Hon. Allan J. Goodman (Ret.)

• Resolved dispute over payment of promissory note and for foreclosure on property securing that note
• Dispute over application of provisions of Article 9 of the California version of the Uniform Commercial Code, including compliance with notice of assignment requirement and consequences of payment to original creditor.
• Dispute between buyers and sellers of assets of, and then stock in, home health care services business, requiring allocation of accounts receivable including federal funds received via CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Act and State of California license requirements.
• Garment jobber sued manufacturer for unpaid invoices for goods to be produced overseas and shipped to the United States. Purchaser asserted cross-complaint based on alleged partial non-performance.
• Corporate advice to start up and development stage businesses

• Venture capital financing on behalf of start up and development stage businesses and investors
• Advice concerning protection of trade secret, knowhow and other intellectual property
• Litigation to recover reasonable legal fees
• Real estate lease advice to owner of multiple commercial properties
• Investor suit against seller of securities for misrepresentation and fraud
• Inventor and company founder’s suit against marketing and sales manager for beach of loyalty, breach of fiduciary duty and damages based on sales manager establishing mirror image company in foreign jurisdiction to compete with founder in worldwide sale of proprietary, patented product
• Claimed breach of finder’s agreement
• Dispute between employer and worker’s compensation insurer alleging breach of contract and negligence, and presenting threshold issue whether Federal Arbitration Act is preempted by the McCarran-Ferguson Act and the Nebraska Uniform Arbitration Act
• Dispute over ownership of client files and right to use partnership trade secrets on termination of status as employee
• Dispute over which board of directors had been validly elected and had right to control pending litigation
• Dispute over ownership of product developed using information in a library of proprietary information which the parties (some of whom are former employees of the other party) had agreed to share and allow access to for one purpose but which one party used to develop and commercialize a product without first having obtained consent to use of technology not part of the agreement to share the library of technology
• Dispute whether investment advisor had breached fiduciary duty to charitable foundation and had misappropriated foundation’s assets
• Dispute arising from failure to execute proper document assigning asset (a money judgment) to family trust
• Dispute over distribution of interpleaded funds deposited after judgment in wrongful death action
• Dispute whether lawyer had breached contract to perform legal services
• Dispute whether terms of contract between talent agency and clients contained illegal terms and conditions
• Class action based on claim of unlawful denial of overtime pay by restaurant business
• Dispute whether plaintiff class was sufficiently ascertainable in action alleging fraud by multiple insurers
• Dispute over amount of attorney fees properly awarded on settlement of class action
• Dispute over propriety of denial of motion to compel arbitration of claims by members of certain subclasses of plaintiffs who had utilized escrow services of defendant escrow companies
• Dispute whether local municipal bus company had breached contract with foreign manufacturer of buses when it terminated contract to purchase large number of busses based on alleged failure of manufacturer to meet initial delivery obligation
• Dispute whether judgment creditor properly initiated fraudulent transfer action in effort to collect on judgment
• Dispute over scope of liability and propriety of discounting of unpaid invoices in garment industry for work performed
• Dispute over judgment creditor seeking to levy on stock certificates of judgment debtor
• Dispute over scope of coverage among layers of insurance policies
• Suit by excess insurer of tire manufacturer to recover sums it paid in settlement of personal injury claim allegedly resulting from defective design, materials and manufacture of tire resulting in blowout and rendering the driver a quadriplegic

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• Resolved dispute between developer of condominiums and contractor over failures of contractor to perform as required by plans and city ordinances.
• Resolved dispute between owner of large luxury residence and disaster remediation service over payment for services rendered to remediate extensive water intrusion and mold infestation
• Resolved dispute between builder of new condominiums on lot adjacent to long-time homeowner who objected to new construction that affected her property line, fencing and quiet enjoyment
• Renegotiation of anchor tenant in significant shopping center to resolve litigation between landlord and tenant over breach of lease
• Dispute over nonjudicial foreclosure and standing to challenge allegedly invalid assignments of trust deed

