Law Office of Bruce Adelstein:
News

Here is some recent news and appellate victories.

February 2016. A victory. The 9th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel reversed a judgement of over $500,000 against Mr. Adelstein's client. The case is In re Arciniega (15-1123).

February 2016. Mr. Adelstein was again named a Southern California's Superlawyer in appellate law for 2016. This honor is reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in Southern California, and Mr. Adelstein has now been awarded this honor for 11 consecutive years.

October 2015. A partial victory. The Court of Appeal agreed with Mr. Adelstein on one of two appellate issues involving child and spousal support. The case is In re Marriage of White (B251847).

August 2015. A partial victory. A defendant disappeared from the litigaiton without excuse, and the Distict Court threw out his counterclaims and entered a default against him. On appeal, Mr. Adelstien represented the prevailing plaintiff. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the counterclaims, but concluded that the defendant should at least have the opportunity to defend against the complaint. The case is Burtscher v. Moore (9th Circuit 13-56697).

February 2015. Mr. Adelstein was again named a Southern California's Superlawyer in appellate law for 2015. This honor is reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in Southern California, and Mr. Adelstein has now been awarded this honor for ten consecutive years.

February 2014. Mr. Adelstein was again named a Southern California's Superlawyer in appellate law for 2014. This honor is reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in Southern California, and Mr. Adelstein has now been awarded this honor for nine consecutive years.

October 2013. A victory. An odd appellate tangle, and Mr. Adelstein was able to get this complex appeal dismissed -- after full briefing and oral argument -- as being from an non-appealable order. The case is Leticia V. v. Jonathan A. (B233650).

February 2013. Mr. Adelstein was again named a Southern California's Superlawyer in appellate law for 2013. This honor is reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in Southern California, and Mr. Adelstein has now been awarded this honor for eight consecutive years.

September 2012. A victory. Mr. Adelstein's client won a $1.6 million arbitration award. The opposing party challenged the award, and after several bizarre procedural turns, the Court of Appeal dismissed part of his appeal and ruled in favor of Mr. Adelstein's clients on the rest. The case is Herbert v. Davies (B236933).

June 2012. A victory. Mr. Adelstein's two clients sold a house, and the buyer sued them for fraud and other claims. They prevailed at trial and won a sizable attorney's fee award. The buyer then appealed, but the Court of Appeal affirmed. The case is Sullivan v. Sherlock (B227274).

February 2012. Mr. Adelstein was again named a Southern California's Superlawyer in appellate law for 2012. This honor is reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in Southern California, and Mr. Adelstein has now been awarded this honor for seven consecutive years.

May 2011. A victory. In a post-judgment proceeding, the trial court had ordered a judgment debtor to produce his tax returns. However, these returns are privileged. Mr. Adelstein filed a writ petition challenging this order. The Court of Appeal issued an alternative writ ordering the trial court (and the plaintiff as real party in interest) to vacate its order or show cause why a peremptory writ should not issue. After this partial victory, the parties were able to settle the case. The case is Johnston v. Superior Court (B231979).

February 2011. Law & Politics Magazine again named Mr. Adelstein one of Southern California's Superlawyers in appellate law for 2011. This honor is reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in Southern California, and Mr. Adelstein has now been awarded this honor for six consecutive years.

October 2010. A victory. In a post-judgment proceeding, the trial court had ordered the wife of a judgment debtor to produce their joint tax returns. However, these returns are privileged. Mr. Adelstein filed a writ petition challenging this order. The Court of Appeal issued an alternative writ, and the trial court vacated its order. The case is Dallal v. Superior Court (B227128).

September 2010. An amicus victory. Mr. Adelstein filed an amicus brief in the Nebraska Supreme Court on behalf of 12 current and former elected officials. The case concerned a criminal conviction for breach of peace (and a $250) for supposedly harassing e-mails sent to a candiate for office. The Nebraska Supreme Court reversed the conviction on First Amendment grounds. The case is State v. Drahota, 280 Neb. 627 (2010) (Case No. S-08-628).

July 2010. A procedural victory. The opposing party tried to enforce a complex judgment while it was on appeal. The trial court granted the opposing party's motion to enforce the judgment. Mr. Adelstein filed a petition for a writ of supersedeas or other stay order. The Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Two) granted the stay order. The case is Shifman v. Wieder (B219817).

June 2010. A victory. A complex business dispute involving several real estate, corporate, and contractual issues. The trial court dismissed the the claims of four entities against Mr. Adelstein's client, and the Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Four) affirmed. The case is G.H. Development Corp. v. Ozell (B210539).

February 2010. Law & Politics Magazine again named Mr. Adelstein one of Southern California's Superlawyers in appellate law for 2010. This honor is reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in Southern California, and Mr. Adelstein has now been awarded this honor for five consecutive years.

January 2010. A victory. A taxicab company lost its franchise and went out of business. The City of Los Angeles's Department of Water and Power obtained a judgment against the company in an unrelated case, and years later sued the company's owner and another officer, claiming that they had fraudulently transferred assets to themselves. After a bench trial, the trial court agreed. However, the Court of Appeal in Los Angeles (Second Appellate District, Division Five) reversed the judgment (in a 2-1 decision), holding that the evidence did not show a fraudulent transfer. (And the appellant joins the elite club of clients for whom I have obtained two reversals in two separate appeals.) The case is City of Los Angeles v. Conway (B205763).

January 2010.A victory. A toilet overflowed causing damage to the homeowners' home. Several months later, while it was being repaired, a small fire caused some additional damage. The insurance company failed to pay for some of the damage and other expenses, and the homeowners sued. The insurer removed the case to federal court and successfully moved for summary judgment. Mr. Adelstein represented the homeowners on appeal, and the Ninth Circuit reversed the summary judgment. The case is Kurtz v. Allstate Insurance Company (08-55781).

