Hon. Steven R. Denton, Ret.

Construction Breach Of Contract

• Mediated construction dispute involving improper lot grading that caused a landslide damaging adjoining property, resulting in a settlement and assignment of claims against the defendant.

Discrimination

• Mediated wrongful termination and disability discrimination claim brought by a former salesperson with a hearing impairment.

Wage and Hour

• Mediated wrongful termination claim brought by the former director of a medical facility, alleging retaliation for reporting laboratory billing irregularities.

Wage and Hour Class Action

• Mediated age discrimination dispute in which plaintiff alleged his long-term employer targeted older, higher-paid employees under the guise of a reduction in force. Although initially filed as a class action, the court enforced an arbitration agreement. Defendant argued the claims were barred by a prior settlement and release supported by substantial consideration, while plaintiff contended the release was fraudulently induced due to nondisclosure of the employer’s alleged discriminatory intent. The matter was resolved individually for a confidential amount, subject to court approval.

Wrongful Termination

• Mediated a wrongful termination and disability discrimination dispute involving the executive director of a hospice and palliative care organization.
• Mediated wage and hour claims filed by multiple employees against their employer.
• Mediated a sexual harassment claim brought by an employee against their supervisor, resulting in a monetary settlement and mutual agreement to end the employment relationship.
• Mediated a wrongful termination dispute involving a long-term assistant manager at a retail store who was terminated after 13 years of employment. The employee alleged retaliation and violation of public policy, claiming he was discharged for reporting internal theft with potential public impact. The employer contended that, despite 11 years of positive performance reviews, the employee’s work declined significantly under new management and that his termination was unrelated to any protected activity or public policy concerns.
• Mediated a multifaceted employment dispute involving a trainee at an ambulance company who alleged constructive termination, gender discrimination, gender-based pay disparity, and class-wide wage and hour violations—including off-the-clock work—along with PAGA penalties. The parties reached a resolution that accounted for the defendant’s financial limitations by narrowing the class definition and limiting the look-back period. The plaintiff’s individual claims were resolved separately.

Family Law Issues

• Mediated a family law dissolution involving a long-term marriage with a disputed valuation of the husband's business.

Marital Dissolution

• Mediated a post-marital dissolution dispute concerning the disposition of valuable real property and conflicting interpretations of a purchase right outlined in the judgment.

Bad Faith

• Mediated an insurance bad faith and coverage dispute involving an insurance services company and claims arising from a sub-agent’s alleged fraudulent conduct.

Coverage

• Mediated a dispute in which an insurance company alleged fraudulent and illegal billing practices by a physician.

Subrogation

• Mediated a fire damage dispute between multiple insurance carriers regarding cause, origin, and apportionment of loss.

General IP

• Mediated an intellectual property dispute between a manufacturing company and its former CEO.

Medical

• Mediated a medical malpractice case involving alleged failure to supervise a hospitalized patient who left the facility and was later found deceased outdoors.
• Mediated a medical malpractice case involving allegations related to complex orthopedic hip and leg surgeries.
• Mediated a medical malpractice case involving two physicians accused of causing a severe infection.
• Mediated a medical malpractice claim involving alleged ligation of the common bile duct and artery during a cholecystectomy.
• Mediated a medical malpractice case involving back surgery that allegedly resulted in vascular collapse and leg amputation, along with a related workers’ compensation claim.
• Mediated a pediatric medical malpractice case involving delayed diagnosis of a skull growth abnormality, resulting in brain compression and progressive disability.

Accounting

• Mediated an accountant malpractice case involving IRS levies, property loss, and a resulting deficiency judgment against the plaintiff.

Legal

• Mediated a dispute involving the alleged fraudulent transfer of major business assets to evade execution of a multi-million dollar judgment, along with a related legal malpractice claim.
• Mediated a legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty case involving an attorney’s acquisition of an interest in a large corporation.
• Mediated a legal malpractice and malicious prosecution case involving the plaintiff’s claim of lost inheritance.
• Mediated a legal malpractice claim by a former personal injury client alleging the attorney failed to address a mild traumatic brain injury before settling the case.

Breach Of Contract

• Mediated a dispute involving a title insurance company’s alleged failure to defend and indemnify against a title defect that was undisclosed but known to the real estate broker.
• Mediated a real property title dispute among family members contesting ownership of a home and the continued residence of an elderly mother.

Landlord/Tenant

• Mediated a tenant class action against the owner of multiple buildings alleging unlawful liquidated damages clauses and improper security deposit return provisions in lease agreements.

Real Property

• Mediated a residential real estate fraud dispute involving failure to disclose a severe rat infestation and extensive extermination, which led to major structural reconstruction.
• Mediated a commercial real estate dispute involving alleged implied easements for sewer and parking that impeded high-rise development on the property.
• Mediated a lease dispute involving a downtown deli tenant seeking to open a coffee shop; the parties agreed to resolve the matter by negotiating a new lease permitting the coffee shop to operate.

Aviation

• Mediated a case arising from a single-engine aircraft crash, with claims brought against the airport operator by the injured pilot and passenger.

Business Torts

• Mediated a consumer class action on behalf of motel tenants allegedly evicted every 30 days in violation of tenant protection laws.

Catastrophic Injury

• Mediated a personal injury claim involving catastrophic limb amputation, brought against a state entity and contractor.

Defamation

• Mediated a cyberstalking case where individual used online postings to solicit visitors to unsuspecting people.

Elder Abuse

• Mediated an elder abuse wrongful death case involving the death of an elderly individual who became trapped between a bed, table, and wall due to alleged failure to implement proper safety measures.

Food Safety

• Mediated numerous mass food borne illness matters.

Maritime Law

• Mediated a Jones Act injury case involving a seaman's claims against a yacht tending service operator for disputed injuries.

PI Auto

• Mediated a wage and hour class action and PAGA claims brought by restaurant workers against the defendant employer.
• Mediated a personal injury case involving an elderly woman who was rear-ended at a stoplight by a semi-truck in a low-speed collision resulting in minimal property damage. The plaintiff had a documented history of longstanding cervical and lumbar disc disease. Following the incident, she underwent extensive conservative treatment and ultimately received a cervical spine fusion. The defense raised significant impeachment issues during deposition, focusing on inconsistencies in the plaintiff’s account of prior medical care and the pre-existing nature of her spinal conditions.

PI Sexual Molestation

• Mediated numerous sexual harrassment and molestation cases.

Premises Liability

• Mediated a commercial premises liability case involving a customer who sustained a partial finger amputation and work-related disability due to an automatic door malfunction.
• Mediated a complex personal injury case involving a self-represented plaintiff who served as superintendent on a large-scale remodel project for a general contractor working on a high-profile gym franchise. The project was subject to a compressed schedule with significant last-minute work. During construction, mold was discovered, removed, and replaced. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant failed to properly remediate hazardous conditions, leading to injuries that ultimately resulted in a below-the-knee amputation. Liability was strongly contested.

Product Liability

• Mediated a product liability case involving an alleged design defect in a vehicle rollover incident against a major overseas manufacturer, resulting in C6-7 quadriplegia.

Wrongful Death

• Mediated a wrongful death case involving allegations that improper medication administration and failure to monitor a patient’s condition at a rehabilitation facility led to the patient’s death.
• Mediated a wrongful death case brought by adult children against their mother's husband, alleging he was responsible for her suicide.
• Mediated a wrongful death and personal injury case arising from a motor vehicle accident in which a driver fell asleep and fatally struck a pedestrian in a crosswalk, with related criminal restitution issues.