Hon. Steven R. Denton, Ret.

Construction Breach Of Contract

• Construction lot grading caused landslide damaging adjoining property with underlying settlement and assignment of claim against defendant.

Discrimination

• Wrongful Termination Disability Discrimination alleged by former sales person with hearing impairment.

Wage and Hour

• Wrongful Termination - Director of medical facility alleged retaliation for laboratory billing irregularities.

Wage and Hour Class Action

• Plaintiff asserted that his long term employer discriminated against older workers in the organization and that the reduction in force was used simply to get rid of older and more expensive workers. Plaintiff asserted his action in a class action, however, the court enforced the arbitration agreement. Defendant asserted that a comprehensive settlement and release agreement supported by substantial consideration barred the claim. Plaintiff claimed the release was invalid because it was fraudulently induced as defendant did not disclose its hidden agenda. The case was settled on an individual basis for a confidential amount subject to court approval.

Wrongful Termination

• Wrongful Termination & Disability Discrimination alleged by executive director of hospice and palliative care company.
• Wage & Hour claims by multiple company employees.
• Sexual Harassment claimed by employee against supervisor where case resolves for cash and agreement to terminate employment.
• Assistant Manager in a retail store worked for 13 years and was terminated. He alleged violation of public policy and retaliation for reporting internal theft that could have some impact on the public. Defendant asserted that the Plaintiff having worked with good reviews for 11 years performed poorly over many months under a new manager and that his termination was unrelated to any public policy related cause.
• Plaintiff was a training employee of an ambulance company and asserted claims of constructive termination, discrimination based on gender, gender based pay discrimination, class claims of wage and hour violations for "off the clock" required work along with PAGA penalties. The parties were able to resolve the matter to accommodate financial limitations of the defendant by narrowing the class definition and the look back for those claims. The individual claims of the plaintiff were separately resolved.

Family Law Issues

• Family Law- Dissolution long term marriage where value of husband's business was disputed.

Marital Dissolution

• Post Marital Dissolution dispute over disposition of valuable real property, disputed interpretation of right to purchase in judgment.

Bad Faith

• Insurance Bad Faith & Coverage Dispute of insurance services company against sub-agent's fraudulent conduct.

Coverage

• Insurance Company asserts fraudulent billing practices against physician for illegal billing practices.

Subrogation

• Fire Damage Cause and Origin Dispute between multiple insurance companies as to apportionment of loss.

General IP

• Intellectual Property litigation brought against former CEO by manufacturing business.

Medical

• Medical Malpractice and failure to supervise patient staying in hospital who escaped hospital and was later found dead in the elements.
• Medical Malpractice alleged in serious orthopedic hip and leg surgeries.
• Medical Malpractice against two doctors where surgery caused severe infection.
• Medical Malpractice where claimant alleged ligation of common bile duct and artery during cholecystectomy.
• Medical Malpractice Case where back surgery led to vascular collapse and leg amputation and a related workers compensation case.
• Medical Malpractice case of child whose skull growth abnormality went undiagnosed for several years causing progressive brain compression, symptoms, and disability.

Accounting

• Accountant malpractice results in IRS levies and loss of plaintiff's property and resultant deficiency judgment against plaintiff.

Legal

• Fraudulent Transfer of major business assets to avoid execution on multi-million dollar judgment and associated legal malpractice action.
• Legal Malpractice/Breach of Fiduciary Duty claim where attorney received interest in large corporation.
• Legal Malpractice and malicious prosecution case where plaintiff asserted loss of inheritance.
• Legal Malpractice claim by former PI client who asserted that lawyer failed to address mild traumatic brain injury prior to settlement of case.

Breach Of Contract

• Title Insurance company failed to defend and indemnity against claimed title defect not disclosed but known to real estate broker.
• Real property title dispute involving family members contesting ownership of home and continued residence of aged mother.

Landlord/Tenant

• Class action by tenants against owner of many apartment buildings alleging illegal liquidated damage clause and illegal deposit return provisions in leases.

Real Property

• Residential Real Estate Sale Fraud claimed for severe rat infestation and extermination causing need for major structural reconstruction of home. Failure to disclose.
• Commercial Real Property disputed implied easements for sewer and parking interrupted high rise development on property.
• Lease dispute with downtown deli in a building. Issue over ability to open a coffee shop. Parties agreed to work on new lease to settle entire case and allow the coffee shop to open.

Aviation

• Single Engine Aircraft Crash against airport operator for injuries to pilot and passenger.

Business Torts

• Consumer Class Action on behalf of tenants of motels evicted from rooms every 30 days in violation of tenant's protection statute.

Catastrophic Injury

• State and contractor claim by victim of catastrophic limb amputating injury.

Defamation

• Cyberstalking case where individual used website postings to solicit visitors to unsuspecting people.

Elder Abuse

• Elder Abuse Wrongful Death, elderly victim strangled because not restrained from being wedged between bed, table and wall.

Maritime Law

• Jones Act Seaman's injury case against operator of yacht tending service for disputed injuries.

PI Auto

• Wage & Hour Class Action and PAGA claims on behalf of workers in restaurants owned by defendant.
• Elderly woman was rear-ended at a stop light by a semi-truck. Collision was at low speed and property damage minimal. Plaintiff had underlying and long standing cervical and lumbar disc disease. She had extensive conservative care following the collision and a fusion in the cervical spine. There were large areas of impeachment of claimant in the deposition about prior medical care and her underlying spinal problems.

Premises Liability

• Commercial Premises, automatic door malfunction causes partial finger amputation to customer and resulting work disability.
• Plaintiff, self represented, was a superintendent on a large remodel job for a general contractor for a well-known gym franchise. Tight schedule and a lot of last minute work occurred, and mold was discovered, torn out and replaced. Plaintiff asserts that Defendant failed to properly address mold and asserts that he incurred injuries as a direct result of the conditions resulting in a below-the-knee amputation. Liability disputed.

Product Liability

• Vehicle Manufacturer Rollover Product Liability design defect against major overseas manufacturer resulted in C6-7 quadriplegia.

Wrongful Death

• Wrongful Death in Rehabilitation Facility - alleged that administration of medication and failure to monitor condition caused death.
• Wrongful Death by adult children against mother's husband for causing her suicide.
• MVA Wrongful Death and Injury case where driver fell asleep and killed pedestrian in crosswalk with related criminal restitution issues.