Mr. Wallan is a trial lawyer with a broad range of experience in securities, business disputes, insurance, and corporate insolvencies. During the last 22 years, Mr. Wallan has tried cases in the state and federal courts and in binding arbitrations on topics such as merger and acquisition disputes, distribution agreements, dealership terminations, lending practices, bond defaults, insolvencies, real estate, indenture trustee obligations, and insurance coverage disputes. Mr. Wallan regularly solves disputes through mediation and arbitration, and utilizes jury research for major litigation.

Mr. Wallan has substantial experience in class and representative actions, including FACTA, FCRA and California's Unfair Business Practices statutes. Mr. Wallan represents major public corporations in arbitrations concerning merger and acquisition disputes. In the Executive Life litigation, Mr. Wallan helped establish the law of guaranteed investment contracts in California. Recently Mr. Wallan has successfully obtained insurance coverage for companies targeted in so-called wage hour class actions, and regularly advises on D&O coverage. Mr. Wallan's clients engage in electronics manufacturing, the restaurant industry, chemicals and timber, real estate, hedge fund investments and banking, among other areas.

Representative trials and other engagements:

• Soualian v. International Coffee and Tea. United States District Court, Central District, ongoing. Defeated class certification in trial court in nationwide credit card consumer class action. Currently on appeal before Ninth Circuit.
• Sutton v. Pinkberry. Los Angeles Superior Court, 2008. Negotiated favorable cy pres settlement of consumer class action alleging false advertising, violations of the California Unfair Competition Statute, and a claim under California’s Consumer Remedies Act.
• Executive Life Insurance Company. Los Angeles Superior Court and Second District Court of Appeal. Mr. Wallan served as trial and appellate counsel to the largest policyholder group in the ongoing Executive Life Insurance Company insolvency. Through four trial court and appellate proceedings, Pillsbury's efforts established liquidation priority and ratable treatment standards over repeated challenges from the California Insurance Commissioner and many other parties. Pillsbury recovered $1.8 billion for its clients, and obtained reimbursement for its clients of all of Pillsbury's fees and costs incurred throughout the extended proceedings. Published opinions include Texas Commerce Bank v. Garamendi, 11 Cal. App. 4th 460 (1992)(establishing that a Muni-GIC is a lawful life insurance product entitled to policyholder treatment); Commercial National Bank v. Superior Court, 14 Cal. App. 4th 393 (1993)(first U.S. decision rejecting an insurance commissioner's rehabilitation plan as unlawfully discriminatory); Texas Commerce Bank v. Garamendi (TCB II), 28Cal. App. 4th 1234 (1994)(establishing that liquidator is bound by insolvent's contractual obligations); and In re Executive Life Insurance Company, 32 Cal. App. 4th 344 (1995)(addressing numerous insolvency standards and awarding interest).
• Global Health Sciences v. Richard Marconi, et al., United States District Court, Central District, 2007. Prosecuted fraudulent transfer action against former shareholders who cashed out of corporation via a junk bond offering. In representing institutional investors and trade creditors, recovered $17 million in settlements from individual defendants on the eve of trial.
• Capital Salvage v. Chicago Title Company. Los Angeles Superior Court, bench trial, 2003. Obtained defense judgment for escrow company in connection with a complex commercial real estate transaction. Issues focused on standard of care and statutory LLC formation.
• Robbins v. Shelley. Los Angeles Superior Court, 2003. Defeated Motions seeking to enjoin the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election on constitutional grounds.
• Johnson v. Boston, et al. Los Angeles Superior Court. Successfully defended a major national bank through favorable settlement in a securities class action. Lawsuit based on the default of nearly $100 million of privately placed promissory notes used to finance trading in sub-prime automobile paper.
• In-N-Out Burgers v. Federal Insurance Company. United States District Court, Central District of California. Won summary judgment against insurer in coverage and bad faith dispute on unprecedented issue of preventative measures.
• Ho v. Hamilton Financial. Los Angeles Superior Court, jury trial. Defeated claims against lender and insurer based on force-placed insurance practices. Trial court directed verdict in defendants' favor at close of evidence.

Other Cases:

• Obtained published Ninth Circuit decision establishing that the defendants interfered with a major financial institutions custodial account contracts.
• Obtained favorable settlement for client, a restaurant chain, following appellate victory in case seeking reimbursement for settlement costs in wage and hour class action.
• Binding arbitration confirmed by final judgment in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, 2005. Prosecuted claim for client against former corporate affiliate under spin-off agreement. Dispute involved corporate and insurance coverage issues, and resulted in a $16 million recovery.
• Obtained judgment and writ of mandate for client, a hedge fund, against municipality and community facilities district based on its misuse of bondholder proceeds and failure to comply with indenture obligations.
• Obtained jury verdict and recovered judgment on note recovery claim for client, a finance company, that included a cross complaint for lender liability.

Mr. Wallan leads the firm's Los Angeles litigation section and served on the Los Angeles' office management committee. Speaking engagements have included presentations on substantive lending and insurance issues, as well as ethics, government conflicts of interest issues, and law firm management.

Education

J.D., University of San Diego School of Law, 1986

B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 1982

Admissions

State of California

U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Central and Eastern Districts of California, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Affiliations

American Bar Association (Tort and Insurance Practice section), Los Angeles County Bar Association (Litigation section)

Firm Publications

FACTA Update: Amendment Renders Most Class Actions Under Statute Moot, 19-Jun-2008

Is Your Insurance Company Paying to Defend FACTA Lawsuits?, 13-Sep-2007

Appellate Decision Finding Insurance Coverage for California Wage And Hour Class Action, 31-Oct-2006