Practice Areas / Public Entity
Hardiman & Carroll’s public entity practice involves a wide range of complex construction, personal injury, insurance and inverse condemnation cases. The firm’s lawyers have handled numerous matters on behalf of cities, counties and school districts through mediations, summary judgment and trial. The firm has also handled writ proceedings and appeals for public entities.
The firm works towards creative and cost-effective solutions, keeping in mind the paramount importance of controlling litigation costs in this era of shrinking public budgets. In every case, the firm’s lawyers stay in close touch with our clients regarding litigation costs. We seek out opportunities for early, creative resolution of cases, through strong summary judgment motions, mediation and constant communication with opposing counsel.
Representative Matters
Michael Hardiman began his representation of public entities in 1983, diving into a water and property rights dispute involving the Bolinas Public Utility District. Michael successfully defeated the constitutional and civil rights claims as reflected in published decisions within the Lockary v. Kayfetz litigation. Michael has continued to counsel and represent public entities in insurance coverage, property rights, constitutional, construction and employment disputes.
Dolores Bastian Dalton is a trained mediator for the California Courts of Appeal for the First, Third and Sixth Districts. She has mediated cases involving catastrophic tort claims against counties and school districts. She has regularly litigated complex excess and self-insured retention issues in insurance disputes involving public entities. As former Chair of the City of Albany’s Planning Commission, she worked with the City in completing a comprehensive revision to Albany’s Zoning Ordinance. She is the author of San Francisco’s Residential Rezoning: Architectural Controls in Central City Neighborhoods, 13 U.S.F.L.Rev. 945.
Ken Litton represented the City and County of San Francisco in a personal injury case involving an injury that occurred at San Francisco International Airport. Plaintiff demanded $350,000 in settlement. Ken’s investigative efforts and cross-examination of medical experts in this complicated cervical spine case resulted in a settlement on the eve of trial for $29,000. The plaintiff flight attendant claimed that while entering an elevator at SFO, she was pinned between the elevator’s closing doors. In a videotaped cross-examination of plaintiff’s expert neurosurgeon, Ken elicited testimony supporting the defense position that the mechanics of the claimed elevator accident were not consistent with the injury. After that testimony, a settlement was quickly negotiated.
Lauren Winston represented the City of Millbrae in an inverse condemnation lawsuit involving a failure in a home’s foundation, allegedly caused by the City’s replacement of a buried sewer trench. Plaintiffs claimed that the City’s trench work within the easement, the placement of the sewer line and the City’s actual replacement of the line caused settlement of the home and cracking and failure of the perimeter foundation, requiring that the foundation be repaired and the house re-leveled. Plaintiffs also claimed that the sewer line, which ran outside the easement and under the perimeter foundation of the home, had diminished the value of the property. Lauren oversaw a detailed investigation of plaintiffs’ claims and discovered that the long-term subsidence to plaintiffs’ residence was solely due to construction of the home on poorly compacted fill and long-term subsurface waterflow. Based upon her investigation, Lauren was able to negotiate a favorable settlement for the City well before trial.
Wendy Schenk recently represented a Bay Area County in defense of a lawsuit arising out of the County’s operation of a substance abuse rehabilitation facility. Plaintiff claimed that he suffered a lumbar spine fracture when he fell down a newly remodeled staircase when exiting the facility to smoke a cigarette. Plaintiff brought a lawsuit against the County, its architect and the general contractor, asserting claims for negligent maintenance, failure to warn and liability for dangerous conditions of public property. Plaintiff demanded payment for an expensive spinal surgery, loss of earning capacity and a huge amount for pain and suffering. Discovery revealed that the staircase had a code-compliant handrail and skid-resistant surfacing. The County also asserted the defense of governmental immunity. At mediation, Wendy was able to persuade plaintiff to dismiss his claims against the County and the general contractor in exchange for a payment of $15,000 and the right to return to the facility.