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Civil Appeals and Motions in California and Nationwide (Federal)
As a California appeals lawyer, I handle civil appeals statewide in California and federal appeals across the nation. I prepare appellate briefs, amicus curiae briefs, petitions for writ of mandate, requests for other relief, and motions. I also orally argue the cases before the various courts. I have a lengthy and varied background in many areas of civil litigation. I am able and willing to prosecute and defend civil appeals in the following areas, among others:
General Civil Litigation and Insurance Coverage/Bad Faith Litigation: From 1978 to 1995 I was an associate, and then a participating partner, at a major Los Angeles insurance defense firm, Stockdale and Peckham, representing insureds of major insurance carriers, and often representing the carriers themselves. I was the chief appellate attorney at the firm’s Los Angeles office. I also prepared numerous motions, and oppositions to motions, involving complex and often novel issues. I litigated construction defect, personal injury, toxic exposure, motor vehicle liability, premises liability, defamation, products liability, governmental tort liability, civil rights, and many other types of cases. I also handled a number of insurance coverage matters involving construction defect issues; auto insurance coverage matters, including underinsured motorist coverage; comprehensive, general liability coverage issues, including “personal injury” coverage; “carrier vs. carrier” reallocation matters; bad faith claims; etc. (See citations for representative cases of Kolender v. Lawson, Quintano v. Mercury Cas. Co., Midland Ins. Co. v. Commercial Standard Ins. Co., et al.) Bankruptcy Case Motions: I prepare motions and appeals on behalf of creditors to lift stays in bankruptcy cases, to object to the discharge of particular claims, to object to the discharge in general on the grounds of fraud, and to challenge particular claims of exemption.
Commercial Law: I have represented plaintiffs on appeal in products liability cases. I have also represented plaintiffs on appeal in complex business litigation involving an effort to establish a nationwide business franchise empire; this matter also included claims under the federal securities laws. (see citations to Jeanne Piaubert, S.A., et al., v. MacIntosh; and Jeanne Piaubert, S.A. et al. v. Sefrioui; in representative cases). My work in the Sefrioui matter included preparation of a petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. In another matter I successfully represented two Bank of America account holders whose entire deposits had been wrongfully seized under a purported claim of offset (see citation to Sobremonte v. Superior Court in representative cases). Last year I tried a jury case on behalf of a plaintiff who alleged fraud committed by the seller of an automobile; the jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff on all theories. (see citation to Ward v. Alvarez, representative cases). Administrative Law: I have handled employment discrimination and retaliation matters, including on appeal. I was very involved in litigating on behalf of government physicians against the U.S. Department of Veterans affairs when DVA attempted illegally to “downsize” its physician staff by conducting reductions in force without cause. I represented one physician, both as a party and as an amicus curiae, in 7 different forums over a period of 6 years, arguing that the downsizings were illegal. Dr. Von Zemenszky was another physician from another part of the country, who was represented by another attorney. The legal issue came to a head in 2002 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the case of James v. Von Zemenszky. Because of my extensive appellate experience, and my extensive experience with discovery in other forums involving litigation of the legal issues, the attorney for Dr. Von Zemenszky and I agreed that I would prepare the respondent's brief, as well as the amicus curiae brief of my own client, that I would divide the legal arguments between the two briefs, and that the legal position of the physicians would be presented to the court in this manner. After I wrote the briefs, Dr. Von Zemenszky’s attorney did minor editing by re-wording sentences of the respondent's brief. The Federal Circuit accepted all the arguments I made, and the litigation resulted in a complete victory for the physicians, James v. Von Zemenszky, 284 F.3d 1310 (Fed. Cir. 2002) and 301 F.2d 1364 (2002). This litigation provides a good example of how well I work with other attorneys. I consider James v. Von Zemenszky to be one of the most significant victories of my legal career. (see representative cases).
Constitutional Law: I have been heavily involved in litigation in the civil rights arena. I have assisted other counsel representing plaintiffs in a number of 42 U.S.C. sec. 1983 police misconduct cases, including four years of work on the infamous LAPD Rampart scandal. One of these matters involved the highly topical issue of whether or not local police may enforce the federal immigration laws.
I welcome referrals from representing attorneys. I do not handle criminal appeals cases, nor do I generally accept immigration appeals cases unless they relate to an issue of Constitutional law. Contact my office to schedule an appointment to discuss your legal concern. Paul Sowa, Attorney at Law
1801 Century Park E Suite 2400
Los Angeles, CA 90067-2326
Phone 310-556-9697 Fax 310-556-9689
Contact Us California appeals lawyer Paul Sowa handles appeals statewide, and is also available for work on complex law and motion matters in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino,
Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. He is available for Federal appeals nationwide.
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