguing to the court that the school was unlawfully hiding evidence. The court agreed and ordered the school to produce the documents and over 51 faculty and staff to sit for deposition. It was in those documents and during those depositions that Brian uncovered a reckless history of zero accountability, lax supervision, and a complete failure to establish and enforce school policy.

In addition to the $5.46 million-dollar settlement, Brian’s work was instrumental in changing school policy to make it safer for all students for years to come. The school installed a guardrail to prevent sliding, placed signs in the stairwells warning against sliding, instituted a policy of mandatory suspension for any student caught sliding down the handrails, installed security cameras in the stairwells, instituted a mandatory attendance taking policy at the beginning of each class, assigned supervision duties in the stairwells during off hours, and instituted school policy for teachers to follow when a student is not present at the start of class.

This was a high-speed motor vehicle collision involving an unprotected left turn that resulted in a near head-on crash at approximately 55–60 miles per hour. The plaintiff sustained severe injuries, including traumatic brain injury and cervical and lumbar spine injuries. Through extensive discovery, depositions, and expert testimony, liability was established.

The case resolved for $5,000,000, representing the full available insurance coverage, including a $1 million primary policy and a $4 million excess policy. This matter demonstrates the firm’s ability to pursue and recover full policy limits in catastrophic injury cases across California.

This case involved a dangerous condition of public property in Hermosa Beach, California, where the plaintiff sustained a traumatic brain injury while playing pickleball. The City had converted tennis courts into pickleball courts without adhering to applicable safety standards, including the required minimum overrun space behind the baseline. As a result, the plaintiff collided with a concrete wall located dangerously close to the playing area while attempting to chase down a ball. Investigation revealed that the project had been improperly awarded to a contractor without a proper public bidding process, circumventing legal requirements and resulting in unsafe design and construction.

The case was resolved for $3,000,000. This matter highlights the duty of municipalities to maintain safe public facilities and comply with statutory requirements for public works projects.

Brian obtained a seven-figure, confidential settlement for his minor client who sustained severe injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder after an 85-foot tall tree located in a park owned and maintained by a government entity fell on top of her while attending a summer camp.

This was a negligent security excessive force case that was taken all the way through trial to verdict against a well-known defense firm, Tyson & Mendes, with veteran trial attorney Ed Leonard serving as lead defense counsel. The case was a zero-offer case throughout litigation. The incident involved an unlicensed security guard who was improperly assigned to a post and who mistakenly believed the plaintiff was committing a theft. In reality, the plaintiff was the owner of a jewelry store who was pursuing individuals who had just stolen from him.

The security guard misinterpreted the situation and violently intervened, slamming the plaintiff to the ground and causing serious back injuries that required surgery. The case proceeded to trial in Van Nuys, California—traditionally considered a conservative venue—where the jury returned a $2.3 million verdict. The result underscores the importance of proper training and licensing of security personnel and demonstrates that juries will hold companies accountable for excessive force and negligent security practices.

This was a negligence and security excessive force case in Los Angeles, California involving an unlicensed security guard who never should have been working in the position he was assigned. During the course and scope of his employment, the guard assaulted the plaintiff, resulting in significant knee and low back injuries that ultimately required surgery. The case was heavily litigated over multiple years, and the allegations were proven prior to resolution. Under California law, private security guards are limited in their authority and are generally restricted to conduct similar to that of private citizens, including limited circumstances involving citizen’s arrest.

This case highlights the dangers of untrained or improperly credentialed security personnel using excessive force and the importance of holding security companies accountable for negligent hiring, supervision, and retention. The matter ultimately resolved through a confidential settlement for $2,280,000.

This was a commercial trucking accident case involving significant spinal injuries that required surgical intervention. The case involved a collision between a passenger vehicle and an 18-wheeler and was heavily litigated through extensive discovery, depositions, and expert analysis. The trucking company and driver were held accountable under applicable federal and state regulations governing common carriers. The case ultimately resolved for $2,062,500.

This matter demonstrates the importance of understanding federal motor carrier safety regulations and the complexities involved in litigating trucking cases in California.