After a major theatrical motion picture was released, disputes arose over alleged misdirection of streams of income, misallocation of receipts, mischaracterization and misallocation of costs, etc. Resolved in lengthy arbitration.
A large cosmetic order somehow became contaminated by microbiologic organisms. Issues of materiality, scope of damage, mitigation, etc.
Securities claims arising out of sale and purchase of derivatives designed to monetize concentrated equity positions without liquidation of stock holdings or payment of capital gains taxes; issues of valuation of options, negligence, contract, limitations statutes, etc.
Dispute over executive compensation contract tied to stock performance; issues of damages, valuation by regression analysis, legal ethics, breach of contract, etc.
Contract dispute over whether imported products complied with specifications; issues of ASTM specs, measure of damages, mitigation, etc.
Dispute among commercial real estate lender, commercial borrower, and guarantors; issues of default, foreclosure, bankruptcy, guaranties, UCC issues, calculation of cure amount, etc.
Dispute regarding contract for licensing and exploitation of apparel trademark; issues of contract interpretation and compliance, real party in interest, powers of agent, damages, etc.
Legal malpractice claim following large losses on securities investments; issues of fraud and negligent misrepresentation, scope of duty, etc.
Fraud claims arising out of promotion of securities investment fund; issues of negligent or fraudulent management, etc.
Contract dispute arising out of delays in construction of multi-hundred-million dollar oil refining support facilities caused by protracted environmental reviews.
Disagreement over outside sales commissions for sales of advanced-tech diagnostic devices; issues of contract, fraud, patents, patent licenses, bankruptcy, foreign enforcement of judgment, etc.
Claim of failure to pay for large order of foreign-sourced and imported goods; issues of contract, alter ego, fraudulent conveyance, etc.
Dispute over buy/sell contract for ongoing business; issues of valuation, minority discounts, executive compensation, etc.
Dispute over performance of commercial software replacement/upgrade contract; issues of SOW, deliverables, compliance with contract specs and procedures, etc.
Contract dispute over development of commercial website; issues of compliance with SOW, contract construction, ownership of work product, damages, etc.
Dispute over consulting work intended to guide development of large institutional computerized accounting system; issues of SOW, compliance with specs, breach of contract, damages, etc.
Financial and contract disputes arising out of multi-million dollar tax-credit funded low-income housing project; issues of contract compliance, etc.
Dispute between independent physician's association and medical laboratory testing company regarding obligation to pay for lab tests ordered by doctors, issues of contract, statutory requirements, etc.
Dispute arising out of refuse collection and disposal franchise agreement; issues of construction of municipal ordinances, interpretation of contracts, etc.
Fee dispute arising out of consultation services regarding public funding of hospital operations.
Allegations of defects in solar panels and in installation of solar panel systems and system components; issues of contract, warranty, tax credits, landowner liability, insurance coverage, etc.
Control and management dispute over large multi-family multi-component enterprise; issues of interpretation of contract and enterprise governance issues, valuation, remedies, damages, etc.
Control and management dispute over single-family multi-component enterprise; issues of governance, remedies, interpretation of operating agreements, etc.
Many cases involving claims of misappropriation of trade secrets, often allegedly by voluntarily departing or terminated employees, and/or violations of covenants not to compete.
Dispute over accounting for and distribution of profits from major motion picture.
Appellate consultation regarding claim of idea theft involving major motion picture.
Corporate promoter raised funds from private investors, then set up his own sourcing companies to purchase materials and sell to the corporation at a mark-up, diverting most of the corporate profit to himself; issues of corporate and partnership law, contracts, fiduciary duties, damages, etc.
Valuation of $100 million plus real estate company for purposes of effecting a buy-sell; equitable legal issues, business and real estate appraisal methodology, corporate governance, etc.
Commercial shipping dispute involving issues of cargo damage, overbilling, reversal notifications, shipping tariffs, etc.
Contractual indemnity/release dispute arising out of sequential collision of three large aircraft on the ground at an airport.
Mediation of class action alleging false designation of contents on food items.
Mediation of class action alleging false designation of ingredients on restaurant menus.
Contract dispute arising out of multi-state mining contract. Issues of choice of law, contract interpretation, mining output measurement, statute of limitations, etc.
LLCs with overlapping, but not identical, memberships developed several parcels into a residential/retail complex that was functionally one development, but did not have identical ownership. Claims of contract interpretation, breach of fiduciary duty, self-dealing, derivative claims, damage calculations, etc.
Dispute arising out of executive employment contract for company providing assistance to hospitals regarding Medicare and other payment collections. Issues of contract interpretation, accounting, breach, wrongful termination, constructive termination, etc.
Commission or performance payment dispute arising out of contract to assist hospitals in recovering government medical care payments. Issues of contract interpretation, breach, damages.
Claim by executive employ terminated without cause in RIF that stock option expiration dates had been misrepresented by employer, causing in-the-money options to expire unexercised per the terms of the option plan. Issues of negligent misrepresentation, indemnity, calculation of damages, comparative fault, etc.
Claim by unit of large restaurant chain that landlord violated lease by failing to meet air conditioning specifications. Issues of contract interpretation, measurement of lease compliance, damages, specific performance, etc.
A group of investors, via several interlocking LLCs, invested in several multi-family residential rental properties. Different groups of investors managed different properties. After a period of years, disputes arose regarding management of the properties, with each side contending that the other was self-dealing, committing fraud, etc. Issues of cost allocation, contract interpretation, fraud, fiduciary duty, accounting, etc.
BUSINESS, COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS, FINANCE, AND SECURITIES
Representative Cases
Hon. John Zebrowski
Los Angeles Superior Court (Ret.) California Court of Appeal (Ret.)