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

New partners named at Glaser Weil

Glaser, Weil, Fink, Jacobs, Howard & Shapiro, LLP announced today that litigator Scott Gizer and corporate attorney Lisa Hamilton Klein have been elected to the partnership.

Mr. Gizer handles all aspects of business litigation with a specialty in real estate and construction. He received his B.A. from the University of California, San Diego and received his J.D. from Loyola Law School.

Ms. Klein has over 20 years experience counseling both public and private companies in general business and real estate matters, including securities, acquisitions and financings as well as work-outs and restructurings. She received her B.A. from Northwestern University and received her J.D. from University of California, Los Angeles.

Court of Appeals says Sony owes C3 no Moe

Sony Pictures Television Inc. owned the copyrights to 190 Three Stooges short films. C3 Entertainment Inc. claimed Sony violated the terms of a contract between the parties when Sony distributed compilations of the shorts without paying C3 a share of the proceeds. C3 also asserted that Sony should have paid a portion of the revenue it received when it licensed the shorts to the cable channels AMC and Spike.

Additionally, Sony allegedly breached the terms of a separate agreement by failing to make a reasonable good faith effort to maximize gross receipts in all the markets in which it utilized those shorts.

The California Court of Appeals saw things differently yesterday, and ruled that C3 was not due any payment from Sony's actions.

Full story here.

Taxes due for Twenty-Nine Palms tribe member

The California Court of Appeals has ruled that a Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians member must pay state income tax on the money she received from gaming operations at Spotlight 29 Casino.

Angelina Mike had been living on another tribe's reservation in 2000 when she got the per-capita distribution. Had she been living on the 240-acre Twenty-Nine Palms land at the time, the state would have been barred from collecting those taxes. 

The Fourth District appeals court, affirming a San Diego Superior Court ruling, said there is a rational basis or treating Indians who have left their own tribe's reservation like all other taxpayers in California. Mike will owe close to $345,000.

Full story here.

Residents' group opposing museum expansion drops suit

The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles has agreed to pay $150,000 to Homeowners Opposed to Museum Expansion, a neighborhood group that sued to block the center's expansion of its Museum of Tolerance.

The group is made up of residents who fought plans to extend the museum's hours and replace a Holocaust memorial garden a 28,000-square-foot reception and banquet area. Homeowners had filed the suit alleging that the environmental study conducted by the city was inadequate. They also argued that the expansion would increase noise and traffic in the area.

The case was supposed to go to trial on February 23, but the group agreed to drop the case. Susan Gans, an entertainment attorney who has led the opposition since 2007, said about $20,000 of the settlement funds would be used to reimburse elderly residents who contributed savings or pension money to oppose the expansion.

Click these for details.

Birotte is new U.S. Attorney for SoCal

Andre Birotte Jr. was sworn in yesterday as the U.S. Attorney for the district covering Southern California. He was nominated to the post by President Barack Obama.

Birotte is the first black U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, with responsibility for all federal litigation in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. 

He was inspector general of the Los Angeles Police Department since 2003. He was a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office from 1995 to 1999. Birotte graduated from Tufts University in 1987 and the Pepperdine University School of Law 1991. He started his legal career as a deputy public defender for Los Angeles County, a job he held from 1991 to 1995.

Full story here.

New LA partners at Foley & Lardner

Foley & Lardner LLP have announced that three of the firm’s senior counsel have been elected to partnership in the Los Angeles office.

Jeffery R. Atkin is a member of the Energy Industry Team and the Finance & Financial Institutions and Transactional & Securities Practices. Mr. Atkin’s experience in renewable energy and project finance includes representing developers, investors, lenders and landowners in the construction, development, acquisition and financing of renewable energy generation facilities, including wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass facilities.

