February 2011

Christopher C. Lewi Named New Partner in Los Angeles Office

Long time member of the firm Christopher C. Lewi became a partner January 1, 2011.  Chris brings long experience and depth to the partnership.  In addition to our traditional defense practice, Chris is an appellate lawyer, and a business, real estate, and collections litigator who has recovered millions of dollars for our clients.  Chris has served for the last 15 years as an arbitrator, mediator, and Judge Pro Tem for the Los Angeles County Superior Court.  We are very pleased to welcome him into the partnership.

Seth Whitaker to Do AIDS Relief Work with Peace Corp

After more than 30 years sterling practice, long time partner Seth Whitaker has retired from the firm to do AIDS relief work in South Africa.  After a long and extensive application process, Seth was accepted by the Peace Corps.  He left the United States January 25, 2011, for Johannesburg, South Africa for 3 months of immersion training “in country”.  Once that training is completed, Seth will be assigned somewhere in South Africa – anywhere from the international cities of Capetown or Jo’Burg to a small village with no running water – where he expects to do outreach work in one of the world’s most AIDS ravaged regions.  We are very proud of Seth and wish him and his mission great success

October 2010

Partners David L. Hughes and Sean T. Osborn obtained a judgment of $915,000 on behalf of a surety against individual indemnitors that had defaulted on an indemnity agreement.

August 2010

Partner Sean T. Osborn successfully defended a mechanics lien release bond surety at trial from a breach of contract/lien enforcement action.  After a four day trial, the court found the action to be without merit given the plaintiff’s settlement of the mechanics’ lien portion of the claim with the property owner despite the fact that a release bond had issued.

July 2010

Partner Daniel M. Crowley successfully defended a premises liability client at trial and obtained a sizeable cost award against the plaintiff bringing the action.  He also obtained an Anti-SLAPP decision against a defamation plaintiff and is currently pursuing that individual for a significant attorney’s fee award.  

October 2009

Following a four week jury trial, partners David L. Hughes and Sean T. Osborn successfully defended a payment bond surety against allegations that the surety wrongfully failed to pay a subcontractor on a CALTRANS public works project after the surety’s principal had been defaulted from the project.  The court determined, and took the case away from the jury during deliberations, that the claimant had no standing to assert its claims, given that it had failed to maintain its contractor’s license in good standing with the State of California.

December 2007
New Partner Marie Stockton

The partners are pleased to announce that effective January 1, 2008, Marie Stockton will become a partner in the firm’s San Diego office.  Ms. Stockton was admitted to the bar in 1999 and has been an associate in the San Diego office since 2003. She litigates in a variety of fields ranging from personal injury to construction defect to commercial litigation. She routinely takes on high exposure cases involving multiple and complex issues with results that keep clients returning to the firm.

April 2007
Defense Verdict in Construction Dispute

Partner Sean T. Osborn, of the Orange County office, obtained a defense verdict in a breach of contract, wrongful termination case brought by a general contractor against a public works project owner and project surety.  Mr. Osborn, representing the surety, successfully defended the surety at trial and obtained a substantial verdict on surety’s cross-complaint against the contractor.

February 2007
Defense Verdict Upheld on Appeal

The California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, has upheld a defense verdict in a million dollar commercial stock transfer trial won by partner Sean T. Osborn in September 2006.  The case involved the duties of corporate stock transfer agents to third parties, and the appellate court agreed with Mr. Osborn that those duties were particularly limited.

October, 2006
Achieved Defense Verdict in a Million Dollar Surety Case

Partners, David Hughes and Sean Osborn and Senior Associate Attorney, Chad Wilcox, located in the Orange County office of Booth, Mitchel & Strange LLP, obtained a defense verdict in a million dollar surety case from Judge Christopher Warner in the San Bernardino Superior Court. Booth, Mitchel & Strange LLP represented the stop notice release bond surety as well as the payment bond surety.

October, 2006
Daniel Crowley Presents “Introducing Exhibits Into Evidence At Trial”

Daniel M. Crowley, a partner in the Booth, Mitchel & Strange LLP Los Angeles office, recently presented “Introducing Exhibits Into Evidence At Trial” at the Los Angeles County Bar Association Chapter of the American Inns of Court. The program demonstrated how to effectively lay the foundation for various types of evidence. Mr. Crowley, two other lawyers, and a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge role-played various trial scenarios, demonstrating the objections one should expect to encounter when attempting to introduce evidence at trial, and how to overcome those objections. The American Inns of Court fosters professional growth and seeks to encourage collegiality among attorneys and the bench. Mr. Crowley is a past chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association chapter of the American Inns of Court.

July, 2006
Successful Defense Verdict in a Toxic Tort Case

Partner Daniel M. Crowley obtained a defense verdict in a toxic tort case. The plaintiff claimed that he had been exposed to toxins in Mr. Crowley’s client’s facility which exposure was alleged to have caused the plaintiff to develop asthma. Mr. Crowley presented medical expert testimony, as well as that of an industrial hygienist. The trial lasted 2 ½ weeks. In the end, the jury said they were not convinced that the plaintiff had asthma, but that if he did, they were not convinced that anything present at Mr. Crowley’s client’s facility caused it.

April 14, 2006 -- Borg Warner Selects Steven M. Mitchel

Borg Warner selects Partner Steven M. Mitchel as their National Trial Counsel for the western states. The position requires that he participate with local counsel in the trial of any asbestos cases in the states of Oregon, Washington, California, Alaska, Hawaii, and possibly Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

September, 2005 -- Our 50th Anniversary Celebration

Booth, Mitchel & Strange LLP celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005. Approximately 100 current and former attorneys and staff of the firm joined in the anniversary celebration which was held in Los Angeles on September 29th.