Steven R. Disharoon

A partner in WSHB’s Sonoma County office, Steve Disharoon is an experienced trial and appellate attorney, specializing in complex civil litigation, intellectual property, and transportation, as well as environmental claims and natural disasters. His record includes obtaining a defense judgment in a trademark infringement trial, several successful summary judgment motions, and extensive appellate experience. Outside the courtroom, Steve is a skilled negotiator of complex and contentious cases, and also provides services for transactional and other non-litigated matters.

Representative cases include the following:

•Successful trial result in trademark infringement dispute.
•Obtained summary judgment on multi-million dollar claim against transportation broker, including favorable determination of non-delegable duty rule in an unprecedented context in California.
•Obtained summary judgment on serious personal injury claim based on application of Privette doctrine to unique facts.
•Obtained summary judgment in recreational injury case based on release agreement, defeating various arguments regarding its enforceability.
•Obtained summary judgment against claims of malicious prosecution, including successful application of California’s litigation privilege to unique facts.
•Successful handling of all appeals filed in response to favorable summary judgments.
•Negotiated complex settlement of contentious taxation dispute between client and city.

Trial & Appellate Results

Sazerac Company, Inc. v. Fetzer Vineyards, Inc. (9th Cir. 2019) 786 Fed.Appx. 662.

Robertson v. Larkspur Courts et al. (2018) 1st App. Dist., Case No. A152226

Sazerac Company, Inc. v. Fetzer Vineyards, Inc., 265 F.Supp.3d 1013 (N.D. Cal. 2017)

Allen v. Amy’s Kitchen (2016) 1st App. Dist., Case No. A148194

Lamb v. San Francisco Electric Tour Co. (2015) 1st App. Dist., Case No. A142888

Darling v. Superior Court (2012) 211 Cal.App.4th 69.

Publications

Author, Strategies for Restoring the Right to Repair Act by Challenging the Liberty Mutual and Burch Decisions, DRI Volume 18, Issue 4 (2014).

Author, Stafford Unified School District No. 1 v. Redding: a Missed Opportunity to Restore Fourth Amendment Rights to School Children, 44 U.S.F. L. Rev. 659 (2010).

Author, California’s Broken Parole System: Flawed Standards and Insufficient Oversight Threaten the Rights of Prisoners, 44 U.S.F. L. Rev. 177 (2009).

Author, Pebley v. Santa Clara Opens the Door in California to Inflated Medical Damages Claims, May 11, 2018.

Author, Where the Legal Winds Are Blowing, CLM Construction Claims, June 15, 2018.