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Chandler A. Parker

SUMMARY

Chandler A. Parker is a trial attorney in the firm’s Pasadena office. He predominantly handles trial, professional liability, public entity liability, general business litigation, and commercial transactions. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Parker has served as lead counsel on a wide range of complex litigation for a diverse mix of clients from private individuals and small businesses to large corporations and public entities. Mr. Parker is also an accomplished appellate advocate and has been the driving force behind numerous successful appeals and writs involving federal preemption, good-faith settlement determinations, claim and issue preclusion, contract interpretation, and real property law. His appellate litigation has resulted in two published Court of Appeal opinions which are cited in over thirty other appellate opinions and fifty legal treatises and law review articles. See Boyd v. Freeman (2017) 18 Cal.App.5th 847 and Sanders v. Walsh (2013) 219 Cal.App.4th 855.) Mr. Parker has been recognized as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers since 2014, a distinction given to only 2.5% of attorneys in Southern California.

Mr. Parker earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of North Carolina, School of the Arts in 2002. He then obtained his Juris Doctorate degree in 2011 from Southwestern Law School’s prestigious SCALE program after graduating in the top ten percent of his class. Chandler is admitted to practice before the State Bar in California, the United States District Court for the Northern and Central Districts of California, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

EXPERIENCE

Defense Verdict in Jury Trial on Failure to Summon Medical Care Claim: Mr. Parker represented a law enforcement agency against claims by a prison inmate who suffered permanent blindness after gouging-out his own eyes. The inmate alleged that prison officials could have prevented the self-mutilation by performing regular safety checks of his cell and providing more appropriate medical care. At trial, Mr. Parker obtained a jury verdict in favor of the law enforcement agency.

Summary Judgment in Wrongful Death Claim: Mr. Parker represented a law enforcement agency and healthcare professionals against claims by a prison inmate who died from a prescription drug overdose. Mr. Parker successfully obtained a judgment of dismissal in favor of all defendants by demonstrating the plaintiff had failed to comply with the claim presentation requirements of the Government Tort Claims Act.

Summary Judgment in Civil Rights Claim: Mr. Parker represented various police officers against civil rights claims by a motorist alleging he had been arrested in retaliation for exercising his First Amendment right to speech. Mr. Parker obtained a summary judgment in favor of all defendants after persuading the trial court to determine the plaintiff’s First Amendment claim failed as a matter of law because the police officers had probable cause to make the arrest.

Writ of Mandate Vacating Good-Faith Settlement Determination: Mr. Parker represented a commercial trucking company in a writ proceeding challenging the trial court’s determination that a settlement between the plaintiff and another defendant was entered in good faith, effectively barring the commercial trucking company’s indemnity claims against the other defendant. Mr. Parker convinced the Second District Court of Appeal to reverse the trial court’s determination on the grounds that the settlement agreement was void.

Reversal of Trial Court’s Dismissal On Demurrer: Mr. Parker appealed a trial court order sustaining a demurrer without leave to amend, reasoning that res judicata barred the claims because a previous lawsuit involving the same parties and factual allegations had been dismissed by the court. The Second District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s order in a published opinion after Mr. Parker demonstrated the court’s dismissal of the prior lawsuit did not have a preclusive effect as a matter of law because it was not on the merits.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
  • Langston Bar Association