Introduction
For over 36 years, Judge Tarle served as a Municipal Court and Superior Court Commissioner, as well as a Superior Court Judge in Los Angeles County. Since 2004, Judge Tarle presided over civil direct calendar and trial courts in the West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica Courthouses. During this time, he handled hundreds of jury and bench trials involving personal injury, professional malpractice both medical and legal, breach of contract, real property, warranty of habitability, and landlord/tenant cases. In addition to his civil assignments, he also sat in criminal courts for half his career, presiding over nearly every type of criminal case imaginable, from drug possession to murder. Many of these cases, such as sexual assault in schools, assault and murder by government employees, and DUI collisions, have had their counterparts in civil lawsuits.
While a Deputy City Attorney for the City of Los Angeles, he was one of the first to be assigned to the housing enforcement unit, which exposed him to slum housing and severe habitability cases. He also served in the Agency Prosecution Unit which involved sweatshop operations, wage and hour pay violations, business tax, and restaurant health and safety issues. Judge Tarle is particularly passionate about resolving these types of disputes from his “boots on the ground” work and experiencing the impact on our communities and government.
He very much enjoys giving back to his judicial colleagues and the legal community. For decades, he has been involved with the Young Lawyers and Barristers sections of several bar associations, new judges’ orientation through the Judicial Council, and moot courts in law schools. As a trial judge, he is known as an even-tempered, fair, and reasonable judge who treats everyone with respect and kindness.
Practice Areas
ADR Highlights
- Judge, American Bar Association Mediation Competition for Law Students (2023)
Experience Summary
Judge Tarle has been involved in a wide variety of cases during his more than 40 years of combined legal experience, serving as a Municipal Court and Superior Court Commissioner, Superior Court Judge, and Deputy City Attorney in Los Angeles County.
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Hobbies & Interests
Judge Tarle enjoys bike riding, spinning, hiking, and reading fiction.
ADR Highlights
- Judge, American Bar Association Mediation Competition for Law Students (2023)
Testimonials
"Judge Tarle was great and got it done. I will recommend him in the future. "
- Attorney on a Personal Injury case
"The pre-mediation discussion we had was fabulous; I liked your questions about what I believed were the strongest and weakest parts of my case. You always remained positive in working toward resolution during the mediation, and you were flexible and listened to my concerns."
- Owner of a Personal Injury Law Firm
"I very much enjoyed your mediation style as you genuinely listened to and understood my clients’ case. Thank you for taking time before the mediation to discuss case points with me and to clarify any questions and concerns you had. I appreciated your feedback and insight, especially given your extensive judicial experience, as that allowed me to hone in on what you believed were to be both the pros and cons in my client’s case. I believe our settlement was due to your constructive communication, especially in how you posed effective questions so that the parties pause, reflect, and reassess the case (including all its flaws and strong points) in its entirety. My favorite part of the mediation was when you asked what I was trying to communicate with one of my counter demands. You looked beyond just the numbers and really into what the case was about for both sides. Not only that, but you remained optimistic and determined throughout the entire process, which created a much more pleasant and motivating environment to work within. Thank you for successfully reading the room to allow for a resolution and (as I always prefer) guarantee a result for my clients. "
- Attorney at an Award-Winning Personal Injury Law Firm in California
"I very much enjoyed your mediation style as you genuinely listened to and understood my clients’ case. Thank you for taking time before the mediation to discuss case points with me and to clarify any questions and concerns you had. I appreciated your feedback and insight, especially given your extensive judicial experience, as that allowed me to hone in on what you believed were to be both the pros and cons in my client’s case. I believe our settlement was due to your constructive communication, especially in how you posed effective questions so that the parties pause, reflect, and reassess the case (including all its flaws and strong points) in its entirety. My favorite part of the mediation was when you asked what I was trying to communicate with one of my counter demands. You looked beyond just the numbers and really into what the case was about for both sides. Not only that, but you remained optimistic and determined throughout the entire process, which created a much more pleasant and motivating environment to work within. Thank you for successfully reading the room to allow for a resolution and (as I always prefer) guarantee a result for my clients."
- Attorney on a Personal Injury Auto Matter
"The mediation was a wonderful experience, and we truly appreciated your assistance, patience, and level of care that you demonstrated for the case and most importantly, for our client. "
- Trial Attorney at a Widely-Recognized Personal Injury Firm in Los Angeles
"Judge Tarle effectively managed this four plaintiff, two co-defendant case remotely in less than 3 hours. Very pleased. "
- Attorney on a Personal Injury case
"It was a pleasure working with you during the mediation. You were efficient, reasonable, and most importantly, effective in getting the deal done. I wish all my cases were that easy to settle. "
- Attorney at a Nationally Ranked, Statewide California Law Firm
"Judge Tarle was one of the most effective mediators I have had the privilege of working with on any matter. "
- Senior Counsel at a Prestigious Los Angeles-Based Law Firm
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Links and Articles
Experience Summary
BREACH OF CONTRACT
• Complaint of alleged fraud. Breach of contract for failure to pay for services rendered costs incurred, and unpaid attorney's fees.
