Introduction
Judge McGuire joined Judicate West following over a decade of distinguished service on the Fresno County Superior Court. During her time on the bench, she spent five years in the Family Law Division and seven years in the Civil Division, overseeing hundreds of cases and presiding over numerous trials, as well as conducting settlement conferences on a regular basis. She also served on the Appellate Panel and the Court Executive Committee. Prior to her appointment, she was a partner at a law firm, handling complex civil rights and tort litigation in state and federal court.
Devoted to the legal community, Judge McGuire has contributed her time to multiple organizations in leadership positions. Notably, she is a past president of both the San Joaquin Valley Chapter’s Federal Bar Association and ABOTA and currently serves as a National Representative for ABOTA.
She describes her approach to private dispute resolution, stating: ” I consider myself to be friendly, positive, and a good communicator. With the knowledge and experience I acquired as a trial lawyer and judicial officer, I can help litigants resolve their disputes and reach a satisfactory resolution without the stress and expense of lengthy litigation and unpredictable results.”
Practice Areas
- Business Litigation including Lemon Law
- Civil Rights/Governmental
- Construction Defect
- Employment
- Family Law
- Insurance
- Medical Malpractice
- Personal Injury Including Wrongful Death and Sexual Assault
- Probate
- Real Estate
Hobbies & Interests
Judge McGuire and her husband are avid travelers and love to experience different cultures, food, and local sights. She is from a large family and enjoys spending time with her children, grandchildren, sisters, and their families. She also loves to read and cook as well as play golf and pickleball.
Experience Summary
BUSINESS
As a judicial officer and litigator, was involved in many types of business cases including:
• Breach of Contract
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty
• Lemon Law
• Misappropriation of funds
• Unjust Enrichment
ELDER ABUSE
Handled elder abuse cases involving:
• Care Facilties
• Emotional Abuse
• Financial Fraud
FAMILY LAW
As a judicial officer, handled family law matters exclusively for five years including child custody, child support, visitation, spousal support, property division, allocation of assets and debts, and retirement benefits. Presided over numerous cases involving parenting plans with allegations of domestic violence, substance abuse, and/or mental health issues as well as cases involving relocation and nonparental custody. Adjudicated cases involving:
• Interspousal transfer of property acquired during marriage.
• Custody and enforcement of marital settlement agreement.
• Custody and move away request.
• Modification of spousal support based on change of income.
• Breach of fiduciary duty, property division, spousal support, and attorney’s fees.
• Allocation of proceeds from the sale of a home traceable to a personal injury settlement.
GOVERNMENTAL/PUBLIC AGENCY/CIVIL RIGHTS
As a judicial officer handled and adjudicated cases involving government tort liability, including dangerous condition of public property, design immunity, breach of mandatory duty, excessive force, and immunity for discretionary acts.
As a lawyer tried multiple cases involving governmental entities and their employees involving claims that:
• Public entity had an unconstitutional policy of not properly training and supervising its investigators.
• Excessive force used in a shooting in which the plaintiff was rendered a paraplegic.
• Mandatory duties breached in the death of a child placed in foster care by a public agency.
• Plaintiff wrongfully detained in violation of the Fourth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments when she refused treatment regime for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis.
• Excessive force used in restraint of subject who died of positional asphyxia.
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
• Failure to disclose risks of surgery and breach of standard of care in carpal tunnel surgery.
• Negligence/breach of standard of care in cervical spine surgery.
• Negligence/breach of standard of care in hand surgery.
• Negligent care in the transport of a patient to the hospital.
• Physical and emotional injuries as a result of plastic surgery.
• Negligence in dental treatment.
PERSONAL INJURY
As a judicial officer, handled and adjudicated numerous cases involving serious injury or death due to automobile accidents; premises liability; assault and battery; and slip and falls, including:
• Serious automobile accident resulting in loss of a leg.
• Multi-vehicle accident involving serious injuries to multiple parties.
• Rear-end accidents with alleged neck and back injuries.
• Trip and falls.
PROBATE
As a judicial officer adjudicated several probate matters including:
• Guardianship of a minor.
• Validity of a will.
• Breach of fiduciary duty by a trustee in the management and sale of family properties.
PRODUCTS LIABILITY
Handled many product liability matters involving:
• Vehicles (faulty seatbelt)
• Medical equipment (unsafe wheelchair)
• Design defects
• Frauduent transfer
REAL PROPERTY
As a judicial officer handled and adjudicated numerous cases involving:
• Breach of purchase and sales agreements.
• Fraudulent concealment and failure to disclose.
• Eminent domain/real property valuation cases in which governmental agencies sought to acquire private property for transit projects.
• Boundary disputes involving quiet title, adverse possession, easements (prescriptive, implied, equitable and easements of necessity), restrictive covenants, fence lines and conflicting survey results.
• Requests to partition property, valuation, tenancy, ownership and evictions.
