Coblentz appellate litigators Richard Patch, Susan Jamison, Zuzana Ikels and David Mehretu are pleased to congratulate their client DISH Network on its decisive win in the Seventh Circuit in a consumer class action challenging DISH’s early service cancellation fee. Having obtained a dismissal of the putative class action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, the defense team went to work defending the favorable judgment on appeal. In a published decision authored by Judge Easterbrook, the Seventh Circuit firmly rejected a challenge by a customer that DISH’s contract unlawfully permitted it to take customers’ Social Security benefits from their bank accounts in violation of the Social Security Act.

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Coblentz attorneys Paul Escobosa, Todd Hovey, Douglas Sands and Misti Schmidt represented Ronnie Lott on the sale of Mercedes Benz of Medford and the associated real property. Paul Escobosa and Todd Hovey advised Lott on the corporate transaction, while Doug Sands and Misti Schmidt assisted with the real estate work involved in the sale. The buyers were Ron Heller and Bill Bird who also own two Mercedes dealerships in Texas. Ronnie Lott also owns Tracy Toyota in Tracy, California. Lott has been involved in the automobile business since retiring from the San Francisco 49ers. Lott was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame on July 29, 2000.

Late last fall, Coblentz attorneys Paul Escobosa and Todd Hovey assisted clients John Anderson and Barry Rodenberg in the sale of Courtesy Chevrolet in San Jose, the largest Chevrolet dealership in Northern California.

Coblentz has attorneys expert in automotive legal services. Paul Escobosa has served as outside General Counsel to scores of dealerships, including more than 100 dealership buy/sell transactions. Coblentz’s areas of expertise include buying and selling dealerships, executive compensation and incentive agreements, succession planning, employment issues, and financing.

Pamela Duffy Awarded Chambers Real Estate Lawyer of the Year
SAN FRANCISCO; February 3, 2012 – On the evening of February 2, with two hundred distinguished guests in attendance at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, Pamela Duffy won the nationwide honor of being selected as the “Real Estate Lawyer of the Year” at the first annual Women in Law Awards. Sponsored by the internationally renowned legal publisher Chambers and Partners, these awards recognize the USA’s top women in the legal profession.

“Pam’s selection from among this group is a tribute to her remarkable accomplishments in each of these arenas and the firm couldn’t be prouder of Pam receiving this well-earned honor,” said Jeffrey Knowles, a Managing Partner at Coblentz.

The list of nominees represent the best female lawyers in each of the major practice areas, and they are selected by virtue of their leadership in the law, in their communities and in their firms.

Congratulations to Brandi Brown and Charles (CJ) Higley for being elevated to the Firm Partnership.

Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP, a firm founded over 130 years ago, was recently named in Fortune Magazine and CNNMoney.com as one of the top law firms in the United States. In Fortune’s December 26, 2011 issue, Coblentz was identified as a top firm based on ratings provided by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, a leading peer-rating service within the legal industry. 50% of Coblentz’s Partners attained an AV Preeminent® ranking, the highest distinction of professional excellence for legal knowledge, analytical capabilities, judgment, communication ability, and legal experience from peer reviews. The select list was also published in the 2012 Fortune Investor’s Guide supplement in which over 250,000 law firms in the LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell’s registry were reviewed and ranked.

Coblentz is one of only 20 law firms in the United States named by the National Law Journal to its 2011 “Midsize Hot List.” In addition, of the 20 firms named, Coblentz is one of four featured by NLJ.

Congratulations to Coblentz attorneys Jeffry Bernstein, Courtney Nash Gardner, Kathleen McConnell, Misti Schmidt and Daniel Vermillion upon receiving the Outstanding Volunteer award from the Volunteer Legal Services Program (VLSP) of The Bar Association of San Francisco.

The top 10% of VLSP’s volunteers were honored as recipients with Outstanding Volunteer in Public Service certificates.

Congratulations to Partner Paul Tauber upon joining the Pacific Council on International Policy as a member.

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Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named Jonathan R. Bass as the “San Francisco Best Lawyers Litigation – Real Estate Lawyer of the Year” for 2012.

After more than a quarter of a century in publication, Best Lawyers is designating “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is being honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”

Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current, 18th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2012) is based on more than 3.9 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.

The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have received particularly high ratings in our surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity.

Steven Naifeh, President of Best Lawyers, says, “We continue to believe – as we have believed for more than 25 years – that recognition by one’s peers is the most meaningful form of praise in the legal profession. We would like to congratulate Jonathan R. Bass on being selected as the ‘San Francisco Best Lawyers Litigation – Real Estate Lawyer of the Year’ for 2012.”

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Coblentz lawyers Zuzana Ikels and Aaron Foxworthy successfully advocated for the Sloan family, disenfranchised members of the Cahto Tribe of the Leytonville Rancheria. Fifteen years ago, the family was expelled from Tribal rolls on fabricated grounds after a tribal elder and family member confronted the Tribe’s casino operators on claims of embezzlement. In Cahto Tribe of the Laytonville Rancheria v. Amy Dutschle, Regional Director for the Pacific Region, Bureau of Indian Affairs, et al., the United States District Court, Eastern District of California denied the Tribe’s challenge to a Bureau of Indian Affairs decision not to recognize the unlawful expulsion. Ms. Ikels and Mr. Foxworthy worked with the Department of Justice on briefing and arguing the Summary Judgment motion, and advocated for the Sloans in an Amicus filing due to the court’s earlier rejection of the family’s request to intervene.

The Sloans are hopeful that the decision brings to a close a 15-year odyssey for justice, in which the Sloan family members have been denied benefits, voting rights, tribal land rights, and any proceeds from the Tribe’s operations. Coblentz is a signatory to the State Bar Association’s Pledge on Pro Bono and was awarded the 2010 President’s Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year from the California State Bar.