Knez Law | Cases of Note

Knez Law Group has a rich history of incredible outcomes, settlements and verdicts. Although most cases settle out of court to avoid costly litigation, we are prepared from day 1 to go to trial and verdict when necessary. Below we’ve outlined a few cases that we’ve handled, but over the last 30+ years attorney Fred Knez, and more recently his sons Andrew and Matthew, have handled countless cases involving business litigation, commercial real estate disputes, professional malpractice, divorce & custody and personal injury.

Fire Sprinkler Systems, Inc. v. Viking Corporation, et al.; and Thorpe Design, Inc. v. Viking Corporation, et al.

Knez Law Group represented Fire Sprinkler Systems, Inc. (FSS) and Thorpe Design, Inc. (Thorpe) in lawsuits against Viking Corporation, a Michigan corporation, with regard to defects in a Viking Residential Sprinkler Head known as the VK-457. FSS brought its suit in Riverside Superior Court and Thorpe brought its lawsuit in Federal Court in San Francisco. The two cases were prosecuted by the Knez Law Group under a joint discovery agreement and then settled shortly before trial in July 2017. In preparing for trial, multiple experts were retained by the Knez Law Group to investigate the cause for premature activations of the VK-457 sprinkler head, which have flooded homes in California and other parts of the United States. The trial preparation included depositions of engineers at Underwriters Laboratories (UL) in Chicago, Illinois and multiple depositions of engineers and other management level employees of Viking Corporation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The settlement reached by Knez Law Group included reimbursement of FSS and Thorpe for their out-of-pocket losses associated with premature activations of the VK-457 sprinkler head and a replacement program whereby Viking Corporation is paying for replacement of the VK-457 sprinkler head under a replacement program. The settlement also includes an agreement by Viking Corporation to indemnify FSS and Thorpe with regard to future claims associated with premature activations of the VK-457 sprinkler head. This Case In The News: https://www.sacbee.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article203280449.html

Garcia Juarez Construction, Inc. v “Current Practicing Attorney in Los Angeles”

On behalf of Garcia Juarez Construction, Inc., Knez Law Group brought a legal malpractice case against an attorney in Los Angeles in Orange County Superior Court. The lawsuit claimed that the attorney and the attorneys at his firm failed to timely respond to Requests for Admission and failed to timely and properly respond to a motion brought by the Plaintiffs in the underlying case to have the Requests for Admission deemed admitted. After service of the complaint on this attorney, the Knez Law Group received threats from him that if the case was not dismissed he looked forward to “putting you out of business.” This attorney then projected that the Knez Law Group would “never see a penny out of this case.” Shortly before trial, the case was settled for $328,000.00.

Fryan v. Ryder Truck Rental, Inc., et al.

Represented Plaintiff is claims of personal injury, products liability and negligence.  Plaintiff was a 46-year old salesman for a bread company and was unloading bread products at a dock of a distribution center.  After unloading the truck and while the plaintiff was closing the back door of the truck, a co-employee started the truck and the truck began moving backwards and ultimately crushed the Plaintiff’s legs between the bumper of the truck and the concrete wall of the dock.  Plaintiff claimed the truck was in gear and the clutch was not engaged when the co-employee started the truck and the neutral safety switch was not functioning because it had been bypassed by the Defendant and not repaired.   Plaintiff sustained multiple fractures of the legs, including a close fracture of the right tibia with displacement and fracture of the neck of the right fibula with displacement, and bone loss.   The Defendants denied liability, contending that the neutral safety switch was not a necessary part of maintenance and repair, that the transmission was in neutral or that the clutch was engaged, and that the truck was not powered to go backwards.  After a 10-day jury trial, the jury returned a verdict for $1.112 million.

Turbo Chilled v. Sunset Marquis Hotel

Represented Plaintiff, Turbo Chilled in a breach of contract dispute. Plaintiff alleged Defendant failed to pay for its manufacturing, labor, parts and services for the installation of the Sunset Marquis Hotel’s HVAC air conditioning system. Defendant filed a Cross-Complaint against Turbo Chilled for negligence alleging defects and deficiencies in the work. Turbo Chilled was awarded a settlement of $110,000.

Padilla v. Verdin

Plaintiff was struck by Defendant’s vehicle while he was riding his bike along the side of a two-way road.  The Defendant had just come around a curve in the roadway and due to his unreasonable rate of speed he was unable to maneuver in time to avoid collision with the Plaintiff.  The impact caused Plaintiff to fall into the hood of the vehicle and against the windshield, and tumble over the vehicle and onto the asphalt.  The parties settled for the policy limits of $100,000.

National Environmental Waste Corp v. Willem C. Onink & Marsha Onink

Represented Plaintiff in claims of Unfair Business Practices contending predatory pricing.  After a jury trial, the jury returned a verdict of $5.4 million.

Holzman v. Dynachem Corp

Represented Plaintiff for wrongful termination of employment. After a jury trial, the jury returned a verdict of $1.5 million.

Gloria McDonnel v. Los Angeles National Bank

Represented plaintiff in an arbitration for claims of reverse race discrimination resulting in an arbitration award of $1.3 million.