Client Cases
We solve problems of all dimensions.
Here are some examples.
Waterlogged Home
Our client, a single woman who thought she’d purchased her dream home, came to us with a nightmare. The developer—one of the the country’s largest—sold her a luxury condominium unit without disclosing the building’s long history of water intrusion. When the HOA declined to take action, we sued the developer for fraud. The hard-fought litigation that followed focused on whether the developer’s nondisclosure was intentional or inadvertent, as well as the extent of our client’s damages. After a four-week trial against two large law firms, we won our deserving client a jury verdict that found the developer liable for fraud and awarded her appropriate monetary compensation. The client later told us (lightheartedly), “I’m going to miss working on this case with you, Josh. We had a lot of fun, and I always knew we were going to win.”
Bait-and-Switch Partnership
After another business approached him about forming a strategic partnership, our client poured his heart and soul into building the partnership into a promising enterprise—only to have his new business partners disavow the partnership, claiming the agreement was not finalized, not binding, and not approved by their board of directors. After settlement negotiations failed, we took the case to trial, won our client a multi-million dollar jury verdict, and successfully defended the verdict on appeal.
Every Case is Personal. Every Victory is Earned.
Runaway Investment
Our client came invested $250,000 in a new business venture in exchange for a shareholder’s ownership interest, only to have new management later deny he was a shareholder. We took the case to trial. When the jury verdict returned only part of our client’s investment, finding “comparative negligence,” we appealed because we believed our client deserved to recover his full investment. We won an order from the Court of Appeals increasing the jury award to $250,000 plus 10% prejudgment interest, making our client whole again.
Breached Separation Agreement
Our client, the founder of a technology company, entered a separation agreement entitling him to severance pay and benefits at his retirement. He came to us when the company terminated the separation agreement, denied him all of the severance pay and benefits he’d been promised, and sought to claw back payments it had already made. In arbitration, we helped the arbitrator see through the company’s complex intellectual property defense and won our client a binding award that gave him all of his remaining severance payments with interest and also required the company to pay his legal fees.
Not-So-Ducky Joint Venture
Our long-term client, a brand strategy firm, joint ventured with a licensing agency that allowed them to use their complementary skills to provide superior brand licensing work for their customers—including a brand associated with the popular Duck Dynasty reality series. But when the joint venture partner took flight (so to speak) with the Duck Dynasty licensing work and formed her own business to handle it, our client asked Wolff Law for help. We represented her in arbitration and negotiated a settlement that compensated her for the loss of business opportunities.
Battle of Wills
Our client sadly lost her grandmother, but at least she had the comfort of inheriting the jewelry collection that her grandmother had long wanted her to have—or so she thought. Other relatives challenged her inheritance, claiming that her grandmother wasn’t competent to make the bequest and that our client had violated the “no contest” provision in her grandmother’s will and should therefore lose all of her inheritance. Wolff Law represented the granddaughter at a probate court trial, won a ruling enforcing the grandmother’s intent to leave her jewelry collection to her granddaughter, and won affirmance of that ruling on appeal.
Real Clients. Real Challenges. Real Solutions.
Winning Wine
Simple, elegant, and memorable—that’s how one might describe the branding of our vintner client’s wine. When the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) rejected our client’s application for a trademark to protect his brand, calling it “merely descriptive” (and therefore not trademarkable), Wolff Law prepared a response explaining why this decision was mistaken and convinced the USPTO to reverse its position. The brand is now registered with the USPTO’s trademark registry, offering our client strong legal protection against copycats and infringers.
Former Employee with a Grudge
In consultation with Wolff Law, our business client handled the termination of a managerial employee fairly and legally—including by honoring its obligation under the former employee’s separation agreement to buy back his ownership interest in the business. But no sooner had we begun negotiating a fair price than the former employee struck back with baseless claims of wrongful behind-the-scenes conduct and a demand that he be allowed to inspect a broad range of sensitive corporate documents. Wolff Law won a series of court rulings denying the former employee’s petition for inspection, dismissing his complaint alleging wrongful conduct, and directing him to pay our client’s attorney fees.
Condo Surprise
Imagine buying a beautiful condominium in Laguna Beach—and then finding out that your new home is subject to a city restriction requiring it be used as an artist’s “live/work” space with fines of up to $500 a day for noncompliance. Wolff Law represented two such homeowners in mediation and subsequent litigation against the developer, the real estate brokers, and the real estate agents who failed to disclose the restriction before or during the sale of the condominiums to our clients—and negotiated significant settlements with all of them, making our clients whole without their ever having to go to trial.
Bugatti Commission
Our client, a sales manager at a super-luxury car dealership, only wanted what he’d been promised. After selling a rare Bugatti Chiron to a customer, he was shocked that his employer paid him just a tiny fraction of the sales commission he’d earned. When he complained to management, he was fired. We sent a demand letter to the dealership and its owner informing them that they were in violation of the Labor Code, in breach of our client’s employment contract, and subject to liability for wrongful termination. We then filed a claim with the California Labor Board and a complaint in court—before winning our client a generous settlement that gave him what he’d earned without the stress of a trial.
We Listen. We Understand. We Resolve.
Bogus Breach
When a long-time employee offered to buy the business our client had spent long years building, it seemed like the perfect way to retire. They agreed on a purchase price, with large portion of the price allocated to a consulting agreement to be paid over eight years. But less than two years later, the buyer used a bogus claim of breach to terminate the consulting payments and become the owner of the business at a fraction of what he’d agreed to pay. We took the case to court, successfully opposed the buyer’s attempts to have the action dismissed, and ultimately negotiated a settlement that allowed our client to enjoy his retirement knowing he’d been fairly paid for his life’s work.
The client’s son later wrote us the kindest letter: “Thank you for the terrific service that you provided for my parents. Aside from the great result that you achieved through your capability and professionalism, you really helped put their minds at ease during this period of extraordinary stress. Your outstanding competence provided them with a realistic confidence. They knew that they were in good hands the day that they met you. For that I am forever grateful.”
Your Success Story Starts Here
Whatever the issue, the path to resolution begins with a single conversation.