The National Law Journal's L.A. Legal Pad

Jet Propulsion Lab case to go before U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments tomorrow in a case involving 28 government contractors at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory who object to what they say are unrestricted and overly intrusive background checks.

The plaintiffs, who are engineers and scientists at the lab in Pasadena, say that their work is low-risk and unclassified, and therefore security clearance isn't required. The Justice Department has responded that the background checks are "minimally intrusive."

The suit was initiated in 2007.  After the Federal District Court in Los Angeles dismissed it, the Ninth Circuit sided with the scientists and issued an emergency injunction putting a halt to the checks.  The federal government appealed, and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

JPL is run by the California Institute of Technology and is famous for for sending unmanned spacecraft to Mars and the outer solar system.

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Taylor rejoins Wilson Sonsini in Palo Alto

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has announced that Barry Taylor has rejoined the firm as a partner in the corporate and securities practice. He will be based in their Palo Alto office.

Prior to joining Warburg Pincus, he had been a senior corporate partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. As a managing director in the technology, media, and telecom group at Warburg Pincus, Taylor participated in the investment process for new deals and supported existing portfolio companies in Silicon Valley. He also managed the Menlo Park office for eight years and worked with Warburg's professionals in India and China on cross-border investments and servicing India- and China-based portfolio companies active in the United States.

In his prior 16-year tenure as a partner in Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's corporate and securities practice, Taylor represented public and private companies in a wide range of matters, including private financings of preferred stock, convertible debt, and bridge loans with warrants, as well as both issuers and underwriters in public offerings. He also advised clients on public company governance and disclosure, reporting, and proxy matters, and negotiated and structured merger and acquisition transactions.

Taylor was a member of the New York Stock Exchange's Legal Advisory Board for three years and the National Association of Securities Dealers' Legal Advisory Board for six years. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1975, and a B.A. in political science from Dickinson College in 1970.

Ninth Circuit sanctions Sanai

Attorney Cyrus Sanai was sanctioned last Thursday by the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council for filing frivolous complaints against 19 judges.

Sanai is most widely known as the lawyer who discovered exually explicit material on Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski’s personal website -- a discovery that led to the judge being admonished. Kozinski, who as chief judge chairs the council, did not participate in the matter.

The council also publicly reprimanded Sanai and ordered that a copy of its order be served on the State Bar of California for consideration of further discipline.

Sanai told the Metropolitan News-Enterprise that he was being retaliated against for trying to call attention to judicial misconduct, and that the judges in question "acted from improper motive" when they rejected his prior complaints in order to protect their colleagues.

'Crash' impacts another lawsuit, this time from Matt Dillon

Yesterday actor Matt Dillon filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming he is still owed at least $100,000 in profits for his work in the movie Crash, according to an audit performed by his own company, Matthias Prods.

According to the complaint, when Dillon presented executive producer Bob Yari and execs with the audit, they "deliberately authorized [the production entity] to apply an incorrect formula for the calculation of [Dillon's] contingent compensation," allegedly allowing Yari and his partners to falsely increase profits paid to another "Crash"-related company and cheat Dillon out of his share.

This is hardly the first Crash-related suit to hit the courts.  Full story at THR, Esq.

Alleged terrorist sympathizer may have all charges dropped

Federal prosecutors in Santa Ana have asked U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney to dismiss perjury and naturalization-fraud charges against Ahmadulla Sais Niazi, a Tustin man alleged to be a terrorist sympathizer.

Prosecutors alleged in 2009, when Niazi was taken into custody, that he lied on his applications for citizenship, leaving out his ties to Amin al-Haq, suspected to be the security coordinator for Osama bin Laden. Court documents also showed that Niazi had been under FBI surveillance since 2006. 

Federal public defender Chase Scolnick argued that Niazi was targeted by FBI agents after refusing to become an informant himself.

This week, Assistant United States Attorney Patrick R. Fitzgerald filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against Niazi. The declaration refers to "[e]videntiary issues, including the unavailability of an overseas witness."

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Students will hear arguments in major immigration case, among others, in Fresno

The California Supreme Court is coming to Fresno and it's inviting 300 students across the Valley to hear arguments in eight cases over two days.

Students will have the chance to hear arguments in Martinez v. UC Regents, a class-action lawsuit that challenges California's practice of allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state fees at public colleges and universities. Plaintiffs in the case say the state law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment as well as federal immigration laws prohibiting states from providing a public benefit to illegal immigrants and not to U.S. citizens.

The case was chosen by the justices for this event because of its potential effect on young people, according to presiding justice James A. Ardaiz of the Fresno appellate court.

Full story at Fresno Bee.

CA Bar Foundation awards 51 Diversity Scholarships

The California Bar Foundation will award $282,500 in scholarships to 51 law students at a reception today at the offices of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in Los Angeles.

A spokesperson for the foundation said yesterday that a total of $180,000 will be divided among 28 incoming first-year law students from communities historically under-represented in the legal profession and $102,500 will be given to 23 students committed to public interest careers.

Foundation President Mario Camara said the Diversity Scholarship winners include community organizer working to increase access to higher education for immigrant students, a health care specialist who has worked on HIV/AIDS initiatives in Rwanda and Kenya, an asylee from Somalia with an expressed interest in international human rights law, an anthropologist who says he plans to combine his expertise in Native American cultural heritage with his law degree to strengthen tribal sovereignty, and a woman who overcame poverty and domestic violence in her childhood who says she wants to become an immigration attorney.

Full story at Metropolitan News-Enterprise.

Riverside County Bar Association honors BB&K's Clarke

Jack B. Clarke Jr., an attorney with Best Best & Krieger, will receive the Riverside County Bar Association's James Krieger Meritorious Service Award today at the association's annual installation dinner.

Clarke joined BB&K right out of law school in 1985.  He is the first African-American to chair the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce and headed the Mayor's Use-of-Force Review Panel in 1999 following the police shooting death of Tyisha Miller in Riverside.

A UC Riverside graduate, Clarke volunteers on the executive board of the Highlander Athletic Association, which promotes UCR athletics to the community.

Full story here.

 

Former WSGR of counsel now General Counsel of CODA Automotive

CODA Automotive, a company that manufactures all-electric vehicles and transportation-related battery systems, has announced the hiring of Christopher Rose as its General Counsel.

Prior to joining CODA, Mr. Rose was Of Counsel with the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto.  Prior to that, he was a Senior Vice President, and the Associate General Counsel of Fidelity National Financial, in Jacksonville, Florida.

Mr. Rose started his legal career at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he worked for seven years and spent time in the firm's Los Angeles, San Francisco, Palo Alto and Boston offices.

He received his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law with coursework concentrations in corporate and tax law. He received his M.B.A. with Distinction from the Harvard Business School with coursework concentration in finance and accounting, and earned an A.B. with Highest Honors in Economics from UC Berkeley.

Bren impersonator's trial date set

Moundir Kamil was arrested on September 13 for stealing a $1.4-million federal-tax-return check made out to billionaire Donald Bren, and then fooling a bank into believing he was the land developer. Kamil apparently used Bren's Social Security number, date of birth and other personal information to open the account in the Irvine Co. chairman's name and used a fake driver's license as identification.

Federal prosecutors allege that Kamil moved $1.1 million out of the account and into accounts in the names of other individuals. By the time the alleged fraud was discovered, only $200,000 in certificates of deposit and $64,049.58 in cash remained in the accounts.

According to the Orange County Business Journal, in 2006 Kamil was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for half a dozen bank robberies dating back to 2003.  He is currently in custody on $50,000 bail and a trial will begin in Los Angeles on November 9.

Full story at OCRegister.com.

Sacks Glazier partner is new Chair of CA State Bar Trusts & Estates Section

Margaret Lodise, a partner with the trusts and estates litigation firm Sacks Glazier Franklin & Lodise LLP, was recently installed as Chair of the California State Bar Trusts & Estates Section Executive Committee at the State Bar’s 83rd Annual Meeting in Monterey, CA on September 26, 2010. Ms. Lodise previously served as Vice-Chair.

As Chair, Ms. Lodise will oversee the activities of the section subcommittees. Those subcommittees are charged with providing education to the section’s members, monitoring, drafting, and critiquing legislation affecting those areas of the law which have an impact on the trusts and estates field, and providing services to clients and the general public, such as the educating seniors program which provides valuable education to seniors to help them to find proper estate planning vehicles and avoid scams. Section membership includes more than 6,000 attorneys with interests and expertise in Estate Planning, Income and Transfer Taxes, Trust and Estate Administration, Trust and Estate Litigation, Incapacity (including Conservatorship, Guardianship, and Elder Law), and Ethics.

