Proudfoot & Quach LLP, formed by attorneys that previously worked for a large international law firm, focuses on high quality, cost effective commercial and business litigation and appeals. We are located in Pasadena and with over 40 years of experience handling various matters, we provide exceptional legal services for all your litigation and appeal needs in state or federal courts. If you are looking for aggressive attorneys to handle your litigation and appeal needs, please contact us at (626) 463-7386. The initial consultation is always free. For Chinese speakers, please contact us at (626) 532-5392.
Proudfoot & Quach LLP has been designated as a Women and Minority-Owned Business by Supplier Clearinghouse (WMBE).
Proudfoot & Quach LLP is a member of the San Gabriel Valley Bar Association, the Asian Business Association and the California Minority Counsel Program.
The attorneys of Proudfoot & Quach LLP have handled various litigation and appeals matters in the following areas:
• Appeals
• Arbitration
• Banking
• Insurance Coverage
• Personal Injury
• Products Liability
• Real Estate
• Construction Defects
• Securities
• FSIA
• Federal Civil Rights Act
• Trade Secrets
• Unfair Competition
• Anti-Trust
• Anti-SLAPP litigation
APPEALS / ARBITRATION
Successfully defended on appeal the district court’s dismissal of a RICO claim in a wrongful termination lawsuit where dismissal of claim led to remand to state court.
Obtained reversal on appeal of a libel judgment entered in a suit by a coach against the parent of a player where the parent had written a highly critical letter to the school employing the coach.
Successfully compelled a matter to arbitration despite intense opposition and subsequently obtained dismissal of the case due to failure to arbitrate.
Successfully defended on appeal a multi-million dollar verdict in a complex business and real estate lawsuit involving collection on an oral loan used to buy real estate and fraudulent misrepresentations with respect to the company that the parties formed jointly.
Successfully represented a client on an appeal from an adverse judgment in a case tried by different trial counsel. The dispute was a complicated one in which our client claimed it was owed money under a note it received many years before and that it was entitled to purchase time on a TV station at a favorable rate. One of the defendants had a cross complaint for fraud against our client. The trial judge granted a non suit against our client at the close of the case and then granted a non suit to our client on the cross complaint. The trial judge also entered an award of attorneys’ fees and costs against our client in excess of $2 million. Our client appealed and the defendant cross appealed. The Court of Appeal not only reversed the judgment in favor of the defendants on our client’s complaint [including the attorneys’ fees and costs award of in excess of $2 million], it also affirmed the non suit in our client’s favor on the cross complaint. A rehearing was denied as was a petition for review. The result is that our client now has an opportunity to recover on its complaint and to present evidence that it had been previously precluded from presenting on parol evidence grounds, without exposure to judgment on a cross-complaint.
BANKING
First Empire Bank v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (9th Cir.) 572 F. 2d 1361. Represented a major French Bank whose loans to United States National Bank (San Diego) had been documented as letters of credit, which were not honored during a purchase and assumption agreement arranged by the FDIC upon United States National Bank’s insolvency. The Ninth Circuit reversed the trial court and ordered judgment for the client holding that the Federal Deposit Insurance Act did not allow the FDIC to discriminate between creditors of a failed national bank. As a result of the decision, the client recovered over $13 million dollars and a number of other banks ultimately recovered in excess of $30 million dollarsbased on this precedent.
Pubali Bank v. City National Bank (9th Cir.) 676 F. 2d 1326. Represented a Bangladesh bank which had issued a letter of credit to secure payment of shipping freight. A fraudulent draw was made on the letter of credit and the draw was “countersigned” by the defendant advising bank. The client had made payment and then discovered the fraud. This case established the liability of the advising bank and the client was repaid its loss.
Represented a major California bank in defeating an effort to defraud it in a suit over a fraudulent wire transfer of $10 million dollars by obtaining a summary judgment in favor of the bank which was affirmed on appeal.
Represented a major California bank which had been the bank for what turned out to be a fraudulent, Ponzi type scheme run by a customer of the bank which caused many millions of dollars of loss to small pension and profit sharing plans. An advantageous, creative settlement was negotiated with the class plaintiffs’ group that involved a cooperative effort with respect to further litigation with an insurance company that had issued a bond to the customer. The end result was that the client was substantially made whole by a later hard fought global settlement with the insurance company.
Successfully defended a major California Bank in suit brought by another financial institution that was defrauded by someone posing as an officer of the client bank and purportedly selling certificates of deposit in the client bank at an advantageous rate by obtaining summary judgment based on wire transfer statutes and upholding victory on appeal.
Successfully represented various California banks in defending against lender liability claims and in obtaining payment of obligations in complex situations.
INSURANCE COVERAGE
Successfully established insurance coverage on summary judgment under advertising loss clause where in the underlying case the plaintiff sought various types of relief for competitive torts in Florida courts.
Obtained a complete recovery for foreign client from insurer that had disavowed coverage of client as an added insured under a manufacturer’s insurance policy.
Successfully settled a matter for a hotel client with respect to uninsured losses from a fire in a restaurant tenant’s premises. When we entered the case, it had been pending for 1 year, without our client’s knowledge, as a subrogation case originally brought by another tenant whose premises suffered damages caused by the firefighting efforts. Our client’s insurance company had also brought a claim against the restaurant owner to recover the amount it paid our client under the insurance policy. We immediately filed a complaint in intervention to seek uninsured losses against the restaurant tenant and various other parties. The mediation was continued to provide time for our client to conduct its investigation and we were able to establish that our client had sustained recoverable losses substantially greater than the client was initially aware of, particularly in the areas of business income loss and code upgrades. Within six months, the case settled at the continued mediation session with a high 6 figure amount paid to our client. Since the total amount of insurance coverage was less than the claims, our client’s recovery effectively came out of the amount that its insurer would have otherwise obtained in the subrogation action since the insured has the right to the first dollars (vis a via it’s carrier) from the settlement funds.
