Post Job Free

Resume

Sign in

Real Estate Construction

Location:
SF, CA
Posted:
January 02, 2013

Contact this candidate

Resume:

Map/Directions

Matthew J. Geyer

Attorney

Arbitrator

Mediator

**** ********** ******

San Francisco, CA 94111

415-***-****

415-***-**** (fax)

abp9mj@r.postjobfree.com

Background

Attorney, Arbitrator and Mediator. Shareholder, Rogers Joseph O Donnell &

Phillips, 2000-2002; Partner, Landels Ripley & Diamond, LLP, 1991-2000;

Associate, Landels Ripley & Diamond, 1985-90

Mediation and Arbitration Experience

Since 1991, Mr. Geyer has acted as neutral arbitrator, mediator or discovery referee

in over 300 commercial cases, and as one of three panelists (usually

neutral, sometimes party-appointed) in several others. Since 2002, his

practice has focused primarily on arbitration and mediation.

Recent mediations include:

Claims relating to disputed patents and licensing fees for

biotechnology relating to harvesting and storing of cord blood stem cells

Pre-litigation mediation of multi-million dollar dispute between buyer and seller of franchise and product system

sold to franchisee, for competing claims by buyer for non-disclosure under asset purchase agreement, and by seller for mismanagement under

related franchise broker agreement going forward

Litigation between regional and local railroad

companies concerning historic expense cost allocations and substantial

reimbursements due under agreements between various predecessors in

interest

Litigation by one adult sibling against

another, alleging fraud and undue influence in challenging father's will

expressly disinheriting plaintiff, bulk of estate comprising San Francisco

and Sonoma county real property

Litigation between former co-counsel involving claims for portion of

contingency fee associated with successful prosecution of celebrated sexual

harassment case, mediated to settlement on eve of trial following years of

trial court and appellate litigation, including decision and remand by

California Supreme Court

Pre-litigation dispute between technology company and assignee of

predecessor company s intellectual property rights and other assets

Wrongful eviction and related claims of San

Francisco residential tenants under San Francisco's Rent Ordinance and

Tenant-in-Common regulations, and California's Ellis Act and related

statutes (dozens of cases)

Claims by handicapped patron and access

advocates against restaurant and its landlord, under state and federal

laws, for failure to provide wheelchair access

Claims by construction contractor for unpaid

invoices and retention, with defenses by property owner related to

unpaid subcontractor's liens on property and failure to complete work

and obtain final permit approvals, relating to office/industrial space

South of Market

Subrogation action of casualty insurance carriers against general

construction contractor and roofing and other subcontractors following

destruction of homes by fire during remodeling

Litigation of former

employee's wage-and-hour claims relating to alleged failure to allow mandatory meal breaks, unpaid

overtime and defamation, pending in California state court

Wrongful termination and related employment claims of partially or temporarily disabled employee

for failure to accommodate and age discrimination

Wrongful termination and related employment claims of state university employee alleging

race and age discrimination

Wage-and-hour and related claims of employees and/or independent

contractors in hotel, transportation and other industries

Claims of professional malpractice against nationwide engineering firm for

allegedly inferior work in development of erroneous expert opinion used at

trial

Litigation concerning ownership of San Francisco residential property,

alleging fraud and undue influence in the procurement of a deed by one of

four siblings from intestate parent-decedent

Claims by home owners against construction

contractors for damages arising out of allegedly defective construction

(numerous engagements involving various kinds of property damage, economic

losses and personal injuries)

Claims by home owner against construction contractor for damages arising

out of allegedly defective construction

Claims of former tenants, including minors

and guardians ad litem, against residential landlords alleging personal

injuries, learning disabilities, income loss and other damages due to

exposure to molds, lead-based paint and other conditions.

