| |
About Our Firm
Attorneys at Jackson & Associates represent an academically
and socially diverse pool of talent. A number of our attorneys
have advanced degrees in areas other than the law and/or have
taught at law schools or at universities in California. More
generally, our team of professionals is entirely minority
or female; and various members of our staff speak foreign
languages, including Spanish.
Due to the exceptional experience of our attorneys, Jackson
& Associates can take cases from their inception through
mediation, trial and appeal, if needed. Samuel G. Jackson,
Jr. has tried well over 100 cases, and one of our associates
was a senior research attorney at California's Second District,
Court of Appeal for a number of years. This leaves us poised
to entertain almost any legal challenge in an effective and
efficient manner.
We have been particularly effective in narrowing lawsuits
and in reducing attendant damages through motions for summary
adjudication. We also actively pursue mediation or arbitration
whenever possible. In addition, Samuel G. Jackson, Jr., is
currently on the Special Employment Panel of the American
Arbitration Association.
Experienced Tort Claims Attorneys
Jackson & Associates has had substantial experience in
defending Fortune 500 corporations including Rockwell, Chrysler,
Borden, Monsanto, Shell Oil, Quaker Oats, Hershey, and the
insureds of virtually all major insurance carriers (e.g.,
Travelers, Aetna, State Farm, Kemper, and ITT Hartford) against
toxic tort and personal injury claims. In this regard, we
have defended matters involving severe personal injuries or
death. Although most of these matters were resolved by settlement
or arbitration, several cases have gone to trial.
In one such trial, involving a workplace fire and explosion
that resulted in injuries including post traumatic stress
disorder, Jackson & Associates defended the manufacturer
of a power tool that was alleged to have started the fire.
After a two-month trial, the jury returned a finding of no
liability on the part of our client. In another matter, Jackson
& Associates defended a major automobile manufacturer
on a defective seat belt claim. In that case, the plaintiff
claimed damages for severe bodily injuries, including a closed
head trauma and neuropsychological damage. After a several
week trial, the jury returned a defense verdict.
Besides corporate clients, Jackson & Associates also
has defended the Air Quality Management District in personal
injury and wrongful death cases. One such matter recently
went to trial on a claim of serious back injuries. After a
two-week trial, the jury awarded plaintiff only $25,000, despite
his counsel's final argument requesting in excess of $300,000.
In a third case, Jackson & Associates defended a major
aerospace contractor in a personal injury matter where the
plaintiff sustained severe back injuries that required ongoing
medical treatment. In this case, the jury returned a verdict
in favor of the plaintiff, but the award was only approximately
half of the pre-trial demand.
Jackson & Associates has also successfully settled toxic
tort cases for clients including Borden and Montsanto. One
such case involved a wrongful death claim that the decedent
had been exposed to a cocktail of chemical substance which
occasioned a relatively rare form of cancer and lead to his
death. Another case involved dozens of plaintiff's who alleged
their exposure to various film lab substances occasioned respiratory
dermatological and other serious ailments Each of these cases
was settled on our clients behalf for a modest sum.
Accomplished Environmental Litigation Lawyers
Real Estate Transactions/Soil and Ground Water Contamination/Asbestos
Contamination.
Jackson & Associates has considerable experience handling
matters involving contamination of real property - both soil
and groundwater contamination. We have handled numerous cases
involving contamination due to underground storage tanks for
gasoline and diesel, storage tanks for aviation fuel, bulk
storage facilities, and subsurface contamination of other
origins. Our experience includes all aspects of litigation
of these types of matters. We have worked with a variety of
environmental consultants through all phases of their assessment
and remediation activities. Additionally, we have used expert
appraisers to determine losses in value and business profits
that are caused by the contamination. A list of the various
consultants that we have used can be provided upon your request.
In addition, the firm has successfully litigated the following
matters; Sporn v. Chevron (dismissed on Motion for Summary
Judgment); Comstock v. Chevron Land & Development (settled
in trial); Thompson v. Chevron, Smull v. Chevron, Killingsworth,
et al. v. Chevron (all resolved in mediation). These cases
deal with varying statutory allegations under RCRA and CERCLA
as well as under California statutes such as the Hazardous
Substance Account Act, the Hazardous Waste Management Act,
the Aboveground Storage of Petroleum Act and the Porter-Cologne
Act.
When possible, Jackson & Associates tries to resolve
environmental matters through alternative dispute resolution.
Illustratively, we have successfully used privately retained
mediators to resolve environmental claims in which we represented
a major oil company. Also, we have successfully applied to
the California Underground Storage Tank Fund to recover costs
of remediation to help resolve a lawsuit.