PERSONAL INJURY / PRODUCTS LIABILITY
Represented the plaintiff against his employer for, among other things, abandonment. Plaintiff was injured in an automobile accident in a Middle Eastern country where he was employed. Even though he had been drinking beer earlier in the evening, he was not at fault for the accident but was jailed in the country for his drinking. A substantial settlement was obtained.
In a multi-defendant suit, represented the exporter of a riding lawnmower that exploded and seriously burned and injured the golf course employee who was riding the lawnmower against product liability claims. Negotiated an early, favorable settlement and recouped the settlement and attorneys’ fees from an insurer that first defended client and then withdrew from the defense.
Successfully defended a ship owner in federal District Court based on an exculpatory clause in a boarding pass from a suit brought by a guest who sustained a fractured skull with claimed brain damage when the guest fell from the gangway upon departure. The trial court ruled that but for the exculpatory clause, the plaintiff had established negligence of the ship owner. The Ninth Circuit affirmed on appeal on the grounds that the trial court’s alternative finding of negligence was clearly erroneous and, therefore, it need not reach the question of validity of the exculpatory clause. [Chervy v. Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, 364 F.2d 908.]
Defended an oil company in a multi state lawsuit with limitation of liability proceedings in Texas against claims arising out of the sinking of a drill ship in the South China Sea when it was struck by a typhoon. No one survived. The case was settled on terms advantageous to the client.
REAL ESTATE / CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS
Successfully defended a wrongful foreclosure claim with respect to a substantial commercial development against the claims of the original developer during a five week trial.
Quickly obtained an expungement of a lis pendens filed against a residential project by a former potential buyer allowing escrow to close to a new buyer.
Represented the owner of a 30 million office and warehousing facility in Orange County in a construction defect case against the architect, general contractor and 20subcontractors with respect to defects in the construction. After extensive expert analysis and many mediation sessions, the client obtained a substantial settlement despite purported limitations imposed by contract documents.
Gluskin v. Atlantic Savings and Loan Ass’n, 32 Cal. App. 3d 307. Obtained reversal on appeal of an adverse judgment in favor of the lender in a trial where plaintiff seller was represented by others. Court of Appeal held that the trial court improperly denied relief to plaintiff basedon modification of obligation of buyer secured by defendant’s deed of trust to which plaintiffhad subordinated.
Defended an individual against a claim for breach of contract and specific performance in a real estate dispute. Plaintiff opened escrow when he tried to purchase a tri-plex in Hollywood, however, after it was determined that all units could not be vacant at the close of escrow due to the Los Angeles Rent Control laws, plaintiff refused to proceed on the purchase. Several years later, after the booming real estate market, plaintiff demanded a sale to him of the same property for the same price and when the owner refused, plaintiff brought suit. Defendant received a defense verdict after a 3-day bench trial and an award for attorneys’ fees.
SECURITIES / FISA / FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS ACT
Board of County Commissioners of San Juan County v. Liberty Group, 965 F.2d 879 (10th Cir. 1992), cert denied, 506 U.S. 918 (1992). Represented defendants, a brokerage company that specialized in the sale of government securities to institutions and its officers and employers, in a RICO and securities fraud suit brought by plaintiff who lost a substantial amount in its investments. The federal district court dismissed the RICO claim and the Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal and reversed the jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff for securities fraud for an improper jury instruction.
Filed suit for a substantial investor whose business was in Taiwan against a national brokerage company. Client spent several months at a time in Taiwan for his business and while he was away in Taiwan, the account representative sold his large conservative portfolio and bought futures which lost the entire value in the account. The defendants settled for repayment of the investor in full plus attorneys’ fees.
Obtained summary judgment in federal court in a case in which a government law enforcement employee claimed that suspension with pay during an investigation of complaints violated his rights under the federal civil rights statutes, in particular 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Represented foreign government entities in a suit under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act resulting in dismissal of the major claim as lacking jurisdiction under the FSIA.
TRADE SECRETS / UNFAIR COMPETITION / ANTI-TRUST
Successfully negotiated resolution of a trade secrets dispute between a manufacturer of stage and motion picture lighting systems and its employee.
Negotiated beneficial settlements in several cases in which companies were accused of trade secrets theft in situations involving hiring of employees of competitors.
Settled a lawsuit between a Japanese manufacturer and its former United States distributor arising out of the establishment of its own distribution system several days into a trial for a nominal sum significantly less than the prior demands.
Defended a Japanese manufacturer of basic infrastructure products against an anti-trust action brought by a United States competitor ending with a favorable settlement for the client.
Monte Carlo Shirt Corp. v. Daewoo Int’l (America) (9th Cir.) 707 F.2d 1054. Obtained an order for a new trial in a suit against a Korean manufacturer that sold dress shirts with the plaintiffs’ label intact after the plaintiff rejected a late Christmas order. The claim was for trademark infringement and other competitive torts as well as breach of contract. The order overturned a $4.6 million jury verdict and the order was upheld on appeal.
We were engaged by counsel for a company on a Thursday afternoon to review and conduct an analysis of a significant number of documents relating to financing which was about to be declared in default. We drafted a fraud complaint against the lender and employees of the lender by the end of Monday. The draft complaint was then used by the counsel to work out a favorable resolution of the alleged default for the client, thus permitting it to proceed with its project.
Monday, July 14, 2008
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