Ms. Lodise is also a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, past Chair of the Trusts and Estates Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and is a former President of the Women Lawyers' Association of Los Angeles. She serves on the Board of Trustees of Pomona College and on the Board of Governors for the City Club of Los Angeles.

Attorney charged with 'harassment by electronic communication'

Irvine attorney Franklin Casco Jr. has been charged with impersonating his neighbors and placing fake ads on Web sites like MySpace for sexual services in their names.

Prosecutors charged Casco and an accomplice from his firm, Larry Lorenzo Cardenas Jr., with 10 felonies including one count each of conspiracy and stalking, as well as four counts of identity theft. Both men have pleaded not guilty.

Casco's defense attorney, John Barnett, said the matter arose from a very contentious lawsuit involving the neighbors' home renovation project, which, according to Barnett, has drawn the ire of several homeowners in the neighborhood.

Police claim to have tracked IP addresses for the individuals who created the websites to Casco's firm, but Barnett says those addresses don't identify specific users or computers.

Full story at OCRegister.com.

 

Warner Bros. vs. Toberoff, with a lot of paperwork

Warner Brothers has been battling Marc Toberoff, the attorney for the families of "Superman" creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, for years now. The studio turned the heat up this past May with a suit alleging that Toberoff manipulated his clients into spurning longtime agreements with Warners-owned DC Comics and instead entering into deals that would be profitable for the lawyer himself. In return, Toberoff filed several motions to dismiss, citing state laws that forbade lawsuits where the intention was to intimidate through delays and legal expenses.

Warner Brothers has now filed five separate motions which claim Toberoff has been attempting to shield himself from liability for interfering with his clients' contracts, and that the series of "consent agreements" he put together with his clients also interfered with the studio's rights.

A hearing is set for October 18.

Full story here.

Judge adds $2.3M to San Juan Capistrano's woes

Orange County Superior Court Judge Gail Andler has awarded $2.3 million in litigation expenses in a development suit against San Juan Capistrano.

The city had initially wanted a $7 million judgment tossed out and a new trial granted, but Andler said the city did not meet its burden of proof for either motion.  She wrote, "Additionally, in its effort to persuade this court to grant the requested relief, the City has mischaracterized the rulings of the court and the evidence presented." With the litigation fees, the total judgment against the city now exceeds $9 million.

"Under the law we were entitled to reasonable fees," said Chuck Krolikowski, lead trial counsel for the Scalzo Family Trust. "The judge came in very close to what we asked for."

San Juan has appealed the judgment to the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana.

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Nahai joins Lewis Brisbois in L.A.

Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith has announced that H. David Nahai will be joining the firm as a partner in their Los Angeles office. He will co-chair the firm’s energy, environmental and water practice and real estate practice.

A well-recognized environmental leader, David Nahai has three decades of experience representing public and private companies in complex real estate, energy, water and environmental matters. He is the former Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the former President of the LADWP Board of Commissioners, and the former Chair of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board). Mr. Nahai was appointed by Mayor Villaraigosa to the LADWP and served in the administrations of Governors Wilson, Davis, and Schwarzenegger while on the Regional Board.

Mr. Nahai led the overall transformation of the LADWP including the unprecedented expansion of the utility's renewable energy portfolio; the origination and execution of the City's groundbreaking Water Supply Plan; the attainment of historic reductions in water consumption in the City; the realization of record-breaking energy efficiency levels; and the launch and implementation of water and power infrastructure improvement programs. Under his leadership, the LADWP increased its renewable energy portfolio from 3 percent in 2005 to around 15 percent by the end of 2009.

Mr. Nahai is also widely recognized as a leading expert on water issues. He served for over 10 years on the Regional Board, including an unprecedented four terms as its chairman. He is credited with reinvigorating the effectiveness of the Regional Board and spearheading some of its most aggressive programs, especially in the area of coastal protection.

He holds graduate and post-graduate degrees in law from the London School of Economics and the University of California at Berkeley, and was a Visiting Scholar at Berkeley. He will continue to maintain his consulting practice under his company, David Nahai Consulting Services, LLC, and will remain a Senior Advisor to the Clinton Climate Initiative.

Ritchey joins Hopkins & Carley in San Jose

Hopkins & Carley has announced the addition of Gary H. Ritchey to its San Jose office as a Shareholder in the Litigation department.

Ritchey's particular emphasis is patent litigation, although he has represented clients on a variety of intellectual property and business litigation matters. In his patent cases he has represented both plaintiffs and defendants on matters concerning a variety of different technologies, including wireless LANs, business intelligence software, orthodontic devices, angular rate sensors, wound healing agents, computer graphics and plasmid vectors. He has done work for such diverse clients as the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Australia's national science agency), Amgen, NVIDIA and eBay.

Ritchey received his Juris Doctor degree from U.C. Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Santa Clara University and a Doctorate in Experimental Psychology from U.C. San Diego. He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1988. Prior to joining Hopkins & Carley, Dr. Ritchey worked as a Litigation Partner with Townsend and Townsend and Crew in Palo Alto and with Cooley Godward Kronish in Palo Alto.

Judge's 'tough love' approach lands her in hot water with Judicial Performance Commission

The State Commission on Judicial Performance said last Thursday that it will be investigating potential misconduct by San Diego County Superior Court Judge DeAnn M. Salcido. She is facing scrutiny for three dozen allegedly mocking, rude and slightly off-color comments from the bench.

Also, the commission claims that Salcido allowed her courtroom proceedings to be videotaped as part of her bid to become the focus of a reality television program.

Among her alleged offenses, Salcido is said to have mocked a criminal defendant who said he wanted to enlist in the military, as well as a woman in another case for having questionable taste in men because of her friendship with the defendant, who was wearing a Raiders shirt.

The judge released a statement last week in which she stressed her "use of humor and a 'tough love' approach in getting through to the criminal defendants." 

Salcido, appointed by Gray Davis in 2002, was reelected this year by 59 percent of the vote.

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Appeals court affirms $94M judgment against former Qualcomm director

The California Second Appellate District Court affirmed a judgment last Wednesday against former Qualcomm director and shareholder Neil Kadisha for mismanaging two trusts for a young widow's two children. The Court also added about $20 million in prejudgment interest to the judgment.

Retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Henry W. Shatford wrote in his initial decision that Kadisha was "no more than a common thief," and that he had misappropriated millions of dollars of trust funds, invested trust assets in a real estate venture in which he had a financial interest, sold trust assets in order to embezzle the funds, and failed to properly manage trust assets resulting in the loss of millions of dollars.

One of Kadisha's arguments was that many of those challenged transactions were in the trusts' best interests. Justice Walter Croskey, writing for the Court of Appeal, said a trustee cannot enter into a transaction solely for his personal benefit, even if it makes economic sense from the trust’s point of view.

The Encino-based law firm of Krane & Smith represented Dafna Uzyel and her children, Izzet and Joelle, and won a $94 million final judgment for compensatory and punitive damages.

Full story at Metropolitan News-Enterprise.

Lawyer sues former firm over male empowerment retreat

Attorney Steven C. Eggleston is suing Newport beach firm Bisnar/Chase, claiming that they stopped paying him after he refused to attend a personal development retreat.

Eggleston alleges in the suit, filed in August, that he did a Google search on the "New Warrior Training" seminar organized by The Mankind Project and discovered it entailed activities in which men revealed personal details about their sex lives. He expressed his concerns to the firm and declined to attend, and that's when the firm stopped paying him, according to the lawsuit.

Brian Chase, name partner at the firm, says attendance was purely voluntary and called the suit "frivolous."

Full story at OCRegister.com.

Rogers joins Seyfarth Shaw as of counsel in L.A.

Seyfarth Shaw LLP announced the addition of trusts & estates lawyer John T. Rogers, Jr. to its Los Angeles office as of counsel.

Rogers specializes in trust, estate, and conservatorship administration and litigation. He also helps clients with estate planning, alternative dispute resolution and professional responsibility in trust and estate administration. He has served as an expert witness in a number of cases involving such issues as breach of fiduciary duty and attorney ethics and malpractice. He was previously a partner with Luce Forward. Rogers is certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization for estate planning, trust and probate law.

Rogers has participated in over three dozen seminars and conferences on trusts & estates law ranging in topics from ethics to fiduciary responsibility as well as litigation. He has also authored a number of articles on these topics. He is former chair of the Los Angeles Bar Association Trusts & Estates Section and past president of the Los Angeles Estate Planning Council.

Rogers received his law degree from UCLA School of Law and his B.S., with distinction, from Stanford University. He is admitted to the California Bar and the United States District Court for the Central District of California.