Overview
Winning Cases for Our Clients
Our team of courtroom lawyers is comprised of litigation attorneys who have been with Hopkins & Carley for many years and handled hundreds of cases across a variety of industries. Our litigators demonstrate a strategic command of a case from the start, and a willingness to try even the most difficult cases. We give clients the confidence to take a matter to trial.
"Excellent job Hopkins & Carley, not just in closing but all the way through trial...The unanimous decision was icing on the cake."
— Jeff Farrar, Main & Main Properties
Our trial lawyers also work closely with the firm’s premier Appellate Practice to ensure that issues are preserved for appeal.
The Hopkins & Carley team represents clients in all aspects of complex litigation including:
- Trials and appeals in state and federal courts
- Federal, state and regulatory administrative proceedings
- Alternative dispute resolution processes, such as arbitration and mediation
For the disputes that do not go to trial, our thoughtful and solutions-oriented approach, combined with extensive negotiating experience, often result in outstanding results.
Experience
- Won $14 million verdict for our client who claimed fraud against a hedge fund in which he had invested. Despite an oral agreement, we convinced the jury that the defendant’s claims were not consistent with prior conduct.
- Defended property owner in a $15 million claim in a private enforcement action for alleged Coastal Act violations.
- Prevailed in complex construction defect trial resulting in $7.5 million verdict plus attorney’s fees and interest.
- Successfully defended high tech startup company in a commercial eviction lawsuit brought by its landlord in San Francisco, claiming that the client’s office lease was illegal because the City of San Francisco’s zoning ordinances did not permit “office” use. Client was awarded all of its fees and costs incurred in defending the eviction action.
- Represented a global industrial manufacturer in a product defect claim against one of the company’s foreign suppliers. Won a $5.5 million verdict in a federal jury trial and negotiated a settlement before appeal.
- Represented a materials supplier who was sued for a breach of contract claim. Won at trial and defended the verdict on appeal, obtaining full payment of the judgment.
- Obtained a judgment in a court trial cancelling a 98-year lease on behalf of our clients, based on fraud and undue influence.
- Obtained a judgment in a court trial in favor of our client in a case involving a dispute over who was the intended beneficiary of an ambiguous residuary clause in a trust. Our client was awarded the entire trust residue, valued in excess of $5 million.
- Successfully represented a leading flash memory maker in various patent infringement suits before the ITC and in federal district courts.
- In a complex case that involved numerous complicated issues of fact and law, we defeated a motion to certify a class action lawsuit for violation of overtime laws filed by a group of truck drivers against a West Coast petroleum distributor.
Insights
- “Trial Pros: Hopkins & Carley's Jeff Essner,” May 31, 2016
- “Dori Yob named to Silicon Valley Business Journal's ‘40 Under 40’,” May 25, 2016
- “New Money Means Opportunity for Valley Firm,” February 3, 2016
- “Hopkins & Carley Continues Expansion,” January 28, 2016
- “Shareholder Dori Yob Elected Chair of San Jose Planning Commission,” January 20, 2015