Personal injury (slip-and-fall) claim for general and special damages,

including lost wages, filed by partially-employed writer against owners of

property adjacent to allegedly displaced sidewalk in one of San Francisco s

more colorful neighborhoods

Claims and counterclaims between client and former contingency

fee counsel alleging malpractice, misallocation of settlement proceeds,

failure to cooperate and fraud

Action for specific performance or damages for breach of contract for the

purchase and sale of commercial property in San Francisco following the

removal of underground storage tanks and associated contamination

Recent cases, arbitrated to decision unless otherwise indicated,

include:

One-week arbitration of

investors misrepresentation and unsuitability claims against broker and

financial advisor relating to private placement fund involving municipal

bonds, interest-rate swaps and hedging strategies (chair of panel of three

neutrals)

Three-week arbitration of case involving claims of breach of contract,

fraud and mismanagement, arising out of joint venture agreement between

Fortune 100 company s venture capital arm and small venture capital firm in

Silicon Valley (sole arbitrator)

Multi-phase arbitration of claims among Home

Owners Association members relating to condition and replacement of

windows in units, structural sound transmission issues among units, and

overseeing of construction and landscaping project with architect and

contractors

Two-week arbitration involving standard of value to be used under, and

amount to be paid pursuant to, restricted stock purchase agreement between

terminated minority shareholder employee and closely-held professional

services corporation (sole arbitrator)

Arbitration of multi-million dollar claims for fraud and rescission of

joint venture agreement between large national bank and commercial real

estate investment and development firm (chair of panel of three neutrals,

settled following discovery proceedings and on eve of hearing cross-motions

for summary judgment)

Arbitration of multi-million dollar claims and

counter-claims of licensor and licensee of telecommunications technology,

for termination of license and damages for alleged disclosure of

confidential information, declaratory relief relating to indemnification

for claims of third parties alleging patent infringement, and numerous

related claims (chair panel of three neutrals, pending)

One-week arbitration of claims between

national business consulting firm and its client, involving claims of

breach of contract and breach of warranty (sole arbitrator, pending)

One-week securities arbitration involving claims of churning and related

impropriety on the part of a financial advisor and broker-dealer (one of

panel of three neutrals)

One-week arbitration between buyers and sellers of a multi-unit

residential complex in Oakland, California, alleging fraud in the inducement

and seeking rescission and other damages (sole arbitrator)

Arbitrations to determine fair market rental

value of space in option periods under commercial leases of office,

retail and industrial space, with competing appraisals and lease

interpretations, etc. (several engagements, sole arbitrator or panel

chair)

International arbitration of contract claims between Canadian

pharmaceutical company and American bio-tech firm (sole arbitrator, settled following hearing on

preliminary issues)

International and domestic arbitrations of

contract disputes involving shipping contracts (sole

arbitrator)

International arbitration of software

consultancy contract (sole arbitrator)

Arbitration of breach of contract claims between winery and vineyard owner

(sole arbitrator)

Arbitration of breach of contract claims between book publisher and author

(sole arbitrator)

Multi-million dollar coverage dispute under employment practices liability

policy between large institutional insurance carrier and venture capital

operating company insured (party-appointed member of panel of three

neutrals)

Three-day arbitration of claims and

counter-claims between franchisee and franchisor for fraud in the

inducement, rescission and damages (sole arbitrator)

Litigation Experience

Since 1985, Mr. Geyer has practiced complex commercial litigation in San

Francisco. His practice has specialized in commercial contracts, licensing

agreements, business torts, antitrust, securities, insurance coverage,

construction, commercial landlord-tenant and other real property, copyright

and trademark infringement, and employment litigation. His securities litigation experience includes

the representation of broker-dealers, issuers, lenders and some corporate

investors. His other commercial litigation experience has involved

representing both plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving commercial

contracts for goods and services, operating agreements, licensing

agreements, franchise agreements, partnership agreements and partnership

disputes, joint venture agreements, contracts for the purchase and sale of

businesses, intellectual property, commercial real estate and

multi-residential developments, including conditions, covenants and

restrictions ("CC&R's") in industrial parks and as applicable to homeowners'

associations, output and requirements contracts, and

contracts for professional services, where various remedies have been

sought, including lost (past and future) profits and other damages,

rescission and restitution, or dissolution of a partnership, joint venture

or closely held corporation, and an accounting. His litigation experience

also includes unfair competition claims, fraud and misrepresentation claims,

landlord-tenant litigation, gaming and Indian gaming litigation, asbestos removal, environmental cost

recovery, endangered species litigation, ADA and other disability rights

issues, misappropriation of trade secrets and other intellectual