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Best Lawyers® Ranks Early Sullivan as a 2024 “Best Law Firm”
Category: Awards | Thursday, November 2nd, 2023 | Comments Off on Best Lawyers® Ranks Early Sullivan as a 2024 “Best Law Firm”
Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae has been ranked once again as a “Best Law Firm” in the 2024 edition by Best Lawyers®. The firm received rankings on the national and Los Angeles lists in the practice areas of:
– Entertainment Law – Music
– Litigation – Intellectual Property
– Entertainment Law – Motion Pictures & Television
– Litigation – Real Estate
– Commercial Litigation
– Commercial Transactions / UCC Law
– Real Estate Law
– Environmental Law
– Litigation – Environmental
The annual “Best Law Firms” rankings are prestigious and highly regarded in the legal profession, due to the rigorous evaluation process of client and peer reviews of the law firms and their practicing attorneys.
Early Sullivan Prevails Before Nevada Supreme Court Likely Ending Massive HOA Litigation
Category: News, Results | Friday, October 13th, 2023 | Comments Off on Early Sullivan Prevails Before Nevada Supreme Court Likely Ending Massive HOA Litigation
An Early Sullivan appellate team with Scott E. Gizer secured a monumental victory on behalf of the title insurance industry when the Nevada Supreme Court agreed with them that title insurers did not agree to insure lenders against the enormous losses they suffered when numerous Homeowners’ Associations foreclosed on their assessment liens, wiping out deeds of trust securing hundreds of millions of dollars.
In Nevada, HOAs are granted a super priority lien for delinquent assessments that takes priority over earlier recorded deeds of trust under NRS 116.3116. When the Nevada Supreme Court confirmed in the landmark 2014 SFR decision that these HOA foreclosures indeed wiped out a lender’s first position deed of trust, the lenders turned around and tendered thousands of claims to their title insurers, claiming coverage under two particular endorsements attached to their title policies (the ALTA 5/CLTA 115 and the ALTA 9/CLTA 100). The title insurers largely denied these claims, explaining that these endorsements did not provide coverage for a variety of reasons, resulting in over 100 lawsuits being filed by the lenders in the State of Nevada.
Early Sullivan was retained by the Fidelity National Title Group brand of companies, Old Republic National Title Insurance Company, and North American Title Insurance Company to defend against more than 100 lawsuits seeking total damages in excess of $100,000,000.00. In the case of Deutsche Bank v. Fidelity National Title Insurance Company, Early Sullivan successfully brought a motion to dismiss before Judge Adriana Escobar, who found that under the plain meaning of these endorsements, there was no coverage for Deutsche Bank’s claimed losses from the HOA’s foreclosure on its super-priority lien. Deutsche Bank appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court, which decided to hear the matter En Banc in the first instance, given the known gravity of the case and its effect on over 100 other cases.
In a 6-0 published decision, the Nevada Supreme Court, En Banc, agreed with Early Sullivan’s arguments and interpretations of the various statutes and endorsements at issue, and affirmed that the endorsements at issue did not provide coverage for Deutsche Bank’s losses. This decision should result in the dismissal of all other cases regarding this subject matter and eliminate enormous potential losses to Early Sullivan’s clients. Needless to say, the title insurance industry is thrilled with the results obtained by Early Sullivan.
Early Sullivan Recognized as a Top Litigation Firm in 2024 Edition of Benchmark Litigation California
Category: Awards, News | Thursday, October 5th, 2023 | Comments Off on Early Sullivan Recognized as a Top Litigation Firm in 2024 Edition of Benchmark Litigation California
Early Sullivan has been ranked by Benchmark Litigation as a leading Entertainment firm in California. The prestigious annual guide recognizes the state’s leading trial firms and attorneys, ranked by their peers and clients.
Nine Early Sullivan Attorneys Named to “Best Lawyers in America”; Six Named to “Best Lawyers – Ones to Watch”
Category: Awards, News | Thursday, August 17th, 2023 | Comments Off on Nine Early Sullivan Attorneys Named to “Best Lawyers in America”; Six Named to “Best Lawyers – Ones to Watch”
Early Sullivan attorneys Eric Altoon, Eric Early, David Giannotti, Jeremy Gray, Devin McRae, Diane Myint Luczon, Christopher Ritter, Peter Scott, and Bryan Sullivan have been recognized among the top lawyers in the nation in the 2024 edition of “The Best Lawyers in America,” one of the oldest and most distinguished guides to the legal profession.
