Litigation
Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP litigators know that good results don’t just happen – they are the product of hard work and skill. We know how to effectively prepare for trial and try cases. From the earliest stages of litigation, we analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the case and marshal the evidence necessary to promote our client’s position. Our seasoned trial lawyers know from experience how to efficiently navigate the litigation process, how to favorably position a case, and how to persuasively present that case at trial. The fact is that an overwhelming percentage of lawsuits settle at some point. Good settlements are negotiated from a position of strength. That strength comes in part from a demonstrated willingness and ability to vigorously advocate a client’s position successfully through trial, if necessary, and to perform at the highest levels of the profession.
We seek to understand our clients’ legal and business objectives and to map out a strategy to satisfy both those objectives. In this respect, we give our clients a prompt, honest, and practical evaluation of their legal position. Our litigators work closely with our many transactional attorneys and draw upon their substantive expertise to better serve our clients. Our success derives from a simple formula – perform high-quality legal work, at a reasonable price, while providing superior service. Where possible, we try to staff most of our cases with one partner and one associate in order to be more cost-effective.
We have created a special team of attorneys that are experienced at handling the unique challenges associated with e-discovery, including both the technical challenges associated with the identification, preservation, collection, review and production of massive amounts of electronically stored information, and the practical challenges associated with the cost and burden that can accompany e-discovery.
Our trial lawyers have successfully tried several hundred cases in an array of forums, including state and federal courts, arbitrations, and judicial references. We are experienced in matters governed by the federal Manual for Complex Litigation and in matters coordinated by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.
Several members of our team have developed appellate expertise in both state and federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court. Many important reported appellate decisions involve our lawyers. We help make the law.
We also regularly find ourselves engaging in various forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), including mediation, arbitration, and judicial reference. In appropriate cases, we actively promote ADR procedures in an effort to minimize the expense of client time and money.
We have litigation capabilities in a variety of areas including:
Business & Unfair Competition Litigation. We are adept at the intricacies of 21st Century business litigation all manner of business dispute resolution in both state and federal court. We have tried business disputes in all of the courts of California and over a dozen other states. We have handled cases involving fiduciary duty issues, business judgment rule cases, hostile takeovers, securities litigation, statutory and common law forms of unfair competition, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, the Unfair Business Practices Act, false advertising, defense of consumer class actions, and infringement of intangible property rights, including trademarks, copyrights, and patents. We routinely seek prejudgment remedies, including attachments, turnover orders, and injunctions.
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Construction Claims and Litigation. We represent contractors, developers, owners, public agencies, and design professionals in a broad range of construction claims categories, including delays, disruptions, contract performance, defects, mechanics’ liens, performance and payment bonds, stop notice rights, and bid protests arising from both public and private projects. We resolve claims involving diverse legal theories and damage recovery methodologies while working closely with experts and consultants. Our lawyers serve on construction law legislative committees and are active in trade groups representing the building industry.
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Environmental Litigation. We provide in-depth experience counseling and litigating under local, state, and federal regulatory schemes, as well as common law doctrines. We have substantial experience working with all aspects of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, (RCRA), the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Coastal Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Proposition 65, the Polanco Act, as well as local, state, and federal toxic waste, mold, asbestos, endangered species, wetlands, archaeological and historic protection, and water and air quality regulations.
Financial Remedies and Bankruptcy Litigation. Our financial remedies and bankruptcy lawyers focus on lender/borrower disputes, lender liability claims, and the entire range of bankruptcy, creditors’ rights and debtor protection issues. With a broad-based bankruptcy and finance practice, we routinely handle actions to enforce security agreements such as guarantees and deeds of trust, as well as prelitigation workout strategy and counseling.
Insurance Coverage and Risk Management. We are pioneers in maximizing the benefits to our clients of their insurance coverage, as well as the coverage carried by other parties. Our litigators regularly analyze, mediate, and litigate complex insurance coverage issues, with a particular focus on defense and coverage obligations in construction, real estate, construction defect, and environmental claims. We also have extensive experience drafting and enforcing risk-transfer provisions in real estate and construction contracts, including insurance and indemnity provisions, as well as structuring innovative insurance and risk-management programs for real estate projects of all sizes.
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Labor and Employment Litigation. We are nationally recognized in the ERISA and employee benefit areas. Our attorneys have argued cases before the United States Supreme Court, as well as many cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, involving ERISA, employee benefits, and labor law issues. Our labor and employee benefit group focuses its practice on representation of industry groups, contractors, and collectively bargained multi-employer construction industry fringe benefit trust funds, financial institutions, developers, and commercial entities of all types. Our labor and employment litigators are actively involved in claim prevention counseling, regulatory compliance, and litigation involving employee benefit plans and labor laws, including state and federal wage and hour laws, wrongful termination, Title VII litigation, and age, race, and sex discrimination litigation.
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Land Use Litigation. Our attorneys are consulted from the project pre-approval stage through administrative, trial court, and appellate proceedings, in all aspects of land use, including zoning and planning, the imposition of school fees, park fees, traffic fees, public art fees, and other dedications and exactions imposed by local jurisdictions, as well as inverse and direct condemnation proceedings.
Real Estate and Leasing Litigation. Our experience encompasses virtually every type of real estate agreement and relationship, including partnerships, joint ventures, and other entity structures. Particular areas of expertise include disputes over acquisitions, dispositions, financing, property management, tenant improvement issues, monetary and nonmonetary defaults, assignments, pass-through provisions, valuation, common area maintenance issues, recapture provisions, unlawful detainer, brokerage agreements, and many other areas.
