Roy G. Weatherup

Partner

Los Angeles
633 West Fifth Street
Suite 4000
Los Angeles, California 90071

Phone: 213.680.5130
Fax: 213.250.7900
Email: [email protected]

Roy Weatherup is a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office. He focuses his practice in the area of appellate law and is a member of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group.

Appellate Practice

Mr. Weatherup is one of the most experienced appellate attorneys in California. As of the end of 2012, he has been responsible for 1,836 appellate briefs in 1,075 separate cases. Of the briefs, he has personally drafted 420.

Mr. Weatherup is a Certified Specialist in Appellate Law, certified by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California.

Approximately 200 of Mr. Weatherup’s cases have resulted in published opinions (which appears to be a larger number of published decisions in civil cases than for any other lawyer in full time private practice in California). He has presented oral argument to state and federal appellate courts over 900 times.

Included among the cases Mr. Weatherup has handled on appeal are Moradi-Shalal v. Fireman’s Fund, 46 Cal.3d 287 (1988) (involving insurance “bad faith” law); Macias v. State of California, 10 Cal. 4th 844 (1995) (defining a manufacturer’s duty to warn); Evangelatos v. Superior Court, 44 Cal.3d 1188 (1988) (dealing with the constitutionality and retroactivity of Proposition 51); Schwarzenegger v. Fred Martin Motor Company, 374 F3d 797 (2004) (a personal jurisdiction dispute); PM Group v. Stewart, 154 Cal.App.4th 55 (2007) (arising from a famous singer’s cancellation of a concert tour); Flahive v. City of Dana Point, 72 Cal.App.4th 241 (1999) (an abatement of a nuisance case); Serretti v. Superior National, 71 Cal.App.4th 920 (1999) (concerning the rights of the owners of a closely held corporation); Daniels v. DeSimone, 13 Cal.App.4th 600 (1993) (a legal malpractice case); Wozniak v. Lucutz, 102 Cal.App.4th 1031 (2002) (resolving jurisdictional issues); McNair v. Worldwide Church of God, 197 Cal.App.3d 363 (1987) (which recognized constitutional protection for religious speech); Poag v. Winston, 195 Cal.App.3d 1161 (1987) (a “no contest” clause probate court dispute); and Hancock Laboratories, Inc. v. Admiral Insurance Company, 777 F.2d 520 (1985) (an insurance coverage case).

Other important matters of his include Murphy v. E.R. Squibb & Sons, Inc., 40 Cal.App.3d 672 (1985) (involving the liability of pharmacists and pharmaceutical manufacturers); Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories, 26 Cal.3d 588 (1980) (which created the “market share” theory of liability); Weiner v. Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp, 114 Cal.App.3d 39 (1980) (holding that collateral estoppel precluded a legal malpractice claim); Burnaby v. Standard Fire Insurance Company, 40 Cal.App.4th 787 (1995) (concerning the right to attorney’s fees); Park v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co., 108 Cal.App.4th 595 (2003) (finding the hirer of an independent contractor immune from liability for injuries to an employee of the independent contractor); Conley v. Lieber, 97 Cal.App.3d 646 (1979) (involving the standard of care in a legal malpractice suit); ReadyLink v. Cotton, 126 Cal.App.4th 1006 (2005) (a trade secret injunction case); and Watts v. Oak Shores (2015) (involving complex legal issues regarding the Davis Sterling Act, which regulates Homeowners Associations).

Significant recent victories include Park 100 Investment Group, II, LLC v. Ryan, 180 Cal.App.4th 795 (2009) (interpreting the lis pendens statute and reversing an order denying an anti-SLAPP motion); Bisno v. Douglas Emmett Realty Fund 1998, 174 Cal.App.4th 1534 (2009) (reversing a judgment over a million dollars, arising from alleged violation of Santa Monica rent control laws); Maatuk v. Guttman, 173 Cal.App.4th 1191 (2009) (affirming a judgment in a legal malpractice action arising from patent litigation); Arriaga v. CitiCapital Corporation, 167 Cal.App.4th 1527 (2008) (rejecting application of the doctrine of strict liability to financial institutions); and Jay Bharat Developers, Inc. v. Minidis, 167 Cal.App.4th 437 (2008) (affirming a preliminary injunction in a franchise dispute).

Trial Work

Mr. Weatherup has been the sole or lead trial attorney in 14 cases tried to a conclusion, eight of which were tried to juries. Of these 14 cases, eight involved insurance matters (coverage disputes, claims of “bad faith,” or alleged errors or omissions on the part of insurance agents), three were legal malpractice cases, and three arose from disputes over business transactions.

Other Litigation Experience

Mr. Weatherup has handled many cases at the trial court level that were resolved prior to trial, mainly in the areas of legal malpractice defense, insurance coverage (including claims of “bad faith”), and business litigation. He has participated in many hundreds of depositions, and numerous law and motion proceedings. He has served as an expert witness in various types of cases, including legal malpractice, attorney fee disputes, and insurance bad faith.

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