David focuses his practice on complex commercial and financial services litigation in state and federal courts. He is the firm’s office managing partner in San Francisco.
David has significant experience assisting clients across a broad range of service areas including data privacy and security, securities, wealth management, trusts, consumer finance, insurance, mortgages, banking operations, real estate, creditor’s rights, lender liability, negotiable instruments, secured transactions and all manner of business disputes. David has extensive experience in class action litigation and unfair competition claims.
David is an active participant in community affairs; he lectures often and participates in various charitable and civic organizations.
Experience
- Representation of an investment bank in allegations of failure to perform adequate due diligence of acquisition target.
- Representation of a major national bank in several class and individual actions concerning the sale of auction rate securities.
- Obtained judgment in litigation arising from its refusal to pay $25 million letter of credit.
- Procured summary judgment in a landmark ruling establishing the limits of a bank’s liability to others for activities undertaken to protect the interests of the bank.
- Represented bank in a class action concerning alleged failure to credit interest on loss payee funds received from insurers.
- Represented client in class action alleging failure to give proper notice prior to foreclosing on personal property collateral.
- Obtained judgment for major securities brokerage in dispute with internet entrepreneur over his claim for losses in excess of $100 million resulting from alleged breach of fiduciary duty.
- Represented bond trustee in action concerning alleged failure to properly invest funds.
- Represented client in significant ERISA plan class action involving allegedly improper insurance products.
- Represented trustee of ERISA plan in class action involving alleged failure to divest plan of company securities.
- Obtained dismissal of litigation against client arising from its withdrawal from a $300 million bond financing issued by a political subdivision of the People’s Republic of China through European and Middle Eastern financing companies.
- Procured dismissal of putative class action against a lender for its alleged unfair practices and inadequate investigation of delinquent customers before and after reporting them to credit reporting agencies.
- Represented investment manager in $150 million claim of purchasing unsuitable investments.
- Obtained dismissal for trustee against claims of undue influence and breach of fiduciary duty.
- Represented auto finance company in class action alleging fraudulent non-disclosure of emissions data.
- Represented lender in class action alleging statutory violation of fees and costs associated with loans.
- Represented technology company in significant contract dispute with lender.
- Represented technology company in trade secret action.
- Represented client in antitrust class action involving fees charged to merchants.
- Represented client in action involving alleged breach of fiduciary duty and mismanagement of real property assets.
- Represented development company partnership dispute concerning commercial real property development.
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University of California College of the Law, San FranciscoJD
Note Editor, Hastings Law Journal; Order of the Coif
1987 - University of California, DavisBAEconomics
Member, San Francisco Bar Association
- Speaker, "Wealth Management Litigation Update and Lessons Learned," American Bankers Association Wealth Management and Trust Conference, 2014
- Speaker, "Wealth Management Litigation Update," 2013 Trust and Wealth Executive Seminar, 2014
- Speaker, "Trends in Trust Litigation and How to Mitigate Risk," Fiduciary Status and the Wealth Management Industry in the 21st Century, 2011
- California
- California, All State Courts
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Selected for inclusion in “Legal 500 United States,” General Commercial Disputes, 2021, 2022