Hon. Norman P. Tarle, Ret.

Construction Breach Of Contract

• Mediated a case involving a contractor licensed for concrete work who allegedly partially constructed a pool requiring a different licensing category.

Construction Defects

• Mediated a dispute between a contractor and a cement supplier, where the contractor alleged the cement failed to set properly, causing additional work and delays at the job site.

Breach of Contract

• Mediated a case in which, following termination, the plaintiff alleged nonpayment of override commissions and denial of a contractual ownership interest. The matter involved employment law, title insurance practices, contract law, and competing valuations of the company and its stock.
• Mediated a case involving the termination of a CEO at a title insurance company, which included claims of unpaid shares and override bonus payments.

Wrongful Termination

• Mediated a case involving the wrongful termination of a teacher with 30 years of service, following warnings to improve student performance after declining scores in her class.

Medical

• Mediated a case in which plaintiffs alleged that the decedent died due to negligence during an abdominoplasty procedure.
• Mediated a case involving allegations of negligent medical care, where the plaintiff claimed the defendant’s performance of a hysterectomy caused injury and damage to her ureter.
• Mediated a case involving alleged medical negligence at a massage shop, where the plaintiff, after being upsold to try acupuncture for the first time, claimed a needle punctured her right lung, resulting in a 70% collapse and an emergency hospital visit.
• Mediated a case involving alleged dental malpractice and fraud, where the defendant was accused of placing a dental implant into the plaintiff’s sinuses, resulting in facial pain and chronic headaches.
• Mediated a case involving allegations of wrongful death and medical malpractice, where the decedent underwent bilateral patella tendon surgery and died 28 days later due to alleged negligent care.
• Mediated a case involving an attorney who withdrew, which concluded with a Motion for Summary Judgment on a medical malpractice claim.

Breach Of Contract

• Mediated a case involving a commercial lease dispute between a city and a tenant. The city sought to redevelop the property and issued a 60-day notice as required by the lease. Negotiations were prompted by a lawsuit seeking back rent, liquidated damages, and attorney’s fees.
• Mediated a case involving a home improvement contract dispute, where the plaintiff alleged the contractor took an unlawful deposit, failed to return it, and never intended to repay the monies.
• Mediated a landlord–tenant dispute involving a commercial lease, where the tenant claimed constructive eviction due to strong cannabis odors emanating from the neighboring marijuana dispensary.

Landlord/Tenant

• Mediated a case involving a commercial lease dispute in which the tenant alleged undisclosed utility problems, terminated the lease, and demanded repayment of rent plus attorney’s fees, while the landlord denied any utility issues and sought future rent for the remaining five years of the lease.
• Mediated a case involving a tenant in a high-end apartment who alleged harassment and brought a claim for emotional distress.
• Mediated a landlord–tenant dispute involving habitability issues, where a court-appointed receiver was alleged by both sides to be failing to properly maintain the property.

Neighbor Dispute

• Mediated a case involving a property line dispute, where a developer cut down shrubs and trees that both parties claimed were on their property.
• Mediated a case involving a property line dispute where a fence was built a few inches over the boundary due to trees and property features. The dispute centered on whether to move the fence or pay for a license to leave it in place and was marked by significant animosity between neighbors.

Real Property

• Mediated a case involving a jury trial over nonpayment of rent.
• Mediated a case involving a month-to-month tenant’s failure to pay rent.
• Mediated a case involving a mortgage foreclosure eviction jury trial, where the plaintiff attempted to refinance but ultimately lost the home to foreclosure.
• Mediated a case involving a commercial real estate investment, where the plaintiff, after inheriting her grandfather’s property and purchasing a building, sued the seller alleging misapplied square footage measurements that led to overpayment.
• Mediated a nuisance eviction case in which the defendant was alleged to have been intoxicated while carrying a holstered firearm in the apartment building. After tenants called the police and the building was evacuated, the defendant eventually surrendered following a prolonged standoff. Law enforcement later discovered 70 firearms in his unit, most purchased under his gun dealer’s license.
• Mediated a property line dispute involving easement rights, with the mediation conducted on-site at the property.
• Mediated a case involving the failure of a wall between two commercial properties, where the parties disputed liability.

Warranty of Habitability

• Mediated and handled over one hundred jury and bench trials, as well as settlement conferences in unlawful detainer matters, most of which involved habitability issues.
• Mediated and served as master calendar judge for unlawful detainer cases, handling hundreds of matters, many involving habitability issues.
• Mediated cases with a deep understanding of unlawful detainer and habitability issues, informed by prior experience as a Los Angeles Deputy County Attorney investigating and prosecuting slum housing as one of the first attorneys in the Housing Unit.

Assault and Battery

• Mediated a case involving a market security guard who stabbed a customer following the customer’s unruly behavior.

