Tort Law - Selected Cases

Personal Injury

Leeson v. Steuart Street Ventures
San Francisco Superior Court (1997)

The firm represented a doctor and his wife in winning a $2.2 million jury verdict for being assaulted by security personnel at Harry Denton's Bar & Grill, a popular San Francisco Financial District establishment, including both compensatory and punitive damages. Phillips, Erlewine & Given LLP successfully demonstrated that the doctor had suffered a substantial, debilitating back injury as a result of the assault. The case was followed by numerous media outlets including The Recorder and The San Francisco Chronicle.

Davis v. McLaney
Los Angeles Superior Court (1994)

Nick Carlin of the firm obtained a jury award of almost $700,000 against a negligent building owner for a Hollywood actor/director who was injured when a defectively-maintained second story balcony railing gave way and he fell to the ground.

Civil Rights Actions

Canatella v. California State Bar
2007WL 1296871 (9th Cir. 2007)

The firm defended the California State Bar, its president and general counsel in a civil rights action filed by an attorney alleging that his state bar discipline had been misrepresented on the State Bar website, successfully obtaining dismissal of the case by way of summary judgment on statute of limitations grounds.

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment, holding in a matter of first impression that the single publication rule applies to alleged defamatory statements contained on websites, even where the website has changed its URL.

For a copy of the published Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision affirming the case's dismissal, click here.