Jaime Guerrero is a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense Practice. Mr. Guerrero focuses in the areas of government enforcement actions, white collar criminal defense, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") investigations, accounting litigation, securities litigation, and partnership disputes. He represents companies and individuals in parallel civil and criminal proceedings initiated by regulatory and prosecuting agencies for a variety of alleged wrongdoing and business disputes. Mr. Guerrero has conducted internal investigations in the United States and Latin America in both English and Spanish.

John G. Yslas is a member of the Labor & Employment and General Commercial Litigation Practices. He is also a member of the National Class Action Group and the Litigation Department Training Committee. Mr. Yslas has represented employers in a wide variety of actions, including those involving state and federal claims of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, breach of employment contract, wrongful termination, unequal pay, breach of fiduciary duty, unlawful interference with prospective business opportunity, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, constitutional rights violations, and wage and hour violations.

Ramirez confirmed by Senate to FTC

The U.S. Senate has confirmed President Obama’s nomination of Edith Ramirez to the Federal Trade Commission. She will be replacing Republican Deborah Majoras, who stepped down in March 2008.

A partner in Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges’ Los Angeles office, Ramirez specializes in intellectual property and complex litigation matters. She graduated from Harvard-Radcliffe College prior to attending Harvard Law School. She was admitted to the bar in 1993.

Ramirez also worked as deputy political director and director of Latino outreach for Obama’s presidential campaign in California.

Full story here.

New OC Corporate & Finance partner at Manatt

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, announced today that Thomas J. Leary has joined the firm’s Orange County office as a partner in the Corporate and Finance practice group.

Leary has extensive experience advising public and private companies, boards of directors and executives in a broad range of complex business, litigation and transactional matters. He has served as outside transactional and general counsel to clients in a variety of industries.

Leary comes to the firm most recently from his position as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of national retailer Pacific Sunwear, where he was responsible for management and oversight of all legal affairs and human resource functions. Prior to his position at Pacific Sunwear, Leary was a partner for more than 12 years at O’Melveny & Myers LLP.

Leary earned a B.A. in Economics and Business, cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles. He earned his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law, where he was a member of the UCLA Law Review.

Supergraphics battle intensifies in Los Angeles

When Carmen Trutanich promised during his election campaign to crack down on unpermitted supergraphics, he clearly meant it.

According to an LA Times story, arrest warrants have been issued against four people accused of putting up supergraphics without permits.  Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mildred Escobedo issued an arrest warrant for $250,000 bail for Mazen I. Nazzal, 65, of Los Angeles. Warrants for $100,000 bail each were issued for three others: Alexander Patrick Kouba, France Luanghy and Thomas Edward Curtin.

Trutanich also secured misdemeanor criminal warrants against four companies, including Yorkbury Investments and Yorkwood.  Those two companies are listed as the owners of a building at 6800 Hollywood Blvd., where three Asics sportswear supergraphics have been installed.

The four warrants accuse the defendants of misdemeanor counts of violating the city's municipal code, including a ban on the installation of new supergraphics. 

The city attorney isn't stopping there.  Click here for the full story.

Activision sued for wrongful termination by former execs

Jason West and Vince Zampella, co-founders of Activision’s Infinity Ward studio, sued Activision Blizzard in Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday, claiming breach of contract and wrongful termination. The two former executives, creators of the "Call of Duty" game franchise, claim the video game publisher fired them on “false” insubordination charges to avoid paying royalties.

“Activision terminated their employment weeks before they were to be paid substantial royalty payments as part of their existing contracts for ‘Modern Warfare 2,’” West and Zampella’s lawyers at O’Melveny & Myers LLP wrote in a statement.

They seek at least $36 million and control over “Modern Warfare,” a subset of the “Call of Duty” combat games, according to a copy of the complaint.

Full story here.

Tri-City files suit to prevent just-around-the-corner clinics in its district

In a lawsuit filed on February 26, the Oceanside-based Tri-City Healthcare District asked a judge to block Escondido-based Palomar Pomerado Health from building a series of quickie medical clinics inside Albertson's grocery stores. The stores are located in Oceanside, San Elijo Hills, and Temecula.