Knowledgeable Eminent Domain Litigation Attorneys
Jackson & Associates has provided legal representation
and related services to the Community Redevelopment Agency
of the City of Los Angeles ("Agency") since 1993.
Our most significant accomplishments have resulted in saving
the Agency a total of $3,850,000 in potential liability. For
example in Kramer v. The Community Redevelopment Agency of
the City of Los Angeles, Case No. BC 075718 (an inverse condemnation
& consolidated direct condemnation matter), we successfully
defended against a claim of precondemnation damages in a legal
issues trial in which the owners sought $4 million. After
failing to obtain any recovery from the legal issues trial,
the owners sought $2.5 million in the valuation phase of the
litigation. We settled the valuation litigation on the eve
of trial for half the demand and within the Agency's budget.
Similarly, in The Community Redevelopment Agency of the City
of Los Angeles v. Worldwide Enterprises, Inc., Case No. BC
147261, we successfully defended against a claim for $2 million
in a valuation jury trial in which the subject property consisted
of a severely damaged 102 unit apartment building owned by
a notorious slum lord. We won a jury verdict for $850,000
that resulted in a right of recoupment for the Agency from
the owner.
Jackson & Associates also oversaw some two dozen cases
involving condemnation of properties related to the completion
of the Staples Center Sports Arena in the Central Business
District of the City of Los Angeles. In this connection, Jackson
& Associates created and maintained a case management
system for all the attorneys assigned to the LA Sports Arena
Litigation Team and prepared a set of uniform initial pleadings
for use by members of the team.
Currently, Jackson & Associates is working with the Agency,
the Environmental Affairs Department of the City of Los Angeles
and other City Agencies to convert economically underutilized
and contaminated properties into marketable parcels under
the Brownfields program. Jackson & Associates is also
working with private land owners to access Super Fund monies
for the clean up of gas station sites in various parts of
Los Angeles County. Private and public development of these
contaminated areas will help revitalize the commercial infrastructure
of a number of local communities. In this regard, Jackson
& Associates is assisting the City in property acquisition
and relocation of persons and businesses affected by condemnation
proceedings. Our firm is fully familiar with diverse appraisal
techniques and the valuing of goodwill and fixtures and equipment,
as well as of land. We are also experienced in the application
of land use regulations and with real property issues in both
state and federal court.
Skilled Employment Law Attorneys
Over the past several years, Jackson & Associates has
focused on employment law matters in both state and federal
courts. We have defended Safeway, Chevron, University of Southern
California, Prudential Insurance, The Hartford Insurance Co.,
Aetna Insurance, Travelers Insurance, Clorox, Kodak, General
Electric, Paccar Industries, State Farm Insurance, AT&T
and Walt Disney Pictures and Television, as well as others,
in a broad range of cases involving wrongful termination or
workplace discrimination and workplace violence.
Especially in the face of corporate restructuring and reductions
in force, allegations of discrimination and harassment are
not uncommon. Thus, in just the past few years, we have handled
charges of race, gender, nationality, age, pregnancy and disability
discrimination/harassment and attendant allegations of infliction
of emotional distress, negligent hiring and retention, and
defamation.
We have been particularly effective in narrowing these lawsuits
and in reducing the available damages by way of motions for
summary judgment, or, alternatively, for summary adjudication.
We also engage in mediation or arbitration whenever possible.
As a panelist for the Special Employment Panel of the American
Arbitration Association, Samuel G. Jackson, Jr., has arbitrated
and mediated cases involving such entities as hospitals, mortgage
companies, security organizations, a national chain of discount
stores, an internet cable TV company, a national seller of
automotive parts and an internationally renowned hotel chain.
Other of our activities involve giving seminars to lawyers
and the business community on the subject of workplace harassment
and discrimination. Thus, over the past several years, we
have conducted seminars for the Real Estate Section of the
State Bar of California, UCLA Extension and the California
Minority Counsel Program. All of these programs were approved
for Continuing Legal Education credit.
In addition to harassment and discrimination claims, we also
have done work representing employers like Hartford, Aetna
and Prudential Insurance Companies on contract claims, in
wage and hour disputes, and in obtaining corporate temporary
restraining orders and long term injunctions protecting their
employees from violent co-employees or third parties. We have
also represented a regional bank before the Unemployment Appeals
Board. Additionally, we have done consulting work on responses
to charges made before the Department of Fair Employment and
Housing and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. |
|