Hon. Cesar Sarmiento, Ret.

Construction Breach Of Contract

• Mediated a case in which a condominium owner sued her homeowners association for repairs to both common and private areas of the condominium complex.
• Mediated a dispute in which a general contractor sued the owner over the construction of an apartment complex, arguing that the original contract had been abandoned and that he was entitled to recover an amount exceeding the guaranteed maximum price.

Construction Defects

• Mediated disputes involving commercial, residential, and condominium projects across all trades.
• Mediated a dispute over a 10,000-square-foot home in Beverly Hills between the owner and the general contractor, including related cross-complaints.
• Mediated a lawsuit involving a four-unit condominium project between the builder and the general contractor over delays and construction defects.
• Mediated a dispute between a general contractor and a subcontractor hired to perform excavation, shoring, and concrete work on a condominium project.
• Mediated a matter between a dentist and an architect over the planning, design, and construction of a dental office.
• Mediated an indemnification action brought by a general contractor against subcontractors arising from construction on a Beverly Hills mansion.
• Mediated a matter between a dentist and an architect over the planning, design, and construction of a dental office.
• Mediated a lawsuit in which a comedy club sued a contractor over work performed on the building.
• Mediated a professional negligence case against an architect.

Breach of Contract

• Mediated an employment dispute involving a Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) claim against a national fast-food franchise.
• Mediated a breach of employment contract dispute between an investment banking firm and an employee regarding equity interest in the company.
• Mediated a case involving breach of the duty of loyalty and theft of trade secrets between a mortgage company and its president.

Discrimination

• Mediated countless employment cases involving both small businesses and large national corporations, addressing disputes over discrimination based on gender, race, religion, and disability; sexual harassment; retaliation; wage and hour violations; overtime and misclassification issues; and pregnancy-related disputes.
• Mediated a dispute involving breach of an employment contract and unlawful termination of an executive at a major special effects company in the movie industry.
• Mediated a pre-filing disability discrimination with failure to accommodate matter between a credit card company and employee
• Mediated a disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, retaliation, and wage and hour dispute involving an international airline company.
• Mediated an employment discrimination case against a fast-casual restaurant chain, in which the plaintiff alleged that she was terminated because of her pregnancy.

Hostile Environment

• Mediated a matter arising from an employee’s allegations of sexual harassment against a major metropolitan county office.

Sexual Harassment

• Mediated an employment wage and hour case involving allegations of sexual assault.
• Mediated a sexual harassment case arising from a dentist’s office, with additional claims of gender discrimination made by multiple employees.
• Mediated an employment case in which the plaintiff alleged discrimination, unlawful termination based on pregnancy, and sexual harassment.
• Mediated an employment case involving sexual assault, sexual harassment, and a hostile work environment.

Wage and Hour

• Mediated an employment case involving issues of worker classification (independent contractor vs. employee) and disputed commission payments.
• Mediated numerous employment disputes for small businesses and national corporations, involving discrimination (gender, race, religion, disability), sexual harassment, retaliation, wage and hour violations, overtime, misclassification, and pregnancy-related claims.
• Mediated numerous wage and hour disputes, including overtime and meal/rest break claims, involving national fast food franchises and retail chains.

Whistleblower Wrongful Term

• Mediated a case involving allegations of wrongful termination for reporting fraud on a public transit project.

Wrongful Term & Discrimination

• Arbitrated an employment case in which the plaintiff alleged constructive termination due to racial discrimination.

Wrongful Termination

• Mediated a claim against a national retailer that resulted in a multi-million-dollar settlement.
• Mediated numerous actions against national fast food franchises and retail chains, as well as a high-level wrongful termination dispute involving an executive at a major special effects company in the film industry.
• Mediated a failure-to-accommodate and wrongful termination claim against a national retailer, resulting in a multi-million-dollar settlement.
• Mediated a wrongful termination dispute based on pregnancy and disability against an insurance company employer.
• Mediated an employment dispute involving the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) against a national fast food franchise.
• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff, a caregiver for the decedent, sued the employing trust for unpaid overtime wages and related penalties.

Entertainment Issues

• Mediated a breach of contract dispute between a movie camera designer/manufacturer and its Japanese distributor.
• Mediated a dispute between a major Hollywood actor and investors regarding a new casino and hotel venture in Beirut, Lebanon.
• Mediated a dispute involving the alleged unlawful termination of an executive at a major special effects company in the film industry.
• Mediated a dispute between an NBA franchise and its former head coach involving breach of employment contract and salary owed post-termination.
• Mediated a dispute between a television sitcom actor and their agent over unpaid commissions, as well as multiple cases involving commission disputes between musicians, actors, and their agents or management.
• Mediated a partnership dissolution dispute involving a talent agency.
• Mediated a dispute among producers of a sports documentary involving credit allocation and profit distribution.

Coverage

• Mediated negligence and conversion claims arising from the theft of a trailer at a vehicle storage facility.

Property Damage

• Mediated a case involving allegations that the defendant’s golf course construction caused a mudslide that destroyed the plaintiff’s home.

Subrogation

• Mediated a case involving a workers’ compensation carrier seeking reimbursement for benefits paid, alongside a plaintiff’s claim for general damages.
• Mediated an insurance subrogation case involving a fire caused by an allegedly defective remote-control car battery. The insurer sued the manufacturer and retailer for property damage.

Medical

• Mediated a medical malpractice case against two doctors after the plaintiff’s wife died during surgery to remove a neck mass.
• Mediated a medical malpractice case arising from a donor nephrectomy.
• Mediated a medical malpractice case against a doctor and hospital involving the death of an elderly patient, and a separate lawsuit against a nightclub stemming from a bouncer-involved altercation with patrons.
• Mediated a medical malpractice case against doctors for alleged overprescription of iron treatment. The plaintiff was self-represented.

