Real Estate Litigation

Greenberg Glusker has earned a reputation as one of Los Angeles’ most respected real estate law firms.  Our Real Estate Litigation Group plays a critical role in our renown. We work closely with our Firm’s transactional department to provide full service to our real estate clients.

The wide range of clients we represent includes residential and commercial developers, lenders, operators of golf courses, hotels and resorts, owners of office and shopping centers, tenants in office and retail properties, commercial and residential brokerage firms, title insurers, construction companies and real estate investors.

The Firm’s litigators prosecute and defend litigation involving contract, construction defect, environmental and landlord-tenant disputes.  We have particular success representing investors and developers in complex partnership disputes relating to the ownership and development of commercial and residential real estate projects.
   
In our eminent domain practice, we assist clients in responding to threatened takings of their real property interests by governmental and private entities that have threatened eminent domain.  Our efforts range from assisting property owners and tenants in preventing or limiting the scope of the taking, to maximizing both the compensation paid for the taking and our client’s share of the compensation.

Our Firm regularly handles both sides of issues in disputes involving real estate and land use.  We assist clients in either the defense of, or challenges to, the validity of legislation and governmental decisions.  Areas we advocate for clients in include land use entitlements and zoning, moratoriums, conditional use permits, variances, coastal development permits, subdivisions, design review, redevelopment projects, building permits, rent control regulations, development fees and restrictions, and leases of government land.  We are also able to advise and counsel clients in either defending or challenging the adequacy of project reviews under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Representative Experience