Tri-City is alleging that the plan violates state laws forbidding a public health care district from expanding services beyond its boundaries without permission from a special state-chartered agency. They also call it an "improper waste" of $200,000 in public funds. (As opposed to a proper waste of public funds, like ... ?) 

Palomar Pomerado board Chairman Bruce Krider said yesterday that his district hasn't made a final decision on the clinics. They did vote last month to spend up to $200,000 to explore the idea. In turn, Tri-City Chief Executive Officer Larry Anderson said even spending money to pursue the idea is wrong and a waste of public funds because the district can't legally follow through with the clinics.

Tri-City is represented by Walter Rusinek with Procopio, Cory, Hargreves & Savitch.

Click these for details.

OC jury decides Allergan not liable in girl's death

A jury refused to hold Botox maker Allergan Inc. liable for the death of a 7-year-old Texas girl being treated for cerebral palsy, saying that the warning labels provided by the company were more than adequate.

Kristen Spears, born with severe cerebral palsy had been receiving large doses of Botox at the age of 6 in an effort to reduce limb spasticity.  The drug has been known to relax contorted muscles.  Although the U.S. has not approved the use of Botox for children, doctors may legally prescribe it for "off-label" use. Spears died a year later at the age of 7.

Dee Spears, Kristen's mother, claimed her daughter died of an overdose of the drug, and that Allergan failed to adequately warn the girl's doctor of the drug's risks. The jury, on the other hand, found that although Botox did pose substantial risks, Allergan did not breach its duty to alert consumers to those risks and therefore could not be held responsible for any potential adverse results.

Allergan faces another civil trial set for next month in Oklahoma City.

Full story at LATimes.com.

Former O'Melveny & Myers partner new nom for Dept. of Commerce

President Barack Obama has announced that he intends to nominate Michael C. Camuñez to be the Department of Commerce’s assistant secretary for market access and compliance.

A former partner at O'Melveny & Myers, Camuñez is currently special counsel to the president in the Office of the White House Counsel. He is also a former president of the Mexican American Bar Foundation in Los Angeles. He served as senior policy advisor for national service in the Clinton administration, where he helped lead the effort to establish the Corporation for National Service and its signature program, AmeriCorps.

After graduating from Harvard College and Stanford Law School, Camuñez was admitted to the State Bar in 1998.

Anti-solicitation law shelved, for now, in Costa Mesa

Barely a month after civil rights groups filed a lawsuit challenging Costa Mesa's anti-solicitation ordinance on the grounds that it prevented day laborers from looking for work on the street, we have a moratorium.

The city agreed to stop enforcing the ordinance, says the ACLU, pending a decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeal on a challenge to a similar anti-solicitation ordinance in the city of Redondo Beach. The ACLU has claimed that the ordinance stops a wide range of other groups, including small businesses that use handheld advertising on public streets and people in fund-raising activities.

The lawsuit also asks that the city pay damages to Colectivo Tonantzin, a day laborer advocacy group, as well as reasonable attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses.

Full story at OCRegister.com.

Expenditure limit lifted in fraud litigation

San Bernardino County Counsel Ruth Stringer has requested that the Board of Supervisors remove a spending cap from the county's contract with Irell & Manella in connection with the civil action against former county assessor Bill Postmus.

John Hueston, an attorney with the firm, has been looking into alleged wrongdoings at the assessor's office for over a year now.  His report, including allegations of timecard fraud and a conspiracy by Postmus to use his position for political gain, was issued last May and prompted the current suit against Postmus and several of his former employees.

Hueston was initially retained on a $250,000 contract but last May the amount was doubled to $500,000. According to county spokesman David Wert, the firm has since billed the county $448,946.18.

Full story here.

An about-face on approved flora

For two years the city of Orange has been fighting with Quan and Angelina Ha over the couple's decision to remove their front lawn, in order to preserve water and save money. That dispute was supposed to reach a courtroom yesterday. But it seems as though Orange may have a change of heart.