November 2009. A partial victory. The wife in a family law case appealed, and the husband (my client), who is an orthodontist, cross-appealed. There were several issues on appeal. The wife claimed Watts credits for the husband's "use" of the community orthodontic practice. She also claimed he breached his fiduciary duties involving a tax refund. We asserted the trial court had misvalued the community orthodontic practice, including the value of its goodwill, and had made some technical accounting errors. The Court of Appeal in Los Angeles (Second Appellate District, Division Seven) affirmed everything. So we prevailed against the wife's appeal, but unfortunately were not successful on our cross-appeal. The case is Theurer v. Theurer (B196973).

November 2009. A victory. A seller of real property entered into sales agreement with a very short escrow deadline. She was trying to sell the property quickly for several important reasons, and the agreement specified that time is of the essence. The buyer knew about all of this. On the day before escrow was scheduled to close, a third party sued claiming he owned the property and filed a lis pendens on the property. After great expense, years of litigation, and numerous repairs to the property, the seller eventually cleared title. The buyer then sued for specific performance, seeking to purchase the property now years later for the original price. The trial court granted a non-suit after buyer presented its case. The Court of Appeal in Los Angeles (Second Appellate District, Division Seven) affirmed. The case is Urban Eco Housing LLC v. Tong (B202340).

March 2009. A victory. An automobile insurance company had wrongfully cancelled the policy of one of its insureds. He sued on several causes of action. The trial court granted summary judgment against him on all claims, but the Court of Appeal in Los Angeles (Second Appellate District, Division Eight) partially reversed the summary judgment and reinstated the breach of contract claim. The case is Kevorkov v. GEICO Direct (B205205).

February 2009. Law & Politics Magazine again named Mr. Adelstein one of Southern California's Superlawyers in appellate law for 2009. This honor is reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in Southern California, and Mr. Adelstein has now been awarded this honor for four consecutive years.

March 2008. A victory. The Court of Appeal in Los Angeles (Second Appellate District, Division One) affirms an order denying an anti-SLAPP motion in a breach of fiduciary duty case. Mr. Adelstein was lead appellate counsel for the successful plaintiff. The case is Fenton v. Liner Yankelevitz Sunshine & Regenstreif (A114305).

February 2008. Law & Politics Magazine again named Mr. Adelstein one of Southern California's Superlawyers in appellate law for 2008. This honor is reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in Southern California.

September 2007. A victory. In the trial court, Mr. Adelstein's client won a $3.8 million judgment for breach of fiduciary duty. The case involved a self-dealing transaction in a real estate limited partnership. Mr. Adelstein was lead appellate counsel for the successful plaintiffs. The Court of Appeal in San Francisco (First Appellate District, Division One) affirmed. The case is Everest Properties II v. Prometheus Development Co. (A114305).

June 2007. A victory. In the trial court, Mr. Adelstein's client won a modest wage-and-hour claim along with a $35,000 attorney's fee award. The employer appealed. The San Diego Superior Court Appellate Division affirmed. The case is Mata v. Import Stone, Inc. (GIC 840979).

February 2007. A victory. Mr. Adelstein (along with co-counsel Gerry Serlin) requirement a homeowner. Pursuant to an easement, a neighbor and the opposing party used Mr. Adelstein's client's driveway. After various disputes, the parties entered into a settlement agreement. When more disputed occurred, the opposing party sued and obtained a judgment requiring Mr. Adelstein's client to rebuild part of the driveway and an order requiring her to pay over $200,000 in attorney's fees and costs. The Court of Appeal in Los Angeles (Second Appellate District, Division One) reversed completely, throwing out both the judgment and attorney's fee award. The case is Meshekow v. Weir (B175841).

February 2007. Law & Politics Magazine named Mr. Adelstein one of Southern California's Superlawyers in appellate law for 2007. This honor is reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in Southern California.

December 2006. A settlement. The trial court had confirmed a multi-million dollar arbitration award in a complex dispute between two former business associates. However, the defendant did not know of the arbitration hearing and had not attended. Mr. Adelstein represented the defendant. Mr. Adelstein filed a petition for a writ of supersedeas which unfortunately was denied. However, partially on the strength of the appellate arguments, the parties were able to reach a settlement. The case is Hartsfield v. Cota (B193017).

February 2006. A loss. This was a family law case involving several issues. The most significant one involved stock options. The husband had received significant compensation in the form of stock options. The trial court had failed to calculate the value of these options in calculation spousal support. Mr. Adelstein (along with co-counsel Edward J. Horowitz) represented the wife on appeal and challenged this ruling. Unfortunately, the Court of Appeal in Los Angeles (Second Appellate District, Division Eight) affirmed, holding that the trial court's ruling could be upheld on other grounds. The case is In re Marriage of Beddow (B171298).

February 2006. Law & Politics Magazine named Mr. Adelstein one of Southern California's Superlawyers in appellate law for 2006. This honor is reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in Southern California.

December 2005. Another victory. The trial court had awarded some attorney's fees under one statute, but refused to award additional attorney's fees under Labor Code, section 1194. Mr. Adelstein represented the appellant, and the Court of Appeal in Riverside (Fourth Appellate District, Division Two) reversed. The case is Young v. Westpac Air Conditioning, Inc. (E036184).

October 2005. Another victory. The trial court had classified three drivers of street sweeping machines as independent contractors, not employees. If they had been employees, they would have been entitled to a significant award of unpaid overtime wages. Mr. Adelstein represented the appellants, and the Court of Appeal in San Diego (Fourth Appellate District, Division One) reversed the trial court's judgment and held that the drivers were employees as a matter of law. The case is Garces v. Cannon Pacific Services, LLC (D044540).