Find Lawyers in California, United States for Litigation - Real Estate
Practice Area Overview
For developers, litigation can arise with land sellers over purchase and sale agreements; with municipalities over zoning and entitlements; and with contractors over construction bidding, cost overruns, and construction defects and delays. For lenders, litigation can arise with borrowers over loan commitments, loan defaults and associated debt, and collateral recovery; with junior and mezzanine lenders over subordination obligations; and with mechanic lienors over priority rights to the real property and loan proceeds. For property owners, disputes can arise with retail and commercial tenants over unpaid rent, repair and restoration obligations, and rights of first refusal.
Disputes regularly arise out of the often-complicated and interrelated contracts of the various parties with interests in the property, and tort claims of various kinds may be asserted, from broad common law claims, such as fraud and tortious interference, to more real estate-specific claims, such as trespass, encroachment, and nuisance. Equitable considerations are often present because of the unique nature of real property rights. Special insurance rights, such as title and builder’s risk policies, may be implicated.
Top-tier lawyers in the area should have a comprehensive understanding of the contractual relations, business goals, and equitable and tort concepts attendant to the entire project. Practitioners may find themselves in state, federal, or bankruptcy courts, or, particularly in construction disputes, in arbitration.
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Cities
Scott Alexander currently serves as the managing partner of Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld LLP. Scott practices business and commercial litigation throughout all California state and federal courts, with a primary emphasis in construction and real estate litigation, public contracts and complex contract disputes. Scott routinely represents public entities, private owners, general contractors, subcontractors, and architects and engineers on a broad array of issues within the construction indus...
Experienced in all aspects of case handling, Micaela P. Banach has amassed an impressive track record over the course of her career – skillfully representing both plaintiffs and defendants in practice areas that include matters of real estate, employment, products liability, professional liability and business disputes, such as contract issues and fraud. Results driven, she has secured successful results for numerous clients – most notably obtaining a multi-million dollar judgment...
Vincent J. Bartolotta, Jr. is a founding partner of Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire. He specializes in plaintiffs' litigation with an emphasis in business disputes, condemnation, and major injury cases. A tenacious litigator, Bartolotta is recognized annually by Woodward/White as one of the Best Lawyers in America -- a recognition he's received every year since 1987. "There's really no secret about what I do," he says, "I really do care for my clients; each case gets a piece of my soul." Bartolot...
Michael Berger is one of California’s preeminent appellate lawyers and is a partner in Manatt Real Estate and the appellate practice. One of the top land use and condemnation lawyers in the United States, his appellate cases have involved planning, zoning, eminent domain, various kinds of business litigation, landslides, contract, due process, equal protection, defective construction, nuisance, insurance and environmental law. Michael has argued four cases before the United States Supre...
Eve Brackmann serves as lead counsel in jury and bench trials in all California state and federal courts and she is well known for her effective private arbitration work. Her real estate practice covers high-stakes litigation for casino developers, shopping center owners, mortgage companies, and big-box retailers. Her business litigation practice covers disputes in venture partnerships, manufacturer and distributor disputes, contract-related lawsuits, fiduciary duty, unfair competition, defam...
John Fairbrook is a shareholder of Trainor Fairbrook and Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department. Mr. Fairbrook is a highly regarded litigator having successfully tried, arbitrated, and resolved hundreds of real estate and commercial litigation matters throughout California. His litigation practice focuses on commercial real estate, leasing, construction and real estate development. Over the course of his 35-year career, Mr. Fairbrook has tried numerous jury trials to verdict, both in...
A seasoned trial lawyer with significant experience in both state and federal courts in Santa Clara County, Bill’s expertise in representing businesses and individuals in complex civil litigation has provided clients many noteworthy results. In addition, Bill works with individuals and families in cases involving litigation such as will contests, trust disputes, and related issues. Bill is often called into family law matters when specific litigation expertise is required in cases where...
Brian Fish focuses his practice on land use, public/private partnerships, public contracting, environmental and real estate matters. Mr. Fish assists public and private clients with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance, coastal permitting, planning and zoning issues, Subdivision Map Act processing, Williamson Act issues, condominium conversions and prevailing wage analysis. He also negotiates and drafts all other manner of documentation required to acquire, develop, finance,...
TODD G. FRIEDLAND, Business Litigation Attorney, OCBA President. Mr. Friedland’s practice at Stephens Friedland LLP focuses on commercial litigation and strategic counseling including complex contract disputes, derivative actions, class action defense, unfair business practices, trade secrets, business torts, intellectual property and real estate matters. Prior to forming Stephens Friedland LLP, Mr. Friedland practiced with the multi-national law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman....
For over twenty years, Mr. Gibson has represented numerous types of clients, small and large, local and international, in all types of commercial disputes. Mr. Gibson’s direct approach as a business litigator and advisor has delivered successful results in commercial, construction and real estate disputes. His balanced practice includes representation of local, national and international companies, as well as individuals. Previously, he co-chaired the San Diego County Bar Association&rs...
Michael J. Gleason is an AV-rated trial and appellate lawyer with over 20 years of experience handling key areas of business litigation, including consumer class action defense, California’s Proposition 65, product liability, fraud, real estate, escrow, and title insurance. He serves as Partner-in-Charge of Hahn Loeser’s San Diego office, is founder of the firm’s Proposition 65 defense group, and a member of the San Diego Litigation Team, which is ranked among the Top Tier P...
Donald J. Hamman is a founding partner of Stuart Kane LLP, and practices in the Litigation group. Mr. Hamman is a successful trial and appellate attorney, with extensive experience in mediation, binding and non-binding arbitrations, settling cases, and handling writ, jury and bench trials and appeals in complex business litigation, real estate litigation, employment litigation and environmental disputes in, among other venues, the following: Orange County Los Angeles County San Diego County R...
