Contract Disputes & Fiduciary Litigation

Pestotnik LLP attorneys have a wide range of experience prosecuting and defending breach of contract actions (oral or written), and claims alleging fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, failure to pay partnership capital calls, professional negligence, accounting irregularities, negligence, corporate waste, RICO claims, and related disputes, both in court and in arbitration. We have defended a variety of professional liability actions against lawyers, accountants, pension trustees, real estate brokers, and others.

Minority Shareholder v. Directors

In a derivative action brought by a minority shareholder against officers and directors of a biomedical research institute alleging various breaches of fiduciary duties, we filed a motion for summary judgment on behalf of our client and the case resolved shortly thereafter with our client paying nothing.

Stone Canyon Venture Partners, LP v. Paul Orfalea

Our firm represented the plaintiff partnership in obtaining over $10 million in settlement (while our motion for summary judgment was pending). This partnership action was brought against 6 limited partners, and we recovered 100% of the funds our client was owed, plus interest.

Herman v. Crosswater Financial Corp., et al.; and Faith v. KPMG, et al.

Pestotnik LLP was co-counsel for Tremont Group Holdings, Inc. and related entities in lawsuits filed in San Diego Superior Court arising out of the Ponzi scheme and securities fraud masterminded by Bernard L. Madoff, and his firm Madoff Securities.

DRS Trading Company, Inc. v. Barnes

Pestotnik LLP represented DRS Trading Company, Inc. at trial in a business fraud action in Orange County Superior Court. After trial, the Court entered judgment in favor of our client DRS and awarded the full amount of damages sought by DRS, which exceeded $1 million. The entire judgment was later affirmed on appeal.

In re PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. Shareholder Litigation

Pestotnik LLP was co-counsel for Texas Pacific Group who, along with defendant Leonard Green Partners, purchased all of PETCO’s public stock in a leveraged buy-out. Plaintiffs, represented by the Coughlin Stoia law firm, sought a preliminary injunction to prevent the shareholders from voting on the acquisition. Pestotnik LLP was part of the defense team that successfully defeated plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction, and the shareholders then voted to approve the acquisition. Our clients were ultimately dismissed with prejudice, and paid nothing.

Raduenz v. Awesome Automations, Inc.

We represented a Del Mar homeowner whose contractor put an improper lien on their residence after what the client claimed was poor, incompetent, and incomplete work. Not only did we get the lien removed promptly, but through litigation, we also got a refund of the majority of all the money paid to the contractor and the homeowner kept all the equipment.

Palacios v. Billing Concepts, Inc.

Our lawyers represented Billing Concepts, Inc., a long distance billing service provider, which was sued in a class action alleging fraud in connection with collect telephone calls placed from Mexico. With our motion attacking class certification pending, plaintiffs settled the case for a nominal amount, a tiny fraction of what was sought.

Mandleberg v. USLD Communications

Our lawyers’ motion to dismiss was granted in favor of our Texas-based telecommunications client, USLD Communications, in a federal court lawsuit. We successfully argued that the plaintiff’s claims were all preempted by federal law.

Bevco v. Maizoro, S.A.

Our lawyers obtained complete dismissals of a large Mexican corporate client and its officers in a federal court action on the grounds of lack of personal jurisdiction.

Client v. Law Firm

Pestotnik LLP represented a defendant law firm in a complex legal malpractice action with damage allegations over $14 million related to a series of real estate transactions, tax filings, and resulting multi-party litigation.  We negotiated a very favorable early settlement for our client even though others had to face a lengthy arbitration.