BUSINESS & CIVIL LITIGATION
The firm represents various business and individual clients in a variety of civil litigation disputes. Some examples:
Land Developer
The firm was part of a team of attorneys representing a plaintiff land developer in a multi-million dollar dispute between the developer and his former business partners. The suit alleged breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, fraud and interference with economic opportunity, amongst other claims. The litigation was settled for a sum in the eight figures, after substantial pre-trial discovery revealed collusion between the defendants and others, all designed to destroy the interest our client to a unique and highly profitable business opportunity.
Strawberry Grower
The firm represented a strawberry grower in his claim that a pest control advisor had negligently failed to properly monitor and treat the grower's crop which was thereafter significantly injured by mite predators. This case was ultimately settled in the client's favor for an amount of money unprecedented in Monterey County pest control litigation.
Seed Development Corporation
The firm represented a large agribusiness entity in federal court in connection with a dispute with a competitor firm over alleged breaches of a settlement agreement. The firm won an important federal court ruling relieving the client of any responsibility for the alleged breaches of the settlement agreement and entitling the client to an award of its attorneys fees and costs in defending the action.
Disinherited Heir
The firm recently settled a case where our client had been disinherited in a family dispute over real property in the Salinas Valley valued at over $4 million. Based on the work of the firm, our client's share of the estate went from just over 2% to over 36%, a difference of over $1.5 million.
PERSONAL INJURY AND MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Mr. Biegel and the firm have represented injured plaintiffs in negligence, medical malpractice and product liability actions which resulted in settlements or verdicts in excess of $15 million. Some examples:
Wrongful Death On Highway
Mr. Biegel represented a surviving spouse and three surviving children of a truck driver killed in an auto versus truck collision on Highway 101 north of Salinas. In subsequent litigation against the driver of the automobile for her negligence and against the State of California for faulty roadway design and maintenance, the matter was settled for $1.75 million. Shortly after the settlement, the State of California spent over $1.5 million to change the design of the roadway.
Wrongful Death of Witness
Mr. Biegel filed a wrongful death action against the County of Monterey and the City of Seaside based upon their release of the name of an informant in an important homicide matter. The informant was killed as a result of the defendants' disclosure and the family of the informant sought compensation for their loss. Neither the County nor City of Seaside offered to pay compensation. Mr. Biegel won a jury verdict which ordered them to do so.
Medical Malpractice
In the most substantial medical malpractice case in Monterey County in recent history, the firm represented the wife of a college student who suffered irreversible brain damage after undergoing surgery to repair a torn esophagus. The case involved a number of defendants and Mr. Biegel worked side by side with a Newport Beach medical malpractice specialist, who was representing the injured spouse, to settle the case for almost $3 million for the two plaintiffs.
Dental Malpractice
Mr. Biegel represented a young woman who developed a cancer in her lower jaw. Unfortunately, her treating dentist failed to diagnose the growth, even though he had an X-ray which clearly showed its presence. Had the dentist noted the cancer and referred her immediately to a specialist, a relatively minor surgical procedure could have solved the problem. Instead, when the growth was finally discovered, a substantial surgery was required in which the client's lower jawbone had to be replaced with a portion of her tibia. The case was settled, just prior to trial, for a substantial six figure amount.
Traffic Accidents
The firm represented two off duty police officers who were injured when their vehicle was hit by an eighteen wheel tractor trailer on Highway 5 in Stanislaus County. When the defendant's insurance company offered no money whatsoever to settle the case, Mr. Biegel tried the case to a Stanislaus County jury and obtained a substantial verdict which was paid within 30 days of its rendition.
The firm has represented scores of clients involved in traffic accidents in which significant injuries were sustained as a result of the fault of another individual or business entity. Jury verdicts and settlements in the hundreds of thousands of dollars have been collected for these injured clients.
CRIMINAL LAW
The firm handles criminal matters from homicides, sexual assaults, white collar crimes, to driving under the influence charges in both state and federal courts. Recently, Mr. Biegel was involved in the defense of a capital murder case, the jury trial of which lasted over six weeks. Over his 35 years of trial practice, Mr. Biegel has defended two of the largest and most noteworthy Monterey County homicide prosecutions, as well as represented multiple clients charged with commercial and white collar crimes. The firm has also successfully represented persons charged with various driving under the influence offenses, felony and misdemeanor, including persons from out of state who were charged with such offenses while visiting Monterey County. Mr. Biegel has also defended various individuals in state and federal courts outside Monterey County, including in the states of Utah, Texas, and New Jersey, as well as in courts throughout the State of California.
Recently, Mr. Biegel was successful in defending a public school teacher charged with five counts of child molestation. A jury acquitted the client of all charges.
Also, recently, Mr. Biegel defended a real estate and mortgage broker accused of elder financial abuse. Originally charged with thirteen felonies, the matter proceeded to a jury trial during which two of the counts were dismissed by the trial judge and the defendant was found not guilty by the jury of the remaining eleven felony counts.
Most recently, Mr. Biegel defendant a juvenile who was accused of vehicular murder while driving under the influence. She was on probation for an earlier driving under the influence offense at the time of a terrible automobile collision in which two persons were killed. With heavy media attention, the Monterey County District Attorney's Office sought to have the juvenile tried as an adult which would have resulted in a life sentence. The firm worked diligently on our minor client's behalf and was able to convince a Monterey County Superior Court Judge that the minor was a fit subject for Juvenile Court, and thus was able to avoid such a drastic result for the minor.
PUBLIC SCHOOL LAW
For approximately 25 years, Mr. Biegel and his associates have been retained by California's largest teachers union, the California Teachers Association, in connection with allegations of misconduct or other employment related matters affecting its members. The firm has also done work for teacher-members of the California Federation of Teachers on an as needed basis.
Most recently, the firm was successful in securing reinstatement for a CTA teacher who was wrongfully terminated and we were able to obtain a court judgment for that client in an amount exceeding $400,000.