• Dispute whether seller of convalescent care facility stripped value from the going concern after entering into contract for its sale and prior to the closing date on the sale of the facility
• Dispute over use of funds provided by investor to start up business for personal expenses of persons charged with opening and operating it
• Disputes over value of services rendered in constructing commercial and residential buildings
• HOA – condominium owner dispute over liability for water intrusion into units
• Landlord-tenant disputes regarding provision of habitable dwellings
• Breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud claims by purchaser of apartment building
• Dispute over proper amount of damages in eminent domain litigation
• Suits to regain title from forgers of deeds to real property
• Disputes over proper procedure for public agency to consider request to change zoning to allow substantial, new use in commercial property previously permitted for different use
• Dispute over right of real estate agents to share commissions under written agreement
• Dispute over sale of residential real property by entity with arguably defective authorization to sell
• Dispute over adverse possession claim based on continuous use of sole access road to otherwise landlocked parcel
• Dispute over proper boundary between neighbors sharing common driveway
• Dispute whether foreclosure on residential real property complied with statutory requirements
• Dispute between restaurant tenant and landlord which had constructed improvements for tenant, but which leaked, rendering substantial portion of restaurant unusable, and tenant’s claim for lost prospective profits
• Dispute whether loan servicer which initiated foreclosure had title to residential real estate which was the object of the foreclosure
• Borrowers’ disputes with loan servicers over compliance with Homeowners Bill of Rights
• Disputes over validity and extent of easements by claimants of rights to use them as against owners of fee interests
• Disputes over existence of view easements
• Disputes between neighbors regarding rights to remove overhanging vegetation
• Dispute between new owner of land and commercial building desiring unrestricted view from and of that building and owner of billboard with recorded easement to maintain billboard for term extending beyond date of new owner’s acquisition of land and which sign partially blocks view of building
• Commercial and residential landlords’ suits against tenants for non-payment of rent
• Derivative action by condominium association owners against HOA’s insurer seeking indemnity for amounts paid to settle claims of other owners based on alleged negligence of HOA
• Suit to quiet title to prescriptive easement on land owned by public agency
• Suit to vacate judgment quieting title to residential real property
• Lessee’s claim of breach of clause in addendum requiring landlord to make certain improvements
• Claim of failure by home inspector to discover and report defects in real property being purchased

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• Discovery disputes in trademark litigation by international manufacturer and distributor of cosmetics
• Discovery issues in anti-trust case involving claims of violations of Sherman Act and Cartwright Act in restricting distribution of first run movies
• Dispute over alleged misuse of privileged materials obtained during discovery
• Numerous and various discovery disputes

• Obligation of physician to respond to inquiry from Medical Board investigating physician’s continued competence to practice medicine notwithstanding physician’s claims that disclosure of patient files would violate patients’ right to privacy or constitute an unlawful search under the Fourth Amendment
• Whether recreational trail defense applies to trail situated nearby, but protected from, public golf course
• Dispute over application of First Amendment and Brown Act to rights to speak at meetings of public agencies
• Whether Alcoholic Beverage Control Act applies to dispute over payment for purchase of alcoholic beverages by licensee from distributor
• Dispute over application of city zoning ordinance to construction on neighboring lot

• Dispute over propriety of discipline imposed by Civil Service Commission on Deputy Sheriff
• Employee claims of harassment, discrimination and wrongful termination based on sexual orientation
• Propriety of public agency disciplining employee when, while acting in private capacity and off duty as a private investigator, county employee placed a tracking device on vehicle of person he was investigating for a client
• Dispute whether person had been wrongly arrested by police department
• Action by city against numerous sellers and distributors of marijuana for public nuisance, violation of Narcotics Abatement Law and unfair competition

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• Resolved dispute over whether website's method of soliciting customers to utilize its services constituted violations of federal and state anti-discrimination laws
• Wage and hour claims by employees and scope of liability of employers and their principals for payment of wages
• Suits for wrongful termination by employees in various businesses
• Suits for damages for sexual harassment by employees of public agencies
• FEHA, Title VII, harassment, retaliation and other claims against private and public employers

