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wRec01 = "Kabateck Brown Kellner has a well-established appellate practice. Kabateck Brown Kellner attorneys have successfully argued more than 150 appeals in state and federal courts, including the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court, California and New York Courts of Appeal.
The firm prevailed in the landmark case of E.M.M.I. Inc. v. Zurich American Ins. Co., (2004) 32 Cal.4th 465, where the California Supreme Court reversed the lower courts' and the insurance carrier's interpretation of a \"jeweler's block\" insurance policy. The Court held that the insurance carrier was wrong to deny coverage under the policy.
In Johnson v. GlaxoSmithKline, Inc., (2008) 166 Cal.App.4th 1497, the firm obtained a reversal of a trial court order dismissing a class action, and established law that fundamentally preserved an individual's right to pursue a class action even when another class action was unsuccessfully adjudicated. In another case before the California Court of Appeal, O'Flaherty v. Belgum, (2004) 115 Cal.App.4th 1044, the firm obtained a reversal of a $7.2 million arbitration award, and established new rules that govern the ways in which arbitration awards are reviewed by the courts.
Overall, in the last five years, Kabateck Brown Kellner has a success rate of over 92% on its appeals, including Crawford v. Weather Shield Mtg., Inc. (2008) 44 Cal.4th 541 (affirm judgment); Homestead Ins. Co., Inc. v. Casden Co., (9th Cir. 2007), 2007 WL 1296734 (reversal); Standard Fire Ins. Co. v. Spectrum Community Assn., (2006) 141 Cal.App.4th 1117 (reversal); Charnay v. Cobert, (2006) 145 Cal.App.4th 170 (reversal); Parkview Villas Association, Inc. v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., (2005) 133 Cal.App.4th 1197 (reversal); Perez v. Fire Ins. Exchange, (2005) 2005 WL 3193848 (affirm); Cordova v. 21st Century Ins. Co., (2005) 129 Cal.App.4th 89 (reversal).";
wRec02 = "Brian Kabateck has represented a minority partner in a holding company for automobile dealerships against the majority partners in a partnership dispute.
Brian Kabateck secured a favorable, confidential settlement for a restaurant developer, owner, and operator in a lawsuit against the parent corporation of Gladstone's, California Beach Restaurants, for breaching an agreement to acquire and build a restaurant.
Richard Kellner successfully litigated business litigation matters arising from the breaches of large contracts with numerous major corporations. Among his successful victories include the successful prosecution of a breach of contract against on behalf of Ad Rendon Communications against Nissan Motor Corporation (settlement entered following arbitration award), the successful litigation on behalf of a Texas credit agency against TRW, and the favorable, confidential settlement on behalf of an officer/shareholder in a shareholder dispute with one of the largest nursing home companies in the Western United States.
Richard Kellner successfully litigated and obtained a confidential settlement on behalf of E! Television Network in connection with a multimillion dollar contractual dispute with the developer of its corporate headquarters.
Richard Kellner has also successfully litigated numerous partnership disputes, including his representation of eight partners in claims arising from the dissolution of Troop Steuber. Notably, he successfully litigated a law firm partnership dispute arising from the dissolution O'Flaherty & Belgum, resulting in the elimination of $7.2 million in judgment debt against the individual partners.
Kabateck Brown Kellner attorneys have also obtained millions of dollars in recovery on behalf of employees in wrongful termination and discrimination actions against Fortune 100 companies, including AT&T, TRW and various entertainment companies.
