James Michael Burgess

James M. Burgess is a trial lawyer and partner in the firm's Century City office.

Areas of Practice

James represents businesses in commercial litigation, including through trial and appeal. His practice focuses on class actions and cases under the Unfair Competition Law (Business and Professions Code Section 17200), and he speaks and writes frequently on those issues. James also has substantial experience handling the following types of disputes:

•Corporate matters involving governance, fiduciary duties, duty of loyalty, mergers and acquisitions, asset purchase agreements, earn-outs, working capital adjustments, and indemnity issues.
•Workers’ compensation insurance disputes involving claims handling, over-reserving, policyholder fraud, underwriting, payroll audits, uniform statistical reporting, worker classification, independent contractor disputes, and premium collection.
•Healthcare litigation relating to IPAs, purchase agreements, billing, revenue cycle management, EMR installation disputes, non-competition agreements, employment issues, medical device manufacturing agreements, internal medical practice disputes between doctors.
•Intellectual Property matters concerning trademarks and trade secrets.
•Entertainment litigation involving distribution agreements, collection accounts, idea submission issues, copyright, and ADA access to online videogames and other websites.
•International disputes concerning manufacturing, distribution and collections.
•Real Estate litigation relating to purchase agreements, development agreements, hotel management agreements, lis pendens, leasing, broker fees, and tenant repair obligations upon termination.
•Product Defect matters relating to, among other things, lead acid batteries and fire suppression systems for jet aircraft.

James has extensive trial and arbitration experience. As trial counsel for defendants, he won the following trials:

•A&J Liquor v. State Fund (class action);
•Ronald L. Wolfe & Associates, Inc. v. State Fund;
•Westrup v. Nordstrom (representative action);
•Atlas Mill Supply, Inc. v. State Fund

As trial counsel for plaintiffs or cross-complainants, he has won over $50 million in settlements or judgments for various clients.

He also has substantial appellate and federal case experience that resulted in the following published cases;

•Advanced Building Maintenance v. State Compensation Insurance Fund (1996) 49 Cal. App. 4th 1388;
•Scheffield Medical Group, Inc. v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (1999) 70 Cal. App. 4th 868;
•Conversive, Inc. v. Conversagent, Inc. (C.D. Cal. 2006) 433 F.Supp.2d 1079, 79 U.S.P.Q.2d 1284;
•Mitan v. Feeney (C.D.Cal. 2007) 497 F.Supp.2d 1113, 68 Fed.R.Serv.3d 809;
•Koszdin v. State Compensation Ins. Fund (2010) 186 Cal. App. 4th 480;
•Fenton v. Balick, 821 F.Supp.2d 755 (E.D. Pa. 2011).

Other opinions include:

•A&J Liquor v. State Comp. Ins Fund (2003) 2003 WL 21419826 affirmed at 2006 WL 806767;
•In Re Judicial Assistance Pursuant to 28 USC 1782 by Macquarie Bank, Ltd., (D.Nev. 2015) 2015 WL 3439103 affirmed at 2015 WL 7258483;
•Stern v. Sony Corp. (C.D.Cal. 2010) 2010 WL 8022226, affirmed by Stern v. Sony Corp., (9th Cir. 2011) 2011 WL 5854299;
•Wall Units v. State Comp. Ins. Fund (2008 2 Cal. WCC 652;
•American Recycling Int’l, Inc. v. State Comp. Ins. Fund (2006) 2006 WL 1101646;
•State Comp. Ins. Fund v. Notis Enterprises, Inc. (2014) 2014 WL 5317862;
•Atlas Mill Supply v. State Comp. Ins. Fund (1996) 22 Trials Digest 2d 54, 1996 WL 526070;
•Landshark, LLC v. First Look Studios, Inc. (2011) 2011 WL 1360365.

Honors

Southern California Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers, 2012-2020

St. James Inn, Father Pat Traynor Award for exemplary community service, 2015.

Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Scott and Jean Adam Light of Christ Award for outstanding community service, 2011.

State Bar of California, Wiley W. Manual Certificate for Pro Bono Legal Services, 2010.

Martindale-Hubbell, AV Preeminent Rating.

Insights

Articles

•Adding Business Owners To Judgment Got Easier In Calif.
Law360, 01.09.2014
•Courts Cling to Tradition on CAFA Removal Burden
05.15.2006
•Class-Action Puts New Limits on Plaintiffs, Venue
Los Angeles Daily Journal, 03.04.2005
•Toss Suits Affected By Proposition 64
11.17.2004
•Unfair-Competition Law Reform May Encourage Class Actions
08.25.2004
•adbriefs
Winter 2004
• Unfair Competition Law Reform May Encourage Class Actions, Daily Journal (August 25, 2004). This article discusses the fact that the changes resulting from Proposition 64 might encourage some plaintiffs to file class actions
• Broad Unfair Competition Standing To Be Reviewed, Daily Journal (1999). This article discusses the dilemma facing the Supreme Court in Kraus and Cortez and the need to alter the broad standing rules under the Unfair Competition Law. This issue was later addressed by Proposition 64
• Agencies Can't Sue Under Unfair Competition Law, Daily Journal (June 8, 1998). This article discusses the fact that government agencies are not within the definition of a person that can sue or be sued under the Unfair Competition Law, Business & Professions Code Section 17200. Several decisions were issued after this article was published which followed the conclusion of the article

Healthcare Law Blog Posts

• California Court of Appeal Makes It Easier to Add Business Owners to a Judgment, January 7, 2014
• When Is a Non-Binding Term Sheet or Letter of Intent Enforced as a Binding Contract? September 11, 2013

Media Mentions

•LA Partner Jim Burgess Talks the Value of Giving Back
USC Law Magazine, 07.2019

Speaking Engagements

•Numerous MCLE presentations and speeches concerning strategies for defending against Unfair Competition Law claims, as well as the impact of the federal Class Action Fairness Act.
•Participated in two televised debates in favor of Proposition 64, which was passed by the voters in November 2004 and significantly reformed the Unfair Competition Law.