For more than 20 years, Jason M. Kirby has represented hundreds of clients in litigation cases in San Diego and throughout California. Kirby’s primary practice areas are business litigation and real estate litigation, but he has been involved in almost every type of civil case at some point during his career. Kirby is an experienced trial lawyer. Kirby handles both plaintiff’s cases and defense cases. As a plaintiff’s lawyer, he has had multiple jury verdicts in excess of a ...
For more than 30 years, Michael L. Kirby has been involved in civil litigation, trying more than 50 jury trials throughout his career and obtaining total recoveries valued in excess of $275 million as lead counsel. His expertise is extensive and covers a variety of practice areas that involve business, partnerships, real estate and investor disputes. He has received multiple Outstanding Trial Lawyer awards from the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego. He successfully tried five cases in five diff...
James Lance is an experienced trial attorney who has represented both plaintiffs and defendants for over 37 years. He regularly represents defendants in bet-the-company litigation, and has obtained several 7 and 8 figure verdicts, judgments and settlements for personal injury and commercial plaintiffs. Lance obtained an award of more than $12 million in early 2024 for an individual plaintiff asserting an employment claim. In addition to the commercial matters, Lance routinely represents indiv...
Michael S. LeBoff brings nearly 25 years of business trial practice to Klein & Wilson, handling and winning high-stakes trials and arbitrations. Michael represents clients of all sizes in a wide variety of business cases, including shareholder, partnership and joint venture disputes, trade secret claims, fraud, breach of contract, business torts, real estate, attorney fee disputes and legal malpractice actions. Michael attended Loyola Law School on a full academic scholarship, graduating ...
John Murphy focuses his practice on eminent domain, inverse condemnation and other complex real estate trials. He represents a wide variety of public agencies, corporations, and landowners. Mr. Murphy and his firm have earned its clients over $275 Million in eminent domain awards over the past six years. His firm has won arguably the highest condemnation awards in the State in each of the past four years. Its 2017 judgment against the County of San Bernardino totals $48 Million. He has been c...
Vik Nagpal is the managing partner of Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara LLP’s San Diego offices, as well as directing the firm’s business development. He has practiced law in both Northern and Southern California since 2000. Mr. Nagpal is admitted to practice law before all State Court in California, as well as in the Central and Southern District Federal Courts. Mr. Nagpal has extensive experience in handling all general liability matters to trial and arbitration, including ...
Betty Shumener is one of the three founding partners of Shumener, Odson & Oh LLP. Ms. Shumener represents some of the nation’s elite private equity firms, opportunity funds and financial institutions. As a commercial litigator, Ms. Shumener has protected billion of dollars of real estate and corporate assets for equity and debt investors dating back to the Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980’s and evolving into the opportunity funds and investment banking firms. Ms. Shume...
Thomas J. Umberg has extensive trial experience in both federal and state courts and has been recognized as a “Super Lawyer” for Southern California, an honor limited to only 5% of Southern California lawyers. He has also been selected for the prestigious publication “The Best Lawyers in America®” in commercial litigation. As a federal criminal prosecutor, he tried numerous white collar and civil rights cases, including tax evasion schemes. These include “Ura...
DANIEL M. WHITE specializes in defending individuals and entities in civil trials involving business, construction, professional liability, product liability, real estate and intellectual property matters. Most recently, Mr. White was designated San Diego’s 2019 Legal Malpractice (Defense) Lawyer of the Year by “The Best Lawyers in America”, a publication in which he has been listed annually since 1999. A five litigation specialty designee, he was previously named 2013 Perso...
Mr. White is a business trial lawyer specializing in complex business disputes. His clients include large corporations and institutions generating billions in revenue annually, multinational corporations, and entrepreneurs. Throughout his career, he has worked with and against the largest law firms in the world. He prides himself on delivering top results and creating value for his clients, both large and small. In addition to litigation matters, Mr. White provides outside general counsel ser...
A seasoned trial attorney and skilled negotiator, Mark B. Wilson has won nearly every case he has tried and arbitrated. Mr. Wilson lost only one jury trial and obtained a complete reversal on appeal. He has 13 jury trials, 16 court trials, and 14 binding arbitrations under his belt. Mr. Wilson represents clients in federal and state courts in a variety of matters, including business litigation, legal malpractice, real estate, trade secrets, unfair competition, copyright infringement, construc...
Dean J. Zipser is a recognized leader in the Orange County legal community, having served as President of the Orange County Bar Association and the Association of Business Trial Lawyers-Orange County Chapter. In 2003, Dean received the Jurisprudence Award given by the Anti-Defamation League, which recognizes individual commitment to the highest ideals of the legal profession and dedicated service to the community. Dean was honored to be named as one of the 176 lawyers nationwide on the BTI Co...
Brandon M. Carr focuses his practice on complex business and commercial litigation matters. His experience encompasses a wide variety of cases at both the trial and appellate levels, including contract, fraud and indemnification cases, shareholder disputes, business/real property valuation cases, matters involving general business torts, employment disputes and intellectual property rights. Mr. Carr has first- and second-chair trial experience, and has obtained favorable orders and significan...
Josh Escovedo is a shareholder in Buchalter’s Sacramento and Los Angeles offices. He is a member of Buchalter’s Litigation, Intellectual Property, and Real Estate Practice Groups. With a keen focus on delivering exceptional legal representation, Josh’s expertise encompasses a diverse range of legal areas. Josh’s litigation practice focuses on complex matters involving breaches of contracts, fraud, shareholder and partnership disputes, and other business-related actions...
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