Brian Kabateck has also done insurance consulting for the $1.6 billion Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.";
wRec03 = "Kabateck Brown Kellner settled a case for $5.2 million in a class action lawsuit filed against real estate developer Pacific Bay Properties. The firm represented owners of homes built by Pacific Bay. The homes contained a wall board commonly known as \"Greenboard.\" The use of Greenboard by Pacific Bay resulted in hidden damage, including fungal growth which required replacement of the showers and bathtubs at a significant cost to the homeowner.";
wRec04 = "With the representation of Brian Kabateck, homeowners in California's Santa Clarita Valley, whose homes were damaged by defective pipes, filed a class action lawsuit against developers, suppliers, plumbing contractors, manufacturers and water softening companies. This case was settled for $41 million dollars. The homeowners alleged that foreign-made galvanized pipes prematurely corroded when they came into contact with water, and as the corrosion progressed, holes appeared in the pipes. The pipes were used in 5,000 homes in fifteen different housing developments. The settlement was paid by large and small builders throughout Santa Clarita Valley, including The Newhall Land and Farming Co., American Beauty Homes, Dale Poe Development, Larwin Co., Pacific Bay Homes, as well as pipe manufacturers, suppliers, contractors and water softening companies.";
wRec05 = "Brian Kabateck helped the homeowner's association of Summerwind Townhomes, a 170-unit condominium complex in Anaheim, California, file and ultimately settle for $4 million, a class action lawsuit against the developer and subcontractors of the condominium complex. The lawsuit alleged construction defects which caused water intrusion, as well as other construction defects in the common areas. ";
wRec06 = "In the first loft-related construction defect case in Downtown Los Angeles, Brian Kabateck was able to settle a case for $1.3 million dollars for residents of the 20-unit Toy Warehouse Lofts. The residents filed the class action lawsuit against the developer and subcontractors for improper soundproofing and other construction defects.";
wRec07 = "General managers and employees of Papa John's locations in California filed a class action lawsuit, represented by Kabateck Brown Kellner, against Papa John's for its systematic failure to provide general managers overtime compensation, and for its failure to provide all employees meal and rest periods. The lawsuit alleged that Papa John's misclassified General Managers in California as \"exempt\" from California wage and hour laws, depriving them of overtime compensation, meal periods, and rest periods guaranteed to them by California law. The lawsuit also alleged that Papa John's unlawful break policies deprived non-exempt, or hourly employees the meal and rest periods that were guaranteed to them under California law. This case was settled for $2.5 million dollars.";
wRec08 = "A class action lawsuit was filed against Labor Ready, Inc., International Aluminum Corporation, and International Window Corporation, on behalf of women who applied for employment at the South Gate facility of International Window Corporation. The lawsuit settled for $2.4 million, the settlement provided $15,000.00 for each named plaintiff who sought work at Labor Ready's South Gate, California location during a strike period. Other named plaintiffs received $6,000 each for the settlement of their claims; and all non-named class members who sought work at Labor Ready's South Gate location during the strike period were paid $3,000 for the settlement of their claims. The lawsuit arose from a contract authorizing Labor Ready to supply temporary workers to replace striking workers at International Window Corporation's South Gate facility. The lawsuit alleged that Labor Ready discriminated against women at International Window Corporation's request to only hire men, in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act and the California Constitution.";
wRec09 = "Kabateck Brown Kellner settled a case for $20.2 million dollars against Coca-Cola. The class action lawsuit was pursued on behalf of current and former employees of Coca-Cola Bottling of Los Angeles for Coca-Cola's failure to provide legally required meal and rest periods.";
wRec10 = "Kabateck Brown Kellner settled a case for $2.3 million dollars on behalf of TEG/LVI Environmental Services employees. The employees performed on-site environmental remediation for TEG/LVI Environmental Services. They had not been paid for the mandatory on-site time spent attending safety meetings prior to entering containment areas, or for the time spent putting on and removing protective gear, and taking showers after exiting containment areas. The employees were also not provided mandatory rest breaks. Kabateck Brown Kellner represented current and former employees of TEG/LVI Environmental Services in the class action lawsuit for TEG/LVI's failure to pay overtime compensation.";
wRec11 = "Kabateck Brown Kellner was co-lead counsel in historic litigation that resulted in tens of millions of dollars for families of victims of the Armenian Genocide. The Marootian v. New York Life Insurance Company (Case No. CV99-12073 CAS, United States District Court, Central District of Los Angeles) class action is the oldest resolved case in U.S. history: 90 years passed between the original events and the $20 million settlement. It is also the first recorded case addressing issues involving the Armenian Genocide. In a subsequent class action, Kyurkjian v. Axa (Case No. CV02-01750 CAS, United States District Court, Central District of Los Angeles), a $17.5 million settlement was secured against French insurance giant, Axa S.A. In each of these class actions, the insurers were made to fulfill their long overdue obligations to the heirs of the victims of the Genocide. Kabateck Brown Kellner is currently prosecuting claims on behalf of heirs of the Armenian Genocide arising from bank deposits and other assets held by Deutsche Bank, as well as insurance claims against Victoria Versicherung AG insurance company.";
wRec12 = "In March, 2005, Kabateck Brown Kellner filed a class action complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court (Epson Ink Cartridge Cases) against Epson America, Inc. The complaint alleged Epson installed a chip in its printers that prematurely blocked the printer from functioning while there was still a substantial amount of ink remaining in the printer cartridge. A settlement in 2006 was reached between Epson America, Inc. and the class represented by Kabateck Brown Kellner. The settlement, valued at over $300 million, is considered one of the largest consumer settlements ever.";
wRec13 = "Kabateck Brown Kellner commenced an action against Network Solutions in 2008. When an individual would search for the availability of a domain name on Network Solutions' website, Network Solutions would immediately register the domain for itself. This forced any person who wanted to register the domain name to pay Network Solutions much higher rates. The parties have reached a settlement agreement, which has been preliminarily approved by the court.";
wRec14 = "Click Fraud: Businesses and individuals that advertised on the website Yahoo!, brought suit against Yahoo!, Inc. for breach of contract and Unfair Business Practices. The complaint alleged that Yahoo! breached its agreement with advertisers by charging them for fraudulent or invalid clicks. Kabateck Brown Kellner obtained an eight-figure settlement on behalf of all persons that purchased advertisements on Yahoo! between January 1, 1998 and July 31, 2006.";
wRec15 = "Kabateck Brown Kellner attorneys were successful in recovering over $250 million in settlements associated with damage and insurance bad faith claims related to the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Kabateck Brown Kellner attorneys have been involved in numerous published appellate court opinions relating to the Northridge earthquake litigation, including Parkview Villas Ass'n, Inc. v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. (2005) 133 Cal.App.4th 1197, Cordova v. 21st Century Ins. Co. (2005) 129 Cal.App.4th 89, Bialo v. Western Mutual Ins. Co. (2002) 95 Cal.App.4th 68, 20th Century Ins. Co. v. Superior Court (2001) 90 Cal.App.4th 1247, and Truck Insurance Exchange v. Superior Court (Park Northridge) (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 142.";
wRec16 = "Kabateck Brown Kellner represented many families whose homes were destroyed in the 2003 Mt. Lemmon/Aspen Fire near Tucson, Arizona. This action was against sixteen separate insurance companies that failed to provide adequate insurance to the homeowners. Abates Brown Kellner successfully resolved hundreds of cases and recovered millions of dollars which allowed the homeowners to rebuild. The fire destroyed 322 homes, which were underinsured, making it impossible for the homeowners to afford to rebuild their homes. Insurers for these homeowners tried to avoid writing complete insurance policies because total losses equate to lower profit margins. For example, prior to the 2003 fire, several Mt. Lemmon homeowners had asked their insurance agents to increase coverage after the 2002 Bullock fire on Mount Lemmon, but in most instances were dissuaded from doing so by the insurers. Others were told that there was a moratorium on writing additional insurance, when in fact the moratorium had been lifted before the 2002 fire. News articles covering this matter can be found in the following:
http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/west/2005/06/06/features/56580.htm;
http://www.claimsjournal.com/news/west/2005/05/23/55361.htm;
http://lowcostlifeinsurance.prhost.co.uk/news/news_aspen_fire_mt_lemmon_victims_to_file_lawsuits.html;";
wRec17 = "In August and September 2004, Hurricanes Charlie and Francis hit Volusia County, Florida, leaving a trail of destroyed homes and other properties. When these hurricanes occurred, many homeowners believed that their insurance coverage would provide help to rebuild and start over. Unfortunately, many insurance companies did not honor their agreements. Kabateck Brown Kellner has filed multiple bad faith actions against the insurance companies, and has recovered millions of dollars that these insurance companies initially refused to pay the homeowners associations, allowing homeowners to begin rebuilding their homes.";
wRec18 = "Brian Kabateck represented former professional baseball player Jose Canseco, and was able to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars from Mr. Canseco’s homeowner’s insurance carrier. Mr. Canseco had been the victim of a theft that occurred at his Florida residence, thieves stole hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of valuables. After Hanover Insurance initially refused to cover this loss, Brian’s representation of Mr. Canseco obtained a favorable and just settlement from Hanover.";
wRec19 = "When a jewelry company’s insurance carrier denied coverage for a jewelry theft, the jewelry company retained Brian Kabateck to sue for bad faith. Brian took the case all the way to the Supreme Court of California, where it was successfully argued that the contract provision at issue was ambiguous and did not clearly alert the jewelry company that there was no applicable coverage under the facts of the case.";
