PAYOFF OF A LONG RIVALRY
On Wednesday, Duane Morris partner Oliver “Lock” Holmes opened his mail and discovered a check for $48,561.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge David Hunter had ordered the San Francisco city attorney’s office this month to cough up the money for failing to catch one of its own witnesses lying about his status as a registered engineer.
Holmes represented a private contractor in the litigation, known as the SCADA cases, JCCP 4364. Deputy city attorneys Kathryn Luhe and Teresa Tan represented the city.
In an Aug. 1 order (.pdf), Hunter ordered the repayment of unnecessary costs and expenses based on the city’s “lack of due diligence” in verifying its expert’s status as a state registered engineer. Though the city had withdrawn the expert before trial, Hunter noted that he might have qualified to testify without that credential.
Chief Deputy City Attorney Therese Stewart, who oversees all of the office’s litigation, said the sanctions order came as the result of an “honest mistake.” But Holmes contends that there’s more to the story.
“The city,” he said, “has become very aggressive in their litigation strategies. We thought maybe too aggressive.”
The Duane Morris partner is anything but a casual observer.
His firm has tried two cases to verdict this year against the city attorney’s office. And in the late 1990s, Holmes said, he got a San Francisco Superior Court judge to overturn a $150 million construction contract at San Francisco International Airport.
The city and Holmes are so much at odds that they don’t even agree on the outcome of their latest courtroom slugfest.
Holmes said a jury awarded his client, a joint venture called Transdyn/Cresci, $3.5 million. Stewart said the court entered a $3 million judgment (.pdf) after offsetting a higher amount by $500,000 for construction delays caused by the contractor.
At least they can agree on one thing: City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s litigation shop is aggressive.
So aggressive, in fact, Stewart said they’ve demanded that the expert witness who lied about his certification cover the sanctions award to Duane Morris so the taxpayers don’t wind up footing the bill.
� Matthew Hirsch
BONDS ISN’T ONE FOR SMALL TALK
Barry Bonds � hometown homer champ and self-professed victim of a rabid press � has adopted a curious legal strategy in recent weeks.
For years now, the slugger has been represented by Michael Rains, a name partner at Rains, Lucia & Wilkinson who specializes in representing cops accused of beating people up.
More recently, Bonds retained Oakland plaintiff lawyer John Burris � who specializes in representing people who claim to have been beaten up by police � as well as San Francisco lawyer Todd Schneider. His firm, Schneider & Wallace, has made a name for itself in recent years representing plaintiffs in disability, discrimination and employment class actions.
“As far as a defamation case goes, I think it’s a natural fit,” Schneider said in a phone interview last week.
The trio of attorneys will consider going after anyone who has defamed Bonds, particularly those who have attributed statements to the ballplayer that Bonds denies saying, according to a press release the legal team sent out earlier this month.
In particular, their press release said, they’re interested in Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling’s recent remarks to talk show host Bob Costas, about Bonds’ alleged steroid use.
But Schneider said the lawyers won’t stop there: He and another partner at his firm, Clint Brayton, have been reviewing just about everything anyone has said publicly about Bonds over the past few years.
“We’re looking at everything,” he said, with a focus on finding people who made any untrue statements about Bonds.
Schneider wouldn’t talk about how Bonds decided to hire him, or whether he’s handling the case on a contingency fee basis. But he did say that meeting the slugger has been a treat. “He’s really a class-A guy,” Schneider said.
And while there are surely many who would agree, we wonder whether Costas � who’s not actually a dwarf � might have his own colorable claim against the ballplayer: After the Schilling interview, Bonds publicly called Costas a “little midget man.”
� Justin Scheck
