Construction Representative Experience

• Brought a multi-million dollar legal action on behalf of a large general contractor on a Northern California shopping center, bridge, road and site-work project. Obtained 100% of principal sought, as well as over $325,000 for attorney fees and prompt payment penalties.
• Obtained and pursued post-judgment remedies against developers who sought to sell assets and possibly flee the jurisdiction when faced with a large judgment. A timely Abstract of Judgment and a Post Judgment Writ of Attachment on the last unsold piece of developer’s real estate resulted in thwarting a sale of the property. The action concluded with payment of the debt in full, along with interest and fees to the date of payment.
• Represented multiple clients in two PG&E bankruptcies (2001 & 2019), obtaining payment in full of secured mechanics lien claims long before general unsecured creditors received lesser sums.
• Worked with the California Contractors State License Board on numerous occasions to force contractors and subcontractors to pay judgments obtained by Porter Law Group on threat of license suspension. Most actions resulted in payment before suspension.
• Sued a public entity for having approved a public works payment bond issued by a fraudulent Caribbean surety which disappeared when claims were made. The public entity was eventually forced to make good on almost $1 million in subcontractor and supplier payment bond claims.
• Have successfully pursued more than 1,000 Superior Court construction-related lawsuits, including claims on contract, mechanics’ lien, stop payment notice, payment bond claim, prompt payment remedies and other claims, netting contractors, subcontractors and suppliers amounts ranging from tens of thousands to millions of dollars.
• Successfully represented an architect in a multi-million-dollar defense action where drawings for a large condominium project were alleged to be defective. Porter Law Group argued that there was insufficient legal support for the charge. The judge agreed, and promptly dismissed the case at the outset of the litigation.
• Represented a paving contractor on an action against payment bond surety when the prime contractor fled the state. Seeing that an action against the prime contractor would not be cost-effective, we obtained a summary adjudication against the surety, resulting in 100% payment of hundreds of thousand of dollars in paving billings, along with substantial additional sums for fees and costs.
• Regularly represent contractors and subcontractors in construction defect litigation, defending often largely unwarranted claims.
• Work with construction attorneys, legislators and courts to thwart abuse of the court system and special master process often associated with construction claims.
• Regularly contribute to drafting legislation on behalf of the construction industry through construction trade groups, including legislation related to indemnity reform, retention reform, prompt payment remedies, Preliminary 20 Day Notice and Mechanics’ Lien law changes, including chairing the statewide committee of attorneys who rewrote all public and private project laws found in California Civil Code Sections 3097, 3259.5, 3084 and 3146. As well as contributing counsel on 2009 Senate Bill 189 (Lowenthal).
• Have conducted hundreds of seminars before contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, developers, professional seminar providers, trade associations, and college construction classes on a variety of topics indispensable to the construction industry.