wRec20 = "Brian Kabateck represented Lou Ferrigno (best known for his role as television's \"The Hulk\") and his family in a bad faith action against Mercury Insurance Company, for failure to properly inspect and repair a water leak in their home, which caused severe water and mold damage throughout their residence. The initial water damage occurred in 2002, had Mercury properly investigated the claim, the damage could have been prevented or quickly eliminated. When the claim dispute became protracted, the Ferrignos paid for repairs at their own expense because the safety of their family was jeopardized due to toxic mold exposure. A favorable settlement was reached after the case proceeded to trial in Los Angeles Superior Court.";
wRec21 = "Brian Kabateck represented television legend Ed McMahon and his wife, Pamela, when they sued American Equity Insurance Co. and garnered a settlement that, according to the Los Angeles Times, was more than $7.2 million. At the time, this was the highest published recovery in the nation by an individual alleging property damage in a mold case. The McMahons decided to sue when they and members of their household staff were sickened by toxic mold that spread through their home when contractors failed to properly clean up water damage from a broken pipe.";
wRec22 = "Brian Kabateck represented a homeowners association against its insurance carrier for denial of an insurance claim arising out of property damage caused by the Northridge earthquake. The case was litigated to the Court of Appeal, resulting in a published opinion, Truck Insurance Exchange v. Superior Court (Park Northridge) (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 142. The case settled confidentially after over four years of litigation.";
wRec23 = "During the 1994 Northridge earthquake, a homeowner in South Central Los Angeles, like many homeowners in Southern California, suffered damage to his single family home as a result of the quake. The homeowner’s insurance carrier, however, refused to pay for approximately $45,000 in earthquake damage. Under Brian Kabateck’s representation of the homeowner, the case went to a jury trial and resulted in a verdict of over $7 million, including punitive damages. The case subsequently settled for a confidential amount.";
wRec24 = "Brian Kabateck represented a homeowners association against its insurer for unpaid insurance benefits for property damage arising out of the Northridge earthquake. The case went to a jury trial, resulting in a verdict for the homeowners and compensatory damages of over $7 million.";
wRec25 = "Bextra, like Celebrex, is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) manufactured by Pfizer, it is commonly prescribed for arthritis and other pain complaints related to inflammation. The Food and Drug Administration has issued the following statement regarding Bextra: \"The overall risk versus benefit profile of Bextra is unfavorable. This conclusion is based on the potential increased risk for serious cardiovascular adverse events…and increased risk of serious skin reactions…and the fact that Bextra has not been shown to offer any unique advantages over the other available NSAIDS.\" Kabateck Brown Kellner represented nearly 300 people who suffered serious injuries as a result of taking Celebrex and/or Bextra and obtained a confidential settlement on their behalf.";
wRec26 = "Celebrex is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) commonly prescribed for arthritis, and other pain complaints related to inflammation. Kabateck Brown Kellner represented nearly 300 people who suffered serious injuries as a result of taking Celebrex and obtained a confidential settlement on their behalf. Many of the clients suffered heart attacks, strokes, or the serious skin condition known as Steven-Johnson Syndrome.";
wRec27 = "Ortho Evra is a popular method of birth control that is administered by way of a patch applied to the skin. However, the drug has some serious side effects. Reports obtained from the FDA indicate that the risk of death while using the Ortho Evra patch could be about three times greater than from use of the common birth-control pill. Kabateck Brown Kellner represented hundreds of women that suffered blood clots, pulmonary embolisms, deep vein thrombosis, and death. The cases against the manufacturer of Ortho Evra, Ortho-McNeil settled for a confidential amount.";
wRec28 = "Vioxx is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) commonly prescribed for complaints of pain and inflammation caused by osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as general symptoms of severe pain. Research in June 2000 known as the VIGOR study discovered that compared to patients on naproxen, patients taking Vioxx had an increased risk of serious cardiovascular episodes, including heart attacks and strokes. The Wall Street Journal disclosed internal documents from Merck, the manufacturer of Vioxx, that showed Merck knew of the potential hazards of Vioxx for years, yet nevertheless suppressed this information and retaliated against the researchers that voiced negative opinions regarding the safety of Vioxx. Consequently, in September 2004, Merck withdrew Vioxx from the US market because of documented research showing an increased risk of cardiovascular problems including heart attacks, strokes and blood clots related to use of Vioxx. Kabateck Brown Kellner is in the process of securing settlements from a $4.85 billion global settlement fund for several hundred people with claims of injuries caused by taking Vioxx.";