  • Successfully obtained a jury verdict of $8.2 million plus punitive damages for a real estate client against her former investment partner in a complex breach of contract case
  • Represented a real estate developer in obtaining a settlement in excess of $15 million on the eve of trial in a dispute with his partner and a major luxury resort operator over the ownership and redevelopment of the former Hotel Twin Dolphin in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
  • Obtained complete defense verdict after a multiweek trial on behalf of entities controlled by the Pritzker family in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit brought by SunAmerica arising out of a right of first refusal in connection with real estate investments.
  • Represented C. Preston Butcher and Legacy Partners in litigation against former partner Mack Pogue relating to disputes arising out of their complex "business divorce".
  • Represented Bridge Partners, the managing member of an interim owner of a large apartment complex. We defended an action by over 200 tenants and several cross-actions for indemnity by the subsequent owners for personal injuries and personal property damages.  The damages allegedly resulted from toxic mold caused by water intrusion purportedly arising out of construction defects and deficient property management.  We caused the client’s defense of the major actions to be undertaken by its insurer and continued to defend the client in the remaining actions, all of which were resolved by a favorable settlement.  We subsequently successfully defended against the insurer’s claim for allocation of the defense costs.
  • Defended Staples, Inc. in a claim, made by its former landlord, of breaches of the maintenance and improvement provisions of a store lease after vacating the leased premises. After a week-long bench trial, Staples prevailed and was awarded its attorneys fees.
  • Counseled The Racquet Club of Palm Springs and the other sellers of a historic hotel complex in the Palm Springs.  At issue was the defense of an action for specific performance and damages brought by the buyer after the buyer failed to close escrow timely in the purchase and sale of the property.  The seller terminated the sale. The buyer claimed breaches of the purchase and sale agreement and fraud, and the seller claimed that the buyer could not raise the funds necessary to close. We obtained an order expunging the buyer’s lis pendens, after which the seller resold the property to a third party and the action became limited to damages.  After a month-long bench trial, the court awarded judgment to our client, the seller.
  • Represented one of two partners who were principals in several mobile home parks, in multiple states, seeking judicial dissolution of what was alleged to be a partnership relationship.  Legal title to individual properties was held in various forms and the other partner refused to agree to unwind the relationship.  After extensive discovery proceedings in the action, which was commenced by the client seeking dissolution, there was an accounting, damages for breach of fiduciary duties and an order for a court-supervised audit. We finally settled the matter with a consensual dissolution arrangement.
  • Represented Paradise Cove, a mobile home park in Malibu, California in a rent control dispute with the City of Malibu. Also counseled the client on environmental issues relating to construction and installation of a sanitary sewer system to replace septic tanks and handled disputes with mobile home tenants.
  • Advised owner of the largest leasehold in King Harbor, Redondo Beach, California in disputes with the city related to the exercise of option to extend lease term and litigation for declaratory relief.
  • Successfully represented the International Commercial Bank of China, now MEGA International Commercial Bank, in litigation in California and Hawaii involving the attachment of, and foreclosure on, luxury beachfront residences in Hawaii.
  • After a court trial, obtained judgment against subsidiary of Tenet Healthcare for specific performance with respect to right of first refusal on medical office condominium units in medical office building in Santa Ana.
  • Represented a major Hollywood producer in obtaining $2.45 million settlement and a referee’s award in excess of $2 million resulting from construction defect claims against the general contractor and architects involved in the design and construction of a multimillion-dollar residence.
  • Successfully defended in the trial court, and on appeal, against a challenge to the City of Los Angeles’ approval of a variance allowing our client’s commercial development in a residential neighborhood.
  • Successfully represented the developer/operator of several assisted living facilities in dispute with partner over buy/sell provision in operating agreement that involved various related state court actions and arbitrations.
  • Represented a municipal airport sued by a terminated contractor for indemnity and damages based on claims of deficient plans and specifications and improper construction management. This action was originally brought against the contractor by its performance and payment bond surety and was settled favorably on the second day of trial.
  • Represented a community development agency in dealing with the developer of a multistory mixed-use redevelopment project under an owner participation agreement. Disputed issues included that the projected completion date of the project was substantially delayed several times and the funding available to the participant was materially insufficient to complete the project. The agency negotiated a workout arrangement with the substituted manager of the participant, requiring the participant to inject substantial additional funds towards completion.
  • In a civil rights case against the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Carson and the city’s former mayor, we obtained a jury verdict of over a million dollars. The jury found that the agency rejected our client’s redevelopment project because he refused to pay a bribe.
  • In ground lease interpretation litigation against the City of Redondo Beach, we obtained a settlement that resulted in resolution of nearly all disputed issues in favor of our client, the operator of a large marina in Redondo Beach Harbor.
  • Successfully defended in the Superior Court and on appeal against a challenge, on CEQA and zoning grounds, to the approval by the City of Los Angeles of a variance allowing our client’s commercial development in a residential neighborhood.
  • Successfully defended in the Superior Court and on appeal against a challenge, on CEQA and zoning grounds, to the approval by the California Coastal Commission of a coastal development permit for our client’s mixed-use development.
  • In an eminent domain case brought by Caltrans involving it taking a pylon sign to enlarge a freeway off ramp and a portion of the sign owned by our client, we worked with other aligned property owners in obtaining dismissal of the case because of Caltrans’ failure to comply with statutory notice requirements.
  • In an eminent domain case brought by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Board to take land used by our client’s big-box retail operation, we used the leverage of a challenge to the agency’s right to take the property to obtain a settlement reducing to insignificance the amount of our client’s land being taken. We also imposed work rules on the agency that eliminated any adverse impact of the agency’s construction work on our client’s operations.
  • In an eminent domain case brought by a pipeline utility, we used the leverage of a challenge to the utility’s right to take the property to obtain a settlement imposing work rules that eliminated any adverse impact of the utility’s construction work on our client’s operations.
  • In a dispute with the City of Indio, with regard to a water project’s fees that would have severely impacted our clients’ undeveloped land, we filed judicial challenges to the project that resulted in a settlement granting significant development rights to our clients.
  • In an action brought by the City of Culver City seeking to terminate oil and gas leases burdening a city park, we successfully resisted the oil company’s motion for summary judgment on grounds that induced the oil company to settle on a basis favorable to the city.
  • Represented a homeowner defrauded into buying a house with serious leaking problems. When the rains came and caused nearly $1 million in damage to the house, her insurance company denied coverage. We sued the insurance company for bad faith and the broker for fraud.  We ultimately obtained settlements totaling more than $1.3 million.

For more information, please contact Lee A. Dresie, Chair of Greenberg Glusker's Litigation Group.