Rebuilding LA:
The Daily Journal's fire coverage portal
Judicial Profile
Judge Mark Hanasono prepares for appellate bench with reluctance and anticipation
MCLE
Rebuilding after wildfire means knowing the tax rules
Wildfire victims may be able to reduce, delay, or avoid p...
By Alex Z. Brown, Robert W. WoodThe Supreme Court's dismissal of Labcorp v. Davis
In a closely watched case that could have drastically res...
By Brian Danitz, Vasti MontielSection 998: The high-stakes settlement strategy you need to know
California Code of Civil Procedure Section 998 shifts cos...
By Peter R. Boutin, Tara Leuenberger, Christopher A. Stecher
Today's News
Government, Criminal
Legislature approves $110M for Prop 36 amid report on retail theft trends
By Malcolm Maclachlan
A new legislative report shows retail theft has increased modestly in recent years, especially in large urban counties--though rates remain far below their 1...
Torts/Personal Injury, Civil Litigation
Insurers sue over defective fire system flood in SF building
By James Twomey
Two insurers are suing fire suppression system installers for $100 million, alleging a defective design caused a 2022 flood at a San Francisco apartment buil...
Civil Litigation
Google sues to block global takedown order from Brazilian court
By Skyler Romero
Google files U.S. lawsuit to block Brazil's order for global removal of YouTube videos alleging LATAM employee child harassment, citing free speech violation...
State Bar & Bar Associations
Former San Bernardino DA agrees to 6-month suspension for misconduct in development dispute
By Douglas Saunders Sr.
The case stems from a yearslong legal and political battle over land rights, a $102 million settlement, and allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
Criminal, California Supreme Court, California Courts of Appeal
State Supreme Court to decide if speedy trial demand from jail was valid
By Craig Anderson
The case could settle a longstanding conflict among appellate courts over how Penal Code Section 1381 applies when a defendant has not yet been physically tr...
LA Fires, Civil Litigation
State Farm faces probe over wildfire claims handling
By Antoine Abou-Diwan
California's insurance regulator investigates State Farm's handling of January wildfire claims, amid concerns over underpayments and delays, potentially sett...
Columns
Technology, Insurance
Will insurance coverage be kicked to the curb for state-sponsored cyberattacks?
By Richard DeNatale
As state-sponsored cyberattacks grow more disruptive, insurers are expanding the War Exclusion to deny coverage even in peacet...
The libel-proof plaintiff
By Lee S. Brenner, Casie M. Orellana
Who can't recover for defamation even though they may have been libeled?
Technology, Intellectual Property
Why AI's use of shadow libraries should alarm us all
By Margaux Poueymirou, Maxwell V. Pritt
For $100,000 in crypto, Anna's Archive is offering AI companies high-speed access to 140 million pirated books and articles--f...
Verdicts & Settlements
| Elder Abuse | Lois J. Phillips, James Abb... | $10,000,000 |
| Hostile Work Environment | Ashley Cummins v. The City ... | $10,000,000 |
| Auto v. Auto | Regino Gomez-Garcia v. Glad... | $8,569,756 |
| Unlawful Disposition of Hazardous Waste | The People of the State of ... | $7,500,000 |
| Defamation | Curtis Heffernan v. Ignite ... | $6,500,000 |
| Auto v. Motorcycle | Thereon McDaniel v. Redwood... | $5,300,000 |
| Hostile Work Environment | Lindsay Knott v. Birdwell C... | $3,680,000 |
| Premises Liability | Victoria Barbara v. Stater ... | $1,741,484 |
| Wage and Hour | Vance Coar, individually, a... | $1,250,000 |
| Negligence | Alejandro Alonso v. City of... | $1,000,000 |
On the Move
Nicolaides Fink Thorpe Michaelides Sullivan LLP
Christopher T. Hicks joined Nicolaides Fink Thorpe Michaelides Sullivan LLP as an associate in La Jolla. The move was Jun. 9, 2025.
Details
Nicolaides Fink Thorpe Michaelides Sullivan LLP has 88 attorneys in 6 offices including San Francisco; Los Angeles; San Diego. Among the law firm’s key practice areas are Insurance Coverage. The firm’s website is nicolaidesllp.com
Address
4225 Executive Square, Suite 1250 , La Jolla California 92037 USA
T:
(858) 257-0700
F:
(858) 257-0701
Featured Content
The art of storytelling at trial requires that we, as trial lawyers, know not just the facts of the case but our clients' hope...
