Regarding his tort defense specialization, last year John published an article titled “The California Government Claims Act: a Primer; Application to Real Property and Environmental Law Claims; and Recent California Supreme Court Decisions,” which was published in the Joint Issue of the Public Law Journal (Vol. 43, No. 3), California Real Property Journal (Vol. 38, No. 3), and Environmental Law News (Vol. 29, No. 2), Summer-Fall 2020.
Silver & Wright LLP is known for its trusted legal services regarding municipal support, nuisance abatement, and receiverships. But the firm’s expertise goes beyond plaintiff-based code enforcement law thanks to partner John Fujii and his litigation defense team.
John, who has been practicing law for over 25 years, specializes in civil rights defense suits involving public entities (such as cities and police and sheriff’s departments) and public employees (such as code enforcement officers, police officers, or city staff), and also tort defense*.
Some of the team’s most recent victories include Patricia Damits v. County of San Bernardino, U.S. Central District Case Number 2:17-cv-08620, a case involving jail suicide in which the County’s motion to dismiss was granted with leave to amend, but the plaintiff chose not to amend the case; Narenda Sharma v. City of Redding, U.S. Eastern District Case Number 2:19-cv-00601 in which the City of Redding’s motion to dismiss the case was granted without leave to amend; Linda Arberry v. City of Duarte, Los Angeles Superior Court Case Number BC672132 in which the City’s anti-SLAPP motion was granted and the City was awarded its prevailing party attorney’s fees and costs; and Nathanael Pickett II v. County of San Bernardino, San Bernardino Superior Court Case Number CIVDS1618482, a wrongful death case in which a County volunteer’s demurrer was granted without leave to amend (with a tentative opinion by the Court of Appeal is to reject plaintiff’s appeal).
While constitutional law is constantly evolving, the Silver & Wright LLP litigation defense team stays up to date with new developments, something John notes is critical, particularly in this practice area. He also highlights the decades of combined experience between the attorneys on his team, including their extensive appellate practice in the state courts of appeal, the California Supreme Court, and the Ninth Circuit.
We want to ensure our clients are obtaining the best possible representation. Between the other attorneys and me, we have more than 50 years of combined experience in this area of law, not to mention the research capability to remain ahead of the curve in regard to evolving issues.
Partner John Fujii
While some clients come to John’s team specifically for their defense work, the firm also stresses the benefit of this practice area to its existing clients. While a public entity may have called upon Silver & Wright LLP for plaintiff-based services, such as nuisance abatement and receiverships, those same public entities may experience a need for defense should an unhappy code enforcement violator decide to file a lawsuit.
The municipal agencies who have turned to Silver & Wright to support their code enforcement efforts also can turn to me to defend those officers and employees facing retaliatory lawsuits from violators. We offer not only prosecutorial resources but also defense support.
Partner John Fujii
To learn more about Silver & Wright LLP’s range of services, please visit our services page.