• Breach of contract regarding home improvement. Complaint alleged contractor took an unlawful deposit. The deposit wasn't returned and the plaintiff alleged the contractor never intended to return monies.
• High-end property rented in Bel Air. The defendant wanted to do $1 million in renovations as he was a wealthy businessman who needed to use the home for fundraisers.
EMPLOYMENT
• Wrongful termination of a teacher of 30 years. The students were failing in her class and she was warned to improve their scores.
LEMON LAW
•Multiple cases where individuals have sued for used-car purchases.
•Tried and resolved many cases involving warranty law violations under Song-Beverly, and California Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA).
•Disputes involving cascades of small repairs on different items rather than a single problem that doesn’t get fixed correctly.
MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE
• Plaintiff's claimed that decedent died as a result of negligence upon undergoing abdominoplasty.
•Negligent medical care. Plaintiff alleged defendant was negligent in performing hysterectomy and that said surgery resulted in injury and damage to her ureter.
• Medical negligence: acupuncture. Plaintiff went into the defendant's massage shop, was upsold, and tried acupuncture for the first time. Plaintiff alleged puncture of her right lung by an acupuncture needle inserted through her back - later rushed to ER with a 70% collapsed lung.
• Alleged dental malpractice and fraud. Defendant placed dental implant into plaintiff's sinuses causing facial pain and headaches.
• Plaintiff alleged wrongful death; medical malpractice. The decedent underwent bilateral patella tendon surgery and died 28 days after the operation due to negligent care.
PERSONAL INJURY
•Personal injury and loss of income as a result of a slip and fall at a big box store.
• Automobile and bicycle collision at a 4-way intersection. Plaintiff was riding bicycle claims injury due to accident.
• Plaintiff claimed damages due to injuries caused when the defendant's tractor-trailer collided with the back of the plaintiff's pickup truck.
• Motor vehicle accident where the plaintiff was driving and was hit by defendant's limousine trying to cross 7 lanes and sustained injuries to spine and neck.
• Motor vehicle accident where the plaintiff was rear-ended by Defendant and suffered injuries.
• Motor vehicle accident where plaintiff's car collided with a cab.
• Motor vehicle accident between a car turning left and an oncoming bicycle, resulting in mild Traumatic Brain Injury.
•Experienced driver hit a bicyclist who was riding on the sidewalk.
• Plaitnfif was riding on a bus and let go when the bus driver took off.
•While using the bathroom at work, the plaintiff, a stylist, and perfumer, was sprayed through a hole in the shared wall of premises with toxic pesticide chemicals by Terminex and claimed loss of smell and taste.
•Plaintiff was a one-legged man who fell downstairs at a property. He insisted on being taken care of on the 2nd floor. He broke the handrail on the way up, leaned on it on the way down, and fell.
•Man dropped his cell phone while on the tram at an amusement park. The front spieler on the tram instructed him not to get off. Tram moving at 5 MPH. The back spoiler on the tram also said not to get off in Spanish instructing that they would stop the tram. The man hopped off, hit his head on the pavement, and died.
REAL PROPERTY
•Jury trial of nonpayment of rent.
•Month to month tenant failed to pay rent.
•Mortgage Foreclosure Eviction Jury Trial. Plaintiff tried to re-fi and lost the house to foreclosure.
•Plaintiff purchased a commercial building as an investment after inheriting her grandfather's property. After purchasing the building she sued the seller claiming that measurements for determining square footage were applied incorrectly and she overpaid for the building.
•Nuisance Eviction. The defendant was allegedly drunk and stumbling around the apartment building walking his dog with a gun holstered in the back of his sweat pants. Tenants called the police and the building was evacuated. It took 45 minutes for the defendant to respond to Sheriff's loudspeaker (chopper deployed) and surrender. The sheriff's then found 70 guns in the apartment. The defendant had a gun dealer license and bought most of his guns from a gun dealer.
UNLAWFUL DETAINER AND HABITABILITY
•Handled over a hundred jury and bench trials, as well as settlement conferences regarding unlawful detainers; Most of those Unlawful Detainer cases involved Habitability.
•Volunteered to be the master calendar judge for Unlawful Detainer cases, handling hundreds of Unlawful Detainer and Habitability cases.
• As a Los Angeles Deputy County Attorney, investigated and prosecuted slum housing as one of the first to work in their Housing Unit, and understands the Unlawful Detainer /Habitability cases from both perspectives.