There is a time and place for everything--including a time to mediate an insurance coverage or bad faith claim.
Eight key factors that make early mediation a valuable tool in civil cases
Community News
Judge Allison Westfahl Kong, Judicial Appointments Secretary and honoree Luis Céspedes and Judge E. Carlos Dominguez
L.A. County Superior Court Criminal Division Supervising judge Yvette Verastegui, Judge Latrice A.G. Byrdsong, Judge Thomas Rubinson, Judge Jessica C. Kronstadt, Judge Wendy Segall and Commissioner Karine Mkrtchyan
L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and Judge Drew E. Edwards
Steven M. Sepassi, ADR Services Inc. Mediator, Armenian Bar Association Board of Governors vice chair Steven J. Dadaian of Encino and Lucie Barron, ADR Services Inc. founder and president
Commissioner Kjehl T. Johansen and Commissioner Paul Bruguera
Judge Cathy J. Ostiller and Judge Linda L. Sun
Judge Virginia Keeny and Commissioner Karine Mkrtchyan
(Ret.) Judge Paul A. Bacigalupo of ADR Services Inc. and Judge Connie R. Quiñones
Judge Rupert A. Byrdsong, Judge Mary Ann Murphy and Judge David V. Herriford
Judge Randolph M. Hammock, Commissioner Karine Mkrtchyan, Judge Scott J. Nord and (Ret.) Judge Greg Keosian
Deputy Public Defender Vera Koulian and Judge Victor Avila
Judge Jerry B. Marshak, Commissioner Karin Borzakian and Judge Louis T. Parise Jr.
Judge Lauren A.R. Lofton, Judge Steven P. Pfahler and Judge Brock T. Hammond
Beatriz P. Flores of Santa Barbara and Judge Robert B. Broadbelt
Judge Deborah A. Horowitz and Judge David E. Hizami
2nd District Court Justice Gonzalo Martinez; Leonel Armenta, law student and paralegal at Law Offices of Gerard V. Kassabian; and Commissioner Amir Ahanorov
Judicial Appointments Secretary and honoree Luis Céspedes and his wife, Laurrel Montoya Céspedes
Narine Mkrtchyan of Glendale and Marina Samson of Ivie McNeill Wyatt Purcell & Diggs
Judge Michael D. Weinstein, M. Anthony Brown of Spertus Landes & Josephs LLP, Judge Ryan D. White, Judge Cathy J. Ostiller and Judge Rupert A. Byrdsong
Judge Shelley L. Kaufman and Deputy Public Defender Mary M. Dolmadjian
Orange County Judges Olga Giller and Isabel Apkarian
ADR Services Inc.'s advertising manager Seepan Yekanian and Lucie Barron, founder and president
Commissioner Amir Ahanorov, Judge Michael P. Pulos and Judge Isabel Apkarian
Judge Jerry B. Marshak, Judge Michael R. Amerian and Commissioner Amir Ahanorov
Judge Joel L. Lofton, Gerard V. Kassabian of Sherman Oaks and (Ret.) Judge Stephanie Bowick
2nd District Court Justice Elwood G. Lui, Associate Justice Martin J. Jenkins, honorees Associate Justice Joshua P. Groban and Judicial Appointments Secretary Luis Céspedes, and Judge Rupert A. Byrdsong
Judge Robert B. Broadbelt, Judicial Appointments Secretary and honoree Luis Céspedes, Judge Elizabeth L. Bradley and Commissioner Karine Mkrtchyan
Commissioner Karine Mkrtchyan, (Ret.) Judge Suzanne G. Bruguera, Judge Lucy Armendariz, Judge Linda L. Sun and Judge Wendy Segall
Commissioner Karine Mkrtchyan, Armenian Bar Association’s Chairwoman of the Board of Governors Lucy Verpetian, Judge Gabriela D. Shapiro and Judge Armenui A. Ashvanian
L.A. Superior Court research attorney Sam G. Bruguera, (Ret.) Judge Suzanne Bruguera, Armenian Bar Association’s Chairwoman of the Board of Governors Lucy Verpetian and Commissioner Paul Bruguera
Armenian Bar Association’s Chairwoman of the Board of Governors Lucy Verpetian, Golden State Bank’s Elsy Attarian and Janet Vartanian (Relationship Bankers) and Harout Boudoukian (Head of Deposits)
Judge Adan Montalban and Judge Lucy Armendariz
Judge Michael D. Weinstein and Judge Richard S. Kemalyan