The following attorneys earned a spot in the 2024 edition for their work in the following practice areas:
- Eric Altoon – Real Estate Law
- Eric Early – Commercial Litigation; Entertainment Law – Motion Pictures and Television; Entertainment Law – Music; Litigation – Real Estate
- David Giannotti – Environmental Law; Litigation – Environmental
- Jeremy Gray – Commercial Litigation
- Devin McRae – Entertainment Law – Motion Pictures and Television; Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Diane Myint Luczon – Commercial Litigation
- Christopher Ritter – Entertainment Law – Motion Pictures and Television
- Peter Scott – Commercial Litigation
- Bryan Sullivan – Commercial Transactions / UCC Law
Entertainment Law – Music
Additionally, three Early Sullivan attorneys were named to “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.” This list recognizes younger attorneys who have achieved outstanding professional excellence. The following attorneys earned a spot in the 2024 edition.
- Rebecca Claudat
- Ryan Hemar
- Brett Moore
- Cory Ray
- Padideh Zagari
For over 40 years, “Best Lawyers” has been universally recognized as one of the most respected guides to the legal industry. The rigorous selection process is based on a comprehensive peer-review process designed to capture the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within common legal practices and geographical areas. Corporate Counsel magazine has called “The Best Lawyers in America” “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”
The Daily Beast Cover Early Sullivan Client Amanda Montell’s Lawsuit Against ‘Sounds Like A Cult’ Podcast Co Host
Category: News, Press | Thursday, July 27th, 2023 | Comments Off on The Daily Beast Cover Early Sullivan Client Amanda Montell’s Lawsuit Against ‘Sounds Like A Cult’ Podcast Co Host
The Daily Beast recently reported on Early Sullivan client Amanda Montell’s lawsuit against Isabela Medina-Maté, Montell’s Co Host on the popular ‘Sounds Like a Cult’ podcast, claiming Medina-Maté “effectively destroyed the ‘Sounds Like a Cult’ podcast and caused a substantial loss of value to the company and its future income stream.” Montell claims she owns the ‘Sounds Like a Cult’ podcast IP and Medina-Maté only owns 50% copyright on episodes she appeared on.
See below for the article:
‘Sounds Like a Cult’ Podcast Creator Sues Former Co-Host – The Daily Beast
Several Publications Cover Early Sullivan Client Frost River’s Trademark Suit Against Lucasfilm
Category: News, Press | Thursday, July 27th, 2023 | Comments Off on Several Publications Cover Early Sullivan Client Frost River’s Trademark Suit Against Lucasfilm
The Hollywood Reporter, Sourcing Journal, The Fashion Law, Bloomberg Law, and numerous other national and Minnesota publications recently covered the trademark suit filed by Frost River against Lucasfilm, claiming the latter violated the Lanham Act by using a Frost River backpack in the recent movie, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” without Minnesota-based Frost River’s permission and then passed its signature backpacks off as a competitor’s product in a marketing campaign.
“Lucasfilm and Filson produced a 60 second commercial prominently featuring video clips from the Indiana Jones 5 film intertwined with video clips of actors using Filson’s own products,” Devin McRae wrote. “Shockingly, one of the intertwined video clips was one from Indiana Jones 5 featuring Frost River’s Geologist Pack.”
Further coverage can be found below:
Indiana Jones Backpack, Ad Campaign at Center of New Trademark Lawsuit – The Fashion Law
‘Indiana Jones 5′ Sparks Trademark Suit Over Hero’s Backpack – Bloomberg Law
Lucasfilm Faces Legal Battle Over Indiana Jones’ Backpack – IGN
Frost River sues Lucasfilm over ‘Indiana Jones’ ad – Duluth News Tribune
Frost River Sues Lucasfilm Over Backpack In ‘Indiana Jones’ Film – Fox21
Duluth company sues Lucasfilm over ‘Indiana Jones’ product placement – MinnPost
Bryan Sullivan Discusses the Use of AI in the Entertainment Industry With Scripps News
Category: News, Press | Monday, July 24th, 2023 | Comments Off on Bryan Sullivan Discusses the Use of AI in the Entertainment Industry With Scripps News
Bryan Sullivan appeared on-air with Scripps News in a recent segment talking about the use of AI in the entertainment industry. The segment highlights areas in the entertainment industry where studios have been looking to use AI tools to replace or reduce work done by humans.
“It was something that people thought was cool and they wanted to dabble with, but I don’t think people realized until recently that writers view AI as a threat,” Bryan remarked and later speculated, “The studios could cut the first layer of writing out by using an Ai system and then hire a writer to do a polish, which is a lot less money. The studios are saving money and the writers are losing money.”
“AI Fears Are Fueling The Labor Strikes In Hollywood – Next Level” – Scripps News
Los Angeles Business Journal Honors Eric Early in 2023 “Leaders of Influence: Top Litigators & Trial Attorneys” Issue
Category: Awards, News | Monday, July 24th, 2023 | Comments Off on Los Angeles Business Journal Honors Eric Early in 2023 “Leaders of Influence: Top Litigators & Trial Attorneys” Issue
The firm is pleased to share that founding and managing partner Eric Early has been recognized as one of the Los Angeles Business Journal’s “Leaders of Influence: Top Litigators & Trial Attorneys” for 2023. The prestigious list recognizes litigators as, “a special breed of attorney that needs to transcend expert comprehension of the legal system,” and as, “lawyers who go to the proverbial mat to fight for their clients.” Eric was selected for inclusion based on his representation of Fortune 500 companies, small business entrepreneurs, and individuals across the country, as well as his reputation as one of the “go-to” attorneys for all of the major national title insurance companies including Fidelity National Financial, First American Title Insurance Company, and Stewart Title.
To view Eric’s profile in the Los Angeles Business Journal’s special issue, click below.
2023 Leaders of Influence: Litigators & Trial Attorneys – Los Angeles Business Journal
Early Sullivan Prevails on Behalf of Lenders in Quite Title/Fraud Claim
Category: News, Results | Monday, July 17th, 2023 | Comments Off on Early Sullivan Prevails on Behalf of Lenders in Quite Title/Fraud Claim
A trial team of Scott Gizer and Lisa Zepeda prevailed on behalf of its lender clients the Morris Boren Living Trust and Creative Investments, Inc. in an action where Christopher Jordan, the heir to a triplex property in Los Angeles, sought to invalidate the deeds of trust of Early Sullivan’s clients that totaled approximately $1.25 million. The loans at issue were taken out in 2015 by an individual named Angela Fawn Wallace who represented herself to be the trustee of Mr. Jordan’s grandmother’s trust after the grandmother passed and had prepared the trust documents. Ms. Wallace was concurrently being prosecuted on various criminal charges for taking advantage of her clients. Mr. Jordan did not learn of his rights under the trust until the criminal action against Ms. Wallace was filed in 2019. After a two-day bench trial, the trial court ruled in favor Early Sullivan’s clients finding that Ms. Wallace was the proper trustee or, alternatively, the grandmother was negligent for entrusting Ms. Wallace and failing to inform her grandson of his rights under the trust prior to her death such that Ms. Wallace was able to act as the trustee for years without challenge.
Bryan Sullivan Shares Outlook on $43 Billion Warner Bros. Discovery Merger with Yahoo Finance
Category: News, Press | Wednesday, July 5th, 2023 | Comments Off on Bryan Sullivan Shares Outlook on $43 Billion Warner Bros. Discovery Merger with Yahoo Finance
Bryan Sullivan was recently featured in the Yahoo Finance article “Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock down 50% since merger – why analysts are still bullish,” which examines the media conglomerate’s plunging stock value post merger, as well as company layoffs and other executive challenges within the two organizations, and what it all could mean for investors. The article highlights concerns held by pessimistic shareholders about the likelihood of success following the merger, as well as insight from those who still think there will be long-term benefits.
Bryan emphasized his confidence in the two companies’ strengths together rather than separate. “I’m buying stock in it,” he shares about Warner Bros. Discovery. “I think it has way too much IP that’s valuable.”