Catastrophic Injury

• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff was injured while taking their car through a carwash, resulting in spinal surgery.

General Negligence

• Mediated a case in which an off-leash dog in a private dog run bit an elderly owner on the wrist as she tried to protect her pet. The plaintiff required wrist surgery, and her pre-existing medical condition complicated treatment.
• Mediated a landlord–tenant dispute involving potable water issues and allegations of E. coli contamination.

Personal Injury

• Mediated a case involving a building inspector who was struck by an unsecured 50-pound concrete form that fell due to a breeze. The plaintiff underwent spinal fusion surgery and claimed a need for long-term care.
• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff tripped on a moving handicap ramp while attempting to board a public bus.
• Mediated a trip-and-fall case in a condominium construction site where the plaintiff suffered a broken heel. Several major contractors lacked insurance coverage, and one faced potential bankruptcy.
• Mediated a case involving a slip-and-fall accident in a laundromat that has since gone out of business.
• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff fractured her heel after tripping on torn construction plastic covering a staircase in a condominium complex. Liability was unclear: the HOA and management company shared the same insurer, one construction company’s carrier denied coverage, and another dissolved after the case was filed.
• Mediated a complex case involving multiple insurance carriers, where a child died in a car seat while under the care of a foster mother, and the lawsuit was brought by the biological mother.

PI Auto

• Mediated a case arising from a significant collision in which the insurance arbitrator disputed the police traffic report on fault. The crash caused a chain reaction involving two stopped vehicles, and the plaintiff alleged ongoing, constant pain.
• Mediated a case involving a failure-to-yield left-turn collision, with both liability and the extent of injuries contested. The plaintiff alleged the need for future back surgery.
• Mediated a case where the defendant, making a left turn, collided nearly head-on with the plaintiff, who had a history of back and neck injuries from prior collisions and falls.
• Mediated a case involving an auto collision at an intersection where the traffic signal was inoperative due to a power outage.
• Mediated a case involving an auto collision in which the defendant made an unexpected turn in front of the plaintiff.
• Mediated a case involving a rear-end collision in which the plaintiff, a passenger, was injured when the defendant struck the vehicle while attempting a lane change.
• Mediated a case involving a flight attendant injured in an airport shuttle collision, with settlement complicated by a workers’ compensation lien.
• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff, making a left turn, was T-boned by a speeding defendant.
• Mediated a case involving a rear-end collision with alleged soft tissue injuries. While the defense claimed the impact speed was minimal, the plaintiff’s vehicle sustained a bent frame.
• Mediated a rear-end collision case involving an uninsured motorist, the plaintiff’s third uninsured motorist claim with the same carrier.
• Mediated a freeway rear-end chain collision where the plaintiffs’ vehicle was struck after two successive impacts. Two drivers and their carriers were defendants, and four plaintiffs—each with multiple prior accidents—filed suit. The case also involved both California and out-of-state plaintiffs and medical providers.
• Mediated a case involving a ride-share driver who was rear-ended while carrying passengers, with the at-fault motorist being uninsured.
• Mediated a case involving a golf cart rollover accident in which the plaintiff suffered severe injuries. Negotiations were complicated by a liability waiver and indemnification clause in the country club’s contract, with both sides demanding payment—the plaintiff for his injuries and the defense under the indemnification clause.
• Mediated a case involving an Uber driver making a left turn that resulted in a severe foot injury under an uninsured motorist claim, with liability in dispute.
• Mediated a case involving a collision between two large trucks, where the plaintiff alleged ongoing disability, but sub rosa video evidence contradicted the claim.
• Mediated a case involving a bicyclist struck by a falling tree, with the central issue being the extent of injuries from the incident versus pre-existing spinal conditions.
• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff's car was t-bone and there was serious injury. Liability was in favor of the defense.
• Mediated a case involving a light collision with a parked car. Paint transfer was the result. Worked through causation to resolve the case.
• Mediated a case involving a three car pile-up. The rear driver blamed the front vehicle and hitting the breaks. The rear driver's attorney claimed no liability.
• Mediated a personal injury auto case involving a road worker who was hit by a truck in a construction zone.
• Mediated a case involving a pedestrian who was hit by a vehicle. The driver left the scene and cannot be located.
• Mediated a case involving a motorcycle that hit the defendant's car. It was unclear who violated the red light. The plaintiff had many prior collisions.
• Mediated a case involving the City of Long Beach in a traffic collision with the plaintiff.
• Mediated a case involving a Lyft passenger injured in a sideswipe collision, complicated by the plaintiff’s substantial pre-existing injuries.
• Mediated a case involving a claimant in a T-bone collision with extensive pre-existing injuries. The matter centered on comparisons between pre- and post-collision MRIs, with issues raised over the technical imaging strength of the older MRI versus newer technology, making the science behind the imaging a key feature of the case.
• Mediated a case involving a rear-end collision in which the claimant was a passenger in a Lyft vehicle.

