Shareholders Grant Waterkotte and Andrew Chung Prevail in Appellate Court Decision
Pettit Kohn Ingrassia Lutz & Dolin shareholders Grant Waterkotte and Andrew Chung successfully defended a California moving and self-storage company against claims of property damage in a recently published decision by the Court of Appeal.
Plaintiffs alleged that their property was damaged during storage at Defendant’s warehouse, claiming a significant amount of dollars in damages. However, Plaintiffs signed a storage agreement with the Defendant limiting the Defendant’s liability. Plaintiffs also declined to purchase insurance. Plaintiffs sued the Defendant under theories of consumer protection, negligence, and breach of contract.
Pettit Kohn brought a motion for summary judgment on the Defendant’s behalf, seeking to dismiss Plaintiffs’ entire claim based on the limitation of liability clause in the parties’ storage contract. The trial court agreed with the defense that the terms of the storage agreement were enforceable. Plaintiffs’ entire case was dismissed.
Plaintiffs appealed and argued that the law did not support enforcement of the limitation of liability provision. In a published opinion, the Court of Appeal sided with the Defendant, noting that such limitation of liability provisions are enforceable, finding significance in the fact that Plaintiffs declined insurance.
The storage and moving client are extremely pleased with the result. Pettit Kohn Ingrassia Lutz & Dolin is grateful for the opportunity to represent its clients and congratulates Mr. Waterkotte and Mr. Chung on their successful motion work.
About Pettit Kohn Ingrassia Lutz & Dolin
Pettit Kohn Ingrassia Lutz & Dolin PC is a leading AV-rated law firm with expertise in litigating and resolving civil matters in both state and federal courts. The firm represents clients in the areas of Appellate, Business Litigation, Civil & Trial Litigation, Employment & Labor, Personal Injury, Product Liability, Professional Liability, Real Estate Litigation, Restaurant & Hospitality, Retail, Transactional & Business Services, and Transportation. Clients include large and mid-sized corporations, privately held businesses, institutions and individuals.
Andrew Chung is a shareholder in Pettit Kohn’s Los Angeles office. As a successful trial attorney, he has represented businesses of all sizes in the areas of premises liability, catastrophic injury, employment litigation, wage and hour class actions, and products liability. His trial experience includes successfully securing a defense verdict for a Fortune 100 company in a premises liability dispute. Andrew has been able to dismiss numerous cases through his law and motion work and has appellate experience in both the California and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal.
Grant D. Waterkotte is a shareholder at Pettit Kohn. A highly accomplished trial attorney, Grant has tried over 25 cases to verdict in California and Arizona and routinely achieves very favorable results for his clients. Grant’s extensive jury trial experience and exceptional results led to his induction into the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) in October of 2010. Grant has a wide range of civil litigation and trial experience, primarily in the areas of retail liability, transportation law, employment law, representation of homeowners’ associations, and personal injury. Grant also provides employment and transportation consultation and legal drafting services for his corporate clients.
Pettit Kohn is located in California and Arizona with offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Tucson. Learn more about Pettit Kohn at: www.pettitkohn.com