Representative Cases
The experienced trial lawyers at Hartnett, Smith & Associates have successfully represented clients in both state and federal court, at the trial and appellate levels, in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties and around the San Francisco Bay Area. Our successes include numerous high profile and challenging cases, including the following:
Criminal
People v. S.B., Santa Clara County (Jan. 2009)
Not guilty by reason of temporary insanity for a West Point graduate charged with two counts of armed robbery.
People v. A.S., Santa Clara County (May 2004)
Acquittal in a "two strikes" assault case.
People v. M.C., San Joaquin County (Mar. 2005)
Acquittal in a trial for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Civil
Randall v. Campbell and Ligeti, Santa Clara County (Apr. 2003)
Verdict in favor of the defense in a $20 million claim against two venture capitalists for fraud.
Balci v. Lucky Chances, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (Sept. 2008)
Verdict in favor of the defense in a wage and hour claim before the Honorable Jeffrey White.
Lawrence and Culver v. Hartnell Community College, Monterey County (Aug. 2009)
Verdict in favor of the defense in a wrongful termination claim by two executive assistants to the President of the College.
James Clayworth v. Pfizer, Inc., 165 Cal. App. 4th 209, 80 Cal. Rptr. 3d 847 (2008)
Affirming summary judgment in favor of client in antitrust case based on pass-on defense.
Frank Gattuso v. Harte-Hanks Shoppers, Inc., 42 Cal. 4th 554 169 P. 3d 889, 67 Cal. Rptr. 3d 468, 55 Lab.Cas. 60,511 (2007)
Represented the Employers Group as amicus curiae; Supreme Court of California endorsed "lump sum" method of reimbursing employee expenses.
FAIR v. Rumsfeld, 547 U.S. 47, 126 S. Ct. 1297 (2007)
Represented Servicemembers Legal Defense Network as amicus curiae in a constitutional challenge to the Solomon Amendment, which cuts off federal funding to law schools that do not provide equal access to military recruiters on campus.
Stephen Simmons v. PCR Technology, 209 F. Supp. 2d 1029 (C.D. Cal. 2002)
Represented employer in race discrimination action; removal to federal court based on diversity of citizenship and amount in controversy upheld.
Mirna Olivares v. Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, 2001 WL 477171 (C.D. Cal. April 26, 2001)
Represented employer in defeating former employees' challenge to mandatory arbitration of employment discrimination claims.
Wayne Perry v. U.S. Bank, 2001 WL 34920473 (N.D. Cal. 2001)
Represented national bank in putative wage-hour class action, involving alleged misclassification of employees under the administrative exemption; defeated plaintiffs' motion for class certification.
Seek Experienced Legal Counsel
If you are facing a civil or criminal legal problem in San Mateo or anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, it is important that you seek trusted advice from knowledgeable and experienced trial lawyers. Contact Hartnett, Smith & Associates today.