Accounting

• Mediated a case against a CPA whose firm failed to pay employment taxes to the IRS and EDD. Plaintiffs sought recovery of interest, penalties, legal fees, and accounting costs incurred in resolving the matter.

Breach Of Contract

• Mediated a complex HOA dispute involving the association, management company, foreclosure firm, individual board members, and residents. Settlement included corrective lien filings with the recorder’s office.
• Mediated a case involving a home seller’s refusal to pay a real estate commission owed to the broker following the sale of a house.

Buy/Sell

• Mediated a residential real estate dispute involving a canceled escrow, with the central issue being whether the seller could retain the buyer’s deposit or if it should be refunded.

Home Owners Association

• Mediated a dispute between homeowners and the HOA regarding the placement of a bus stop within the community.
• Mediated a homeowners association dispute involving damage to a condo unit caused by sinking common area floor joists. The dispute centered on responsibility for specific repair costs.
• Mediated a dispute between a condominium unit owner and the HOA involving property damage and alleged violations of the CC&Rs and bylaws.

Landlord/Tenant

• Mediated a commercial lease dispute involving a health food/juice restaurant. The conflict centered on construction at the leased premises and resulting building code violations. The landlord filed an unlawful detainer, while the tenant sought declaratory relief. The case settled with a modification of key lease terms.

Real Property

• Mediated disputes between homeowners in an upscale suburban neighborhood over ocean view obstruction.
• Mediated a fence line dispute between apartment building owners in a major metropolitan city.
• Mediated a dispute between adjacent neighbors involving allegations that one property owner dumped construction debris into the other’s yard, creating landslide hazards.
• Mediated a tenant dispute against a Homeowners Association involving construction and repair issues across a 100+ unit condominium complex.
• Mediated a dispute between downhill homeowners and an uphill homeowner after a mudslide caused flooding and damage to the lower properties.
• Mediated multiple HOA disputes against condominium owners for unauthorized construction work.
• Mediated HOA disputes involving tenants using condominium units for short-term vacation rentals.
• Mediated a case involving a lawsuit to recognize a foreign country judgment in California stemming from a real estate transaction dispute.
• Mediated numerous cases involving easement disputes.
• Mediated a residential property dispute between neighbors involving an easement.

Warranty of Habitability

• Mediated a warranty of habitability case involving a 28-unit apartment building.
• Mediated a personal injury case involving alleged mold exposure in the plaintiff’s rental apartment.
• Mediated a warranty of habitability case involving 131 plaintiffs.

Common Carrier

• Mediated numerous injury claims involving passengers on Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses.

Food Safety

• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff alleged illness from E.?coli after dining at the defendants’ restaurant.

General Negligence

• Mediated a case in which a natural gas provider brought an inverse condemnation claim against an electricity supply company and a city, alleging a power surge damaged a city water pipe, resulting in six-figure losses.
• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff sued a cemetery over a mishandled burial. The casket did not fit into the grave due to the handle width, requiring on-site modifications—including reopening the casket and adjusting the body—in full view of grieving family members.

Personal Injury

• Organized and managed the first Santa Monica Court Personal Injury CRASH Program.
• Mediated a personal injury case in which the plaintiff sustained second- and third-degree burns over most of his body due to an apartment fire. The matter settled for seven figures.

PI Auto

• Mediated a bad faith insurance case arising from a personal injury auto–pedestrian accident.
• Mediated a car accident case involving a high-profile political and celebrity figure.
• Mediated a first-party insurance case arising from a car-versus-bicycle accident involving an underinsured driver.
• Mediated a motor scooter accident case involving a fractured tibia and fibula, with a disputed traumatic brain injury claim.
• Mediated countless lawsuits involving automobile accidents, premises liability, slip and falls, medical and legal malpractice, and wrongful death claims.
• Mediated a dispute involving head trauma sustained in a fall from a motorized two-wheeled personal transport vehicle.

PI Sexual Assault

• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff alleged sexual abuse by the mother of one of his high school friends.

Premises Liability

• Mediated a construction site injury case involving a laborer, with additional complexities related to a workers’ compensation lien.
• Mediated a case involving a personal injury claim against a large coastal municipality after the plaintiff was swept off a breakwater structure by a wave.
• Mediated a premises liability case involving a woman who fell into an improperly filled construction ditch while running through a college campus.
• Mediated two serious injury cases on a private college campus—one involving an employee injury, and another involving a premises liability claim where a stage collapsed during an assembly, injuring an attendee.
• Mediated numerous injury cases arising from incidents in parking lots and parking structures.
• Mediated a high-profile case involving a celebrity actor/comedian accused of assaulting a driver.

Product Liability

• Mediated a breach of contract case involving a hardwood floor manufacturer.
• Mediated a case involving a dispute against a major metropolitan city for alleged improper roadway design.
• Mediated a property damage case involving a homeowners association, with multiple parties, subrogation claims, and complex insurance coverage issues.
• Mediated a product liability case in which the plaintiff alleged that a defective bicycle stem broke mid-ride, causing a crash. The claim centered on the unsuitability of the metal alloy used in the stem’s manufacture.

Toxic Torts

• Mediated cases involving disputes over toxic mold exposure and resulting property damage or personal injury claims.

Wrongful Death

• Mediated a wrongful death case against a major metropolitan city involving an elderly man who tripped and fell in an airport parking structure.
• Mediated a high-speed freeway accident case involving multiple vehicles, several injuries, and a wrongful death claim.