Razmig Sarkissian of Los Angeles and (Ret.) Judge Zaven V. Sinanian of Signature Resolution
Storm Palyan LLP’s Darius A. Vosylius, Anthony D. Palyan, Steven V. Matossian, Tigran Palyan and Agnessa Arutunyan (firm administrator)
Carpenter & Zuckerman’s Edward A. Cherkezian and Edward Hovannisian, Hovsep Trdatyan of Trdatyan Law Firm and Michael G. Geragos of Carpenter & Zuckerman
Law school students Hasmik Manucharyan and Fenia Hakobyan
Deputy Public Defenders Gegam P. Petrosyan and Mary M. Dolmadjian, Suzy S. Marjanian of Koletsky Mancini Feldman LLP and Knarik Boyadzhyan of Virtue Recovery Center
Judge Gabriela D. Shapiro, Judge E. Carlos Dominguez, L.A. County Assisting Presiding Judge Ricardo R. Ocampo, Commissioner Karine Mkrtchyan, Judge Jana M. Seng, Judge Terrance T. Lewis, Judge Armenui A. Ashvanian, Judge Jessica C. Kronstadt and Judge Lauren A.R. Lofton
Judge Lucy Armendariz and Judge E. Carlos Dominguez
Gideon Kracov of ADR Services and Kahren Harutyunyan of Balaban & Spielberger LLP
Co-Chair of the Armenian Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Committee Ara R. Jabagchourian of San Mateo, his wife Lori Jabagchourian, and Judge Mark C. Kim
Judge Armenui A. Ashvanian presenting the honors to California Supreme Court Associate Justice Joshua P. Groban, and Armenian Bar Association’s Chairwoman of the Board of Governors Lucy Verpetian (center)
Armenian Board of Governors Armen K. Hovannisian of Sherman Oaks, Judicial Appointments Secretary and honoree Luis Céspedes, Judge Martin J. Jenkins and Armenian Bar Association’s Chairwoman of the Board of Governors Lucy Verpetian
Judge Ruth A. Kwan and Deputy Judicial Appointments Secretary Adam W. Hoffman
Judge Michael R. Amerian presenting the honors to 2nd District Court of Appeal Justice Helen Zukin, and Armenian Bar Association's Chairwoman of the Board of Governors Lucy Verpetian
Maro Burunsuzyan of Glendale, Mariya Melkonyan of Glendale, Svetlana Darbinyan of Law Offices of Andrew Zeytuntsyan and Ani Nalbandian of Burbank
Garo Mardirossian of Los Angeles, Sevana Shaverdian, Artin N. Shaverdian and Lloyd W. Pellman of Nossaman LLP
2nd District Court of Appeal Justice and honoree Helen Zukin and Judge Elizabeth L. Bradley
Judicial Appointments Secretary and honoree Luis Céspedes and 2nd District Court of Appeals nominated Judge Armen Tamzarian
Appointments Secretary Luis Céspedes, California Supreme Court Justice Josh Groban, and 2nd District Court of Appeal Justice Helen Zukin were recognized at the sold-out event.
Daily Appellate Report
Civil Procedure
Water Audit California v. Merced Irrigation District
Plaintiff's writ petition was timely because allegations regarding defendant's ongoing violations of fishway statutes fell within the continuous violation doctrine.
Workers' Compensation
DPR Construction v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd.
Workers' Compensation Appeals Board exceeded its powers by admitting medical reports that were not listed in the pretrial conference statement.
Civil Procedure
Citizens for a Better Eureka v. City of Eureka
Citizen group's failure to add developer in California Environmental Quality Act lawsuit against City's redevelopment project to turn unused parking lot to affordable housing was cause fo...
Criminal Law and Procedure, Constitutional Law
People v. Lewis
Issuance of involuntary antipsychotic medication order without a full evidentiary hearing did not violate defendant's procedural due process rights.
Criminal Law and Procedure
Rivers v. Guerrero
Petition filed after district court has entered judgment on an initial habeas petition but before appeal is resolved qualifies as a successive petition and must satisfy AEDPA's requirements.