Margaret M. Grignon

Justice Margaret M. Grignon (Ret.) is a partner in the firm's Appellate Group. She is retired from the California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Five, where she spent 14 years and authored in excess of 2,230 opinions, more than 160 of which have been published. She has considerable experience in business/commercial, employment, family, insurance coverage and bad faith, intellectual property, legal and medical malpractice, personal injury, and premises liability law.

She is a member of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers and, as of 2012, the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Among other organizations she has been or is currently involved with are the National Association of Women Judges, California Women Judges Association, the American Bar Association, and several southern California county bar associations. In addition to her authorship of numerous published articles on tax, business and appellate law, Justice Grignon is a frequent lecturer at education programs for judges and attorneys; is active in the administration of the judicial system; is judge of various law school moot court competitions; and is a consultant for continuing legal education publications.

Representative Published Cases

• Perez v. Torres, 206 Cal. App. 4th 418 (2012).  Code of Civil Procedure section 998 offer to compromise is invalid where it fails to include a statutorily required acceptance provision.
• Landeros v. Torres, 206 Cal. App. 4th 398 (2012).  Civil Code section 3333.4 does not preclude recovery of noneconomic damages against a drunk driver where plaintiff is an unlicensed permissive user of an insured vehicle.
• Quarry v. Doe 1, 53 Cal. 4th 945 (2012).  Reversed Court of Appeal and held that statute of limitations precluded plaintiffs' claims against defendants.
• Rose v. Bank of America, 200 Cal.App.4th 1441 (2011). Affirmed dismissal of putative class action for violation of Unfair Competition Law based on alleged failures to adequately disclose changes in account fees.
• Parmar v. State Board of Equalization, 196 Cal.App.4th 705 (2011). Affirmed order invalidating state tax practice and upholding entitlement to substantial attorney fees under private attorney general statute.
• Arnall v. Superior Court, 190 Cal.App.4th 360 (2010). Obtained writ ordering trial court to grant former client's summary adjudication motion of attorney's causes of action for fees based on a void contingent fee agreement, leaving only the quantum meruit cause of action to be tried.
• Whitmire v. Ingersoll-Rand Company, 184 Cal.App.4th 1078 (2010). Obtained affirmance of summary judgment in favor of defendant contractor in mesothelioma action on ground that plaintiff had no substantial evidence that he had been exposed to asbestos attributable to the defendant.
• Clark v. Superior Court, 50 Cal.4th 605 (2010). Argued on behalf of Amici and obtained unanimous reversal of Court of Appeal judgment. The Supreme Court held that a statute providing for the trebling of penalties as to senior citizens and the disabled could not be used to treble restitution under the Unfair Competition Law.
• United States Life Ins. v. Superior National Ins. Co., 591 F.3d 1167 (9th Cir. 2010). Obtained affirmance of judgment confirming a $450 million arbitration award in a dispute over reinsurance coverage for workers' compensation insurance claims.
• Daghlian v. DeVry University, Inc., 574 F.3d 1212 (9th Cir. 2009). Obtained dismissal on an appeal from a summary judgment in a consumer class action on the ground that repeal of the statutory basis for the action resulted in abatement.
• Dunn Yeager v. Blue Cross, 175 Cal. App. 4th 1098 (2009). Obtained affirmance in Court of Appeal of summary judgment for health insurer in action alleging that insurer's offer of infertility coverage did not comply with statute.
• Hernandez v. Vitamin Shoppe Industries Inc., 174 Cal. App. 4th 1441 (2009). Affirming the final approval of a settlement in a wage and hour class action, and further affirming orders barring counsel for plaintiffs in a competing class action from communicating with members of the conditionally certified class and issuing a notice to class members to correct a prior improper communication to class members from that counsel.
• 321 Henderson Receivables Origination LLC v. Sioteco, et al., 173 Cal. App. 4th 1059 (2009). Reversed consolidated superior court order denying 11 petitions for approval of the transfer of structured settlement payments rights. The Fifth District Court of Appeal held that contractual anti-assignment provisions are generally ineffective in barring transfers of structured settlement payment rights; the transfers are not subject to the usury law; and the evidence was insufficient to support the superior court's findings that the factoring company systematically violated the independent professional advice requirement of the Structured Settlement Transfer Act.
• Mintz v. Blue Cross, 172 Cal. App. 4th 1594 (2009). Dismissal of claims for intentional interference with contractual relations, negligent interference with contractual relations, and intentional infliction of emotional distresses arising out of alleged wrongful denial of health insurance benefits.
• Watkins v. Wachovia Corp., 172 Cal. App. 4th 1576 (2009). In putative class action alleging violation of California wage and hour laws, obtained dismissal, of appeal from order denying class certification on ground that class representative's settlement of individual claims following denial of certification deprived the class representative of standing to pursue the appeal. In same decision, also obtained affirmance of summary judgment as to another class representative on the ground that, upon termination of employment, she signed a release of disputed wage claims in exchange for enhanced severance benefits.
• 321 Henderson Receivables Origination LLC v. Judith Red Tomahawk, 172 Cal. App. 4th 290 (2009). Reversed order denying petition under the Structured Settlement Transfer Act; trial court's failure to dismiss petition without prejudice upon transferee's request for dismissal rendered order denying petition void.
• 321 Henderson Receivables Origination LLC v. Lisa Ramos, 172 Cal. App. 4th 305 (2009). Reversed order voiding prior transfer of structured settlement payments; final court-approved transfers cannot be attacked as void under the Structured Settlement Transfer Act absent direct and affirmative evidence of fraud.
• Cable Connection, Inc. v. DIRECTV, Inc., 44 Cal. 4th 1334 (2008). California Supreme Court affirmed trial court order vacating an arbitration award. In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court held that parties to an arbitration agreement may agree to expanded judicial review of an award.
• Jogani v. Superior Court, 165 Cal. App. 4th 901 (2008). Petition for writ of mandate granted; trial court committed error per se by denying plaintiff his jury trial right on legal claim for quantum meruit.
• Ball v. FleetBoston Financial Corp., 164 Cal. App. 4th 794 (2008). Affirmance of dismissal following an order denying permission to file an amended complaint in a Consumer Legal Remedies Act action on the ground that extension of credit is not a good or service and unconscionability allegations were encompassed in the CLRA cause of action.
• Monroy v. City of Los Angeles, 164 Cal. App. 4th 248 (2008). Reversed jury verdict; trial court erred in instructing jury on a theory contrary to unambiguous party admissions; trial court also abused its discretion in limiting expert witness testimony; and trial court erred in excluding deposition testimony where deponent resided more than 150 miles from trial.
• Trujillo v. First American Registry Inc., 157 Cal. App. 4th 628 (2007). Affirmed summary judgment in consumer credit reporting and unfair competition action.
• Fitz-Gerald v. Skywest Airlines, Inc., 155 Cal. App. 4th 411 (2007). Affirmed summary judgment in action brought by flight attendants against airline for minimum wages, meal and rest breaks, overtime and penalties.
• Sea Foods Co., Ltd. v. O.M. Foods Co., Ltd., 150 Cal. App. 4th 769 (2007). Reversed third party liability judgment for foreign corporation and against California sea food importer; also reversed personal jurisdiction dismissal of fraud action brought by same sea food importer against same foreign corporation.
• Camacho v. Automobile Club of Southern California, et al., 142 Cal. App. 4th 1394 (2006). Affirmed judgment on the pleadings for insurer in unfair competition class action brought by uninsured motorist in connection with insurer’s efforts to collect subrogation claim.