• Trials de novo following Labor Commissioner determinations of wages and penalties owed to employees
• Teacher’s suit for damages against school district which caused her to be removed from the classroom, after which she was placed on 72 hour hold when she allegedly expressed desire to commit suicide while at work
• Claim by employee against agency employer for sexual harassment and creation of hostile work environment
• Suit by employee against employer for disability discrimination, failure to reasonably accommodate medical condition, and failure to engage in the interactive process in violation of FEHA

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• Resolved dispute between owner of large luxury residence and disaster remediation service over payment for services rendered to remediate extensive water intrusion and mold infestation
• Dispute over propriety of Regional Water Quality Control Board determination that party is a discharger and subject to order to clean up and abate pollution discovered in residential housing tract
• Dispute over right to obtain permit to construct compound of five large residences in coastal zone
• Residents’ challenge to procedure used by city in effort to comply with CEQA in city’s desire to materially increase use of large public sporting venue
• Dispute over CERCLA liability of former owner of real property

• Dispute over school district’s compliance with CEQA in construction of major addition at a high school
• Dispute whether city had complied with CEQA in determination to redevelop parcel
• Dispute whether city had prepared adequate EIR prior to granting building permit for big box store
• Dispute whether city’s area local community plan and EIR were sufficient to comply with CEQA in development of high-density housing
• Dispute whether EIR was required for development of infill project after area had been empty for period of time

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• Arbitrated dispute between physician-director of hospital clinic and hospital over proper and timely of completion of patient charts, compliance with governmental payment protocols, and billing practices and procedures, including responsibility for documenting medical services rendered to patients.

• Dispute whether lawyer had committed malpractice in handling probate proceeding
• Dispute whether dentist’s conduct was below the standard of care in malpractice claim arising from oral surgery which resulted in partial facial paralysis of 22-year-old woman
• Dispute whether anesthesiologist had committed medical malpractice resulting in injury to ulnar and radial nerves of heavy equipment operator leaving him with paralysis of right arm and hand and which allegedly had been caused by failure of anesthesiologist to sufficiently monitor patient during 8-hour surgery on patient’s spinal cord
• Dispute whether physician had breached the standard of care in breast reduction surgery which resulted in substantial scaring
• Dispute as to application of principle of reasonable discovery of claim for application of statute of limitations in medical malpractice cause of action

• Dispute whether surgeon’s use of spinal cord cage device and fixing solution for purpose and in a manner not specifically approved by FDA constituted medical malpractice or battery

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• Claim by fashion designer that celebrity defamed designer to plaintiff’s clients and others in the fashion industry
• Suit by limited purpose public figure against author for allegedly libelous publication in book
• Claim by pregnant employee for death of fetus allegedly resulting from exposure to toxic substances in workplace
• Claim of elder abuse by elder and her guardian based on personal injuries sustained in multiple falls and injuries while in skilled nursing facility
• HOA liability for pedestrian slip and fall on sidewalk adjacent to HOA property

• Retail store's liability for box falling on customer’s head in store aisle
• Driver's liability for injuries sustained by bicyclist in collision with motorist
• Claim against nearby dining establishment for personal injuries sustained by one patron in adjacent parking lot due to battery by another patron who was allegedly severely intoxicated
• Application of good Samaritan defense by physician who was on the scene of automobile collision
• Claims of false imprisonment and of negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress by parent against school district
• Negligence and premises liability claims by surviving family of decedent who rode his horse over train trestle and was killed by oncoming train
• Numerous automobile accidents, some with catastrophic injuries
• Whether trial court properly excused a juror and whether court improperly permitted defense expert testimony
• Malicious prosecution actions

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• Validity of claims by employees of ownership of stock in decedent entertainer’s corporation which held properties of substantial value
• Petition for approval of accounting in estate; whether gift of property to remainder beneficiaries was a residuary gift or to be used to discharge a pecuniary gift
• Propriety of amount of fees awarded to administrator and to attorney for estate
• Claims of financial elder abuse in connection with quitclaim deeds of real property
• Whether comparative fault instruction was warranted in legal malpractice action against attorney who prepared estate planning documents and was instructed to maintain separate property status of assets transferred to revocable living trust of married couple but who did not draft appropriate documents for client’s signature

• Suit against administrator of estate to establish claimant’s right to real property of decedent

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