Josiah M. Prendergast

Senior Attorney


Sacramento

916.558.6021

Josiah is a senior attorney at Weintraub Tobin, based in the Firm’s Sacramento office.

He primarily works with the Business Litigation practice group. His practice focuses on corporate governance/internal disputes between business owners (“partnership disputes”), breach of contract, real property disputes, and cross-over issues affecting trust-owned assets.

Recent successes include:

  • An arbitration award of nearly $2 million representing the private equity buyer who alleged the seller breaches the representations and warranties in the parties’ asset purchase agreement.
  • A judgment that the City of Sacramento violated City Code by reinstating a card room license after mandatory expiration, which was upheld on appeal. See Park v. City of Sacramento, 2020 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 6874, 2020 WL 6156411.

Josiah earned his J.D. from the Santa Clara University School of Law, where he graduated with honors, cum laude, and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. During law school, Josiah also received outstanding student awards in seven courses and gained substantive experience working in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and Region 20 of the National Labor Relations Board. Josiah earned his undergraduate degree from U.C. Berkeley. In between undergraduate and law school, he spent several years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Prior to joining the Firm, Josiah was an associate at the firm Wanger Jones Helsley PC, where he litigated extensively alongside retired 20-year U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger. Josiah has represented and counseled clients in a wide range of litigation matters, including fraud, commercial disparagement, and unfair competition claims.

Outside of the office, Josiah previously chaired the Engage Committee of Metro EDGE—the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s young professionals group—where he lead planning and implementation of relationship-building events. He also plays in the Arden Park Men’s Softball League, to varying effect. He hopes to appear someday on Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, NPR’s weekly news quiz program.

State Bar of California, Litigation Section
Member

State Bar of California, Antitrust, UCL, & Privacy Section
Member

Federal Bar Association
Member

American Bar Association
Member

Metro EDGE Leadership Council, 2021 – 2022

Metro EDGE Engage Committee
Chair, 2022
Co-chair, 2021

Awards

The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch, 2024 – Commercial Litigation

Sacramento Magazine Top Lawyers, 2023 – Commercial Litigation

Northern California Rising Star List, 2018-2023

J.D. Santa Clara University School of Law, cum laude, 2013
Order of the Coif

B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 2008

Josiah Prendergast Selected to Leadership Sacramento Class of 2024

Weintraub Tobin congratulates attorney Josiah Prendergast for being selected to participate in the Leadership Sacramento Class of 2024. Josiah is a senior attorney at Weintraub Tobin, in the business litigation practice group. He focuses on corporate governance and litigating internal disputes between business owners, as well as breach of contract,…

Josiah Prendergast Defends Local Brewery in Legal Dispute

In an August 21, 2023, article for ABC10 covering the brewing feud between local breweries Shred Beer Company and Slice Beer Company, Weintraub litigator Josiah Prendergast, who represents Shred Beer Company, gave a statement speaking to Shred Beer’s feelings about the lawsuit and affirming their commitment to creating a quality…

35 Weintraub Attorneys Named to 2021 Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists; Firm Retains Highest Percentage of Sacramento Top 25 List

Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 38 of its attorneys have been included on the 2021 Super Lawyers and Rising Star lists for outstanding attorneys in Northern California.  In addition, 4 Weintraub Tobin attorneys received special recognition on Northern California and Sacramento “Top” lists. Weintraub attorneys represent 16 percent…

33 Weintraub Tobin Attorneys Named to 2020 Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists; Retain Highest Percentage of Sacramento Top 25 List

Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 33 Weintraub Tobin attorneys have been included on the 2020 Super Lawyers and Rising Star lists for outstanding attorneys in Northern California.  In addition, 5 Weintraub Tobin attorneys received special recognition on Northern California and Sacramento “Top” lists. Weintraub attorneys represent 20 percent of…

37 Weintraub Tobin Attorneys Named Among 2018 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

Super Lawyers has released its Northern California, Southern California and San Diego lists of outstanding attorneys for 2018, on which 37 Weintraub Tobin attorneys have been included. Five Weintraub Tobin attorneys received special recognition as a Top 25 Sacramento Super Lawyer. Weintraub Tobin attorneys named to the 2018 Southern California…

Litigation Update: North Carolina Court Finds Insurers Liable Under Business Interruption Policies for COVID Losses Resulting from Shutdown Orders

In our last update, we highlighted a recent case out of the US District Court of Missouri (Studio 417) in which the court issued a preliminary ruling that allowed a group of policyholders to proceed with claims against their insurers based on allegations that the insurers wrongfully denied claims due…

Recent Federal Decision Regarding Business Interruption Insurance Could Mark a Turning Point for COVID-Affected Businesses (Updated 9/29/2020)

Many businesses affected by COVID-19 and the related shelter-in-place orders are turning to their business interruption insurance policies in hope of finding relief. In general terms, a business interruption insurance policy replaces some or all of a business’s income when the business is forced to curtail or cease its operations…

Boxing Fans Knocked Out Twice: Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Class Action Alleging Fraud in Pacquiao-Mayweather Fight

In 2015, world-renowned boxers Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. faced off in what was promoted as the “Fight of the Century.” After twelve largely uneventful rounds, the fighters and fans walked away without much fanfare—no knockout, no technical knockout, just a scorecard victory for Mayweather. Leading up to the…

First District Court of Appeal strikes small, but meaningful, victory for businesses combatting online libel.

Just last week, California’s First District Court of Appeal handed a small, but meaningful, victory to businesses that resort to litigation to defend their reputations against anonymous, online attacks.  In ZL Technologies, Inc. v. Does, the First District held that ZL Technologies (“ZL”) was entitled to discover the identities of…

California Supreme Court adds to line of cases narrowly applying the right to recover attorneys’ fees under Civil Code section 1717.

Despite increasing sophistication amongst contracting parties and evermore common use of attorney fee clauses, the “American Rule” endures.  The American Rule is that each side pays its own attorney fees in litigation, win or lose.  In California, statutory exceptions to the American Rule are limited, leaving private parties to modify…