wRec29 = "Zyprexa was manufactured by Eli Lilly for treatment of bipolar disorder; it is the most widely prescribed pharmaceutical drug for treatment of schizophrenia. Reports of adverse reactions from use of Zyprexa include hundreds of diabetes cases which include reports of 23 deaths, and cases of hyperglycemia and ketoacidosis, these are of particular concern because 50% of cases result in death. Kabateck Brown Kellner represented over 450 people injured from taking Zyprexa. The cases settled for a confidential amount.";
wRec30 = "Death and/or catastrophic personal injury are often caused to innocent victims by the negligent and reckless conduct of others. Kabateck Brown Kellner attorney Niall Yamane has won multi-million dollar awards – a $16 million verdict in Enrile and a $50 million judgment in Joncich – that compensated families for their pain and suffering, emotional distress, medical expenses and other related losses. In both cases, Niall represented the families of young children whose death was caused by ingesting unsafe food products. ";
wRec31 = "Severe injury or death is often caused by exposure to many common consumer and commercial products that are defectively designed and/or manufactured. Victims of such defective consumer and commercial products have the legal right to seek monetary damages that compensates them for their pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium, lost earnings, medical expenses and other related losses. Kabateck Brown Kellner attorney Niall Yamane has won multi-million dollar awards and substantial settlements against manufacturers of aircraft, automobiles, health equipment, and factory machinery.";
wRec32 = "Brian Kabateck successfully represented the daughter of an elderly woman that died as the result of neglect by a nursing home staff in Fresno, California to whom her family entrusted her care. Brian brought the case to trial and the jury returned a $2.4 million verdict in her favor.";
wRec33 = "Kabateck Brown Kellner attorney Niall Yamane has litigated hundreds of personal injury cases arising out of serious motor vehicle accidents. Niall has won several million-dollar verdicts for injured clients.";
wRec34 = "During the El Niño and La Niña weather phenomena, many California homeowners saw their homes sustain serious structural damage and indoor mold growth from the heavy rains and flooding that occurred during those storms. Many of these homeowners were further distressed when their insurance companies claimed that losses caused by the floods or heavy rain were not covered by their insurance policies. Kabateck Brown Kellner attorneys represented numerous families whose homes, apartments, and condominiums were destroyed by floodwaters and/or wind-driven rain during El Niño, La Niña, and other rainstorms. These families were unable to rebuild because of their insurers’ bad faith. Kabateck Brown Kellner attorneys successfully resolved several cases in favor of the homeowners and recovered millions of dollars which allowed the homeowners to repair their damaged property.";
wRec35 = "Kabateck Brown Kellner obtained a confidential settlement for NBA Hall of Famer and Laker Legend Elgin Baylor and his wife, Elaine, in a dispute with their homeowner's insurance company over failure to provide coverage for water intrusion damage. After a violent rainstorm the Baylor's sustained severe water intrusion damage to various areas of their home. After making a claim to their insurance company, Lexington Insurance, the Baylors received inadequate payments, and were subject to further damage to their home by Lexington's destructive testing. Kabateck Brown Kellner's representation of the Baylors resulted in confidential settlement with Lexington Insurance.";
wRec36 = "Kabateck Brown Kellner LLP obtained a settlement of over $27,000,000.00 in a lawsuit filed against Nationwide Property and Casualty Insurance Company. The lawsuit alleged that Nationwide had a company-wide policy of terminating rental car benefits prematurely, in breach of contract. Specifically, Plaintiffs alleged that their respective Nationwide insurance policies contained a provision which provided the insured the benefit of a fully paid rental car if the insured's car sustained irreparable damage, for a period of thirty days or until a total settlement was agreed to by the insured. Despite this express policy provision, Nationwide had a company-wide practice and policy of prematurely terminating the car rental benefits before the end of the 30-day period and before any settlement agreement was reached by the insured and Nationwide. Settlement in this case followed certification of this case as a class action. The certified class consisted of over 200,000 insureds that were harmed by Nationwide's company-wide policy to terminate care rental benefits before the contractually agreed time.";
wRec37 = "Kabateck Brown Kellner is representing the NAACP against numerous large banks for discriminatory lending practices in connection with subprime and teaser rate home loans. KBK has negotiated a landmark partnership between the NAACP and several large Banks, including Wells Fargo, to ensure that fair lending practices and banking services such as single family home mortgages and small business lending is available equally and fairly to minorities and minority based communities. These new partnership relationships strive to provide assistance and education for minorities living in many communities hardest hit by the economic downturn.
As a result, the NAACP recognized Kabateck and Kellner with the group's 'Champions of Justice in Civil Rights' award.";