Paul Sitkoff, a spokesman for the city, said yesterday that officials have determined the Ha's yard has met city standards after re-examining the property.  As relieved as the Has may be that they won't have to go to court, they say the city still has work to do in encouraging water-saving measures among its residents.

Full story here.

Barton C. Gaut, longtime legal figure in Riverside, retires

Since 1962 when he first arrived on the scene as a newly graduated litigator, Barton C. Gaut has served his entire legal career in Riverside.  After nearly 13 years on the Fourth District Court of Appeals as an associate justice, he is retiring.

Gaut went to UCLA for his undergraduate degree and spent some time in the Army before attending Boalt Hall for his law degree. He took an offer at Best Best & Krieger and headed to Inland Southern California.  He was appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson to Riverside County Superior Court in November 1995 and less than two years later, in May 1997, was elevated to the appellate court.

His immediate plans include traveling with Merla, his wife of 54 years, to see his grandchildren and taking a few cases by assignment at the appellate court. He is 74 years old.

Full profile at PE.com.

San Jose sees beginnings of its first federal death penalty trial

For the next six months, 35-year-old Anh The Duong will face a sweeping racketeering indictment accusing him of leading a violent gang that carried out murders and robberies throughout California and Nevada during the 1990s. It will be the first federal death penalty trial in Silicon Valley history.

Another wrinkle: Duong is already on death row, for murdering four people in an El Monte pool hall in 1999. He was sentenced in 2003.  But current Attorney General Eric Holder and Justice Department officials decided to seek a federal death sentence for Duong in the San Jose racketeering case. Federal death row cases move through the appeals process much swifter.

The indictment includes mention of eight murders, including the 1997 slaying of 66-year-old Chau Quach, allegedly gunned down by Duong during the robbery of a San Jose grocery store. The racketeering charges also include the 1998 shooting of Hai Pin Tsai during a botched robbery of Wintec Industries, a Fremont computer parts maker. It also charges Duong with orchestrating nearly a dozen armed robberies, including a $2 million heist of a Milpitas jewelry store.

Jury selection will take place over the next three weeks, with the evidence portion of the trial expected to begin sometime in mid-to-late-March. 

Full story here.

Water-saving lawn removal at odds with OC codes

The road to litigation is sometimes paved with good intentions - and wood chips.

Two years ago Quan and Angelina Ha tore out the grass in their frontyard. As far as they were concerned, their reasoning was sound: the grass soaked up tens of thousands of gallons of water, and therefore hundreds of dollars, each year.  So, in drought-afflicted California, the grass had to go.

But city officials informed them that they were violating several city laws that require residents to cover significant ports of their front lawns with live ground cover. City codes mandate that 40% of a yard be landscaped predominantly with live plants, so the Has' original fix of covering the dirt with wood chips was unacceptable.  They also built a fence and planted drought-resistant greenery, like lavender and rosemary.  Still not good enough for the city.

Two months ago, the Has received a letter from the city informing them they had been charged with with misdemeanor code violations and must appear in court. Tomorrow the Has will appear in Orange County Superior Court to challenge the suit.

Did their water-saving scheme work, though?  Click here for details.

Claims filed against state by Dugard family members

Members of the Dugard family, including Jaycee Dugard herself, have filed claims against California, citing "various lapses by corrections department" and claiming "psychological, physical and emotional" damages.

State parole agents started supervising Phillip Garrido in 1999, when he fell under a lifetime parole term from Nevada for a rape in 1976.  A report by the state Inspector General's Office in November described numerous lapses by state parole agents and missed chances to discover Dugard's identity before UC Berkeley officials tipped off Garrido's parole agent in August. Only after the report was released did the state secretary of Corrections and Rehabilitation acknowledge that there were "serious errors" in Garrido's supervision.

The claims don't list a dollar amount for damages, but do indicate that they exceed $25,000.

Full story here.