Policy Distribution

• Mediated a case involving the distribution of insurance policy proceeds.
• Mediated a case with four claimants injured in a head-on collision, where the arbitrator was tasked with equitably distributing limited insurance proceeds that were insufficient to fully compensate all claimants.

Premises Liability

• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff tripped in a parking lot pothole. While medical costs were minimal, the fall caused complications following a recent double mastectomy, including bleeding, fluid drainage, pain, and a delay in chemotherapy treatment.
• Mediated a case where the plaintiff’s hand was severely injured while interfering with Home Depot employees loading lumber. Liability was disputed; the plaintiff initially demanded a six-figure settlement, and the matter resolved in the five-figure range.
• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff slipped on water in a garden area of a large home improvement retailer, in front of a warning sign. Liability was disputed; the plaintiff alleged minor injury but reported ongoing knee pain.
• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff was struck on the head by a falling metal drain at a large home improvement retailer and claimed a resulting brain injury.
• Mediated a case involving a pregnant plaintiff who slipped on liquid near a trash bin. While a warning sign was in place, the defendant allegedly failed to follow required clean-up protocols.
• Mediated a case involving a young child who flipped a restaurant table, crushing his finger and requiring three surgeries and a skin graft. Both sides were deeply entrenched, and settlement was only reached at the very end of mediation.
• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff, with a history of dozens of surgeries, slipped on sand in a store. The central issue was distinguishing prior medical conditions from the injuries claimed in the incident.
• Mediated a case in which a wooden board fell on the plaintiff’s toe, fracturing the bone at the knuckle and causing a permanent joint injury.
• Mediated a case involving an elderly plaintiff struck by falling plywood in a store, resulting in lower back and leg pain.
• Mediated a case involving a young mother who slipped on wet paint in a parking lot and fell onto her toddler child.
• Mediated a case involving a couple at an appliance store where a metal sign fell on the plaintiff’s wrist as he opened a refrigerator. Following the injury, the couple, who had newborn twins, hired a nighttime nurse since the plaintiff was unable to lift both children.
• Mediated a case involving a toddler who was injured while playing with an appliance dolly in a store, which fell and gashed his forehead.
• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff, while moving aside for an oncoming forklift in a wholesale food market, slipped on a wet floor and fell.
• Mediated a case involving a slip-and-fall accident in a wholesale market that resulted in a knee injury requiring arthroscopic surgery.
• Mediated a case involving a slip-and-fall at a cash register, where liability was disputed as video evidence suggested the plaintiff tripped on her own sandals.
• Mediated a case involving an industrial accident during maintenance of mining equipment, where a subcontracted worker was injured by a pressurized part ejected from a machine. The case raised issues of workers’ compensation exclusivity, subcontractor liability, and responsibility for maintaining defective equipment in the workplace.
• Mediated a slip-and-fall case in a market with clear video evidence on causation, where the key issue was whether the store had prior notice of the hazard.
• Mediated a case involving an elderly plaintiff injured by a forklift, with issues of contributory negligence and complex claims of mental and physical deterioration following the accident.
• Mediated a case involving a plaintiff severely injured during a handbag theft in the parking lot of a large wholesaler. The central issue was causation—whether the event was foreseeable and, if so, whether the defendant failed to provide adequate protection to the public.
• Mediated a case involving a slip and fall down the stairs with significant insurance coverage issues.
• Mediated a case involving a production set injury in which the plaintiff struck her head on a wooden beam, fell backward, and sustained a broken ankle.

Product Liability

• Mediated a case involving a two-year-old child whose toe was severed by the sharp edge of a stool and could not be reattached, with the primary issue being past and future non-economic damages.
• Mediated a case in which a child’s toe was amputated after she fell from a chair and struck the sharp edge.
• Mediated a case involving a wrongful death due to product liability with prior partial settlement.
• Mediated a case involving the death of a baby in a car seat, allegedly strangled while in the foster mother’s care. The biological mother filed suit against both the foster mother and the car seat manufacturer.

Settlement Allocation

• Mediated a case involving a distribution of insurance funds among nine recipients.

Wrongful Death

• Mediated a case involving a wrongful death allegedly due to the misplacement of a transfusion line.
• Mediated a case in which the plaintiff alleged that a defendant employee caused her mother to fall and suffer a broken hip. With no witnesses and the decedent later dying of COVID in a rehabilitation center, liability and causation were sharply contested, including uncertainty over whether transmission came from a family member or the facility.