Stephen Pessagno focuses his practice on complex construction and commercial disputes, including pre-litigation strategy, risk assessment, and contract drafting and negotiation.
Stephen has litigated before state and federal courts, arbitration panels and administrative boards throughout the country. He represents contractors, owners, design professionals and developers in design and construction claims and disputes, bid protests and contract counseling. His practice includes public and private clients and spans a broad range of industries and projects, including energy, data centers, heavy civil and commercial projects, environmental, health care, P3 projects, government contracts and agriculture.
Representative Experience
- Prosecuted appeal for government contractor before the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, overturning default termination of prime contract for $34 million construction project in Yellowstone National Park.
- Obtained summary judgment for national general contractor against subcontractor’s eight-figure claim based on lack of contractor’s license, arising from the construction of the California Air Resources Board’s regional headquarters and emissions testing facility in Riverside, California.
- Represented national general contractor in complex arbitration proceeding and state court litigation, overturning default termination of prime contract exceeding $179 million for hotel expansion project.
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- Represented design-build contractor in litigation arising from public-private-partnership project exceeding $1 billion to construct the Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility at Los Angeles International Airport.
- Successfully defended general contractor joint venture against bid protests challenging award by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) of contract with NTE value of $600 million for fire debris removal and recovery services resulting from the Camp Fire in Butte County, California.
- Secured favorable settlements for heavy civil and marine contractor resolving state court litigation arising from a project to reconstruct a northern California harbor damaged by multiple tsunamis.
- Represented general contractor in arbitration proceeding before the Office of Administrative Hearings against the State of California, Department of Transportation (Caltrans) arising from highway paving project; obtained successful award on contractor’s claims, including attorneys’ fees, expert fees and costs.
- Represented general contractor in state court breach of contract action arising from $165 million student housing project for a California state university.
- Represented contractor in complex state court breach of contract action exceeding $30 million in claims arising from construction of electrical substations in San Francisco, California.
- Defended approximately 20 agricultural growers and processors in the Salinas Basin in connection with groundwater contamination enforcement actions brought by the California State Water Resources Control Board.
- Prosecuted complex contract and quiet title claims in state and federal courts regarding Cannery Row property development.
- Represented international design professional and contractor in coordinated litigation in Delaware and Georgia regarding renovation of a pulp and paper mill in Louisiana; obtained summary judgment in the Delaware Court of Chancery and successfully defended appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court.
- Represented international energy company in litigation venued in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi stemming from natural gas pipeline explosion.
- Defended California County in complex state court litigation alleging fluoride contamination of drinking water.
Professional Highlights
Honors & Awards
- Super Lawyers: Rising Stars (2018–2021) and Super Lawyers (2026)
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- Publications
- “The Short Tenure of an Intentional Interference Claim in California Public Works Bidding,” American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law, Div. 13, October 2017.
- “In-House Counsel and the Privilege Problem,” Atlanta Bar Ass’n (2012). Coauthor.
- “Prometheus and Bilski: Pushing the Bounds of Patentable Subject Matter in Medical Diagnostic Techniques with the Machine-or-Transformation Test,” 36 J.L. & Med. 619, 2010.
- “San Francisco Health Care Ordinance Withstands ERISA Preemption Challenge—Golden Gate Rest Ass’n v. City & County of S.F.,” 35 J.L. & Med. 696, 2009.
- Associations
- American Bar Association
Education
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J.D., Boston University School of Law, 2011
B.S./B.S., Mathematics and English, Santa Clara University, 2008
cum laude
Admissions
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California
Courts
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U.S. District Court Northern District of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit