Chuck is a shareholder in the firm’s Litigation group and is the chair of the Labor and Employment group. Chuck actively practices and litigates on behalf of employers in labor and employment, trade secrets and employee mobiliity, and wage and hour class actions.

His employment practice includes counseling employers in all areas of employment law and representing management in the defense of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, trade secret, and other employment disputes. He has extensive experience in trying multi-party complex misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition and corporate raiding cases.

Chuck graduated Phi Beta Kappa in English from the University of California at Irvine in 1986. He received his Masters Degree in English from the University of California, Davis in 1988 and received his law degree from the same institution in 1992. Chuck has taught legal writing on the faculty of McGeorge School of Law and previously taught composition at the University of California, Davis.

Trial defense. Notable cases.

• North American Title v. Liberty Title, et al. Defense verdict. Lead trial counsel for defendant accused of conspiring and plotting a “raid” against a former employer’s employees. Plaintiff sought damages in excess of $25 million, plus punitive damages for misappropriation of trade secrets, intentional interference with contract and prospective economic advantage. 12 week jury trial.
• Comerica Bank v. Commercial Capital Bank. Lead counsel in defending 21 individual defendants in complex multi-party trade secrets case. Settlement obtained favorable to all 21 defendants. Significant law and motion, writ and deposition practice during intense 12 month period in preparation for trial.
• Lead counsel in numerous employment and complex litigation matters ranging from injunctive relief battles, workplace discrimination and retaliation, anti-trust unfair competition, and trade secret misappropriation claims.

Appellate Matters

Chuck has appeared as lead appellate counsel in numerous appeals and writs. Chuck was lead counsel in a matter where a writ of supersedes was obtained modifying the trial court’s injunctive relief order in Comerica v. Commercial Capital Bank.

Other notable appellate court decisions include:

• In Re Mark B (2007) 149 Cal.App.4^th 61[establishing the applicability of CCP 128.7 to juvenile dependency/dependency matters].
• Cummings v. Future Nissan (2005) 128 Cal.App.4^th 321 [establishing the propriety of “appellate arbitration” procedure provisions in arbitration agreements].
• Khajavi v. Feather River Anesthesia Medical Group (2000) 84 Cal.App.2d 32 [good faith investigation will not relieve employer of obligation to provide “good cause” for termination in contract for a specified term of employment].
• Channel Lumber Co. Porter Simon (2000) 78 Cal.App.4^th 1222 [attorney’s not “agent” of a corporation for purposes of Corporations Code section 317].
• Oliver v. AT&T Wireless Services (1999) 76 Cal.App.4^th 521 [nuisance not established by appearance alone without intrusion].

Representative Clients (Counseling and Advice):

• Association of California School Administrators
• Association of California State Supervisors
• Butolins Insurance Agency, Inc.
• California Fruit and Tomato Kitchens
• Capitol Gastroenterology Consultants Medical Group
• Carson Landscape
• Delta King
• ECORP Consulting, Inc.
• Edgewood Partners Insurance Center
• Lundberg Family Farms
• Rabobank, N.A.
• Sacramento River Cats
• Western Transportation Insurance Services

Representative Cases

• Disability Discrimination
• Atteberry v. Auburn Lake Trails
• Perman v. Bank of America
• Chapman v. Bank of America
• Duran v. Bank of America
• Steve White v. Bank of America
• Darrin W. Smallen v. California State University Sacramento

Employment

• Rosemary Mann v. North Star Property Owners Associations
• Commercial Capital Bank v. Comerica Bank, et al.
• North America Title v. Liberty Title, et al.
• Jennifer Drew v. Hidden Valley Lake Association
• McFarlane v. California Tomato Kitchens
• Bristow v. Dome Printing
• Johnson v. Capitol Gastroenterology
• Lennex v. Round Table Pizza
• Fife v. Liqui-Box
• Andreata v. Prison Industries Authority
• Cummings v. Future Nissan
• Novielli v. Western Transportation Insurance Services

Arbitration

• ACSS v. CSEA
• Trade Secret Litigation
• Comerica Bank v. Commercial Capital Bank, et al.
• North American Title v. Liberty Title, et al.
• Frontier Dental Laboratories, Inc. v. M32 Oral Designs, et al.
• Chipco Manufacturing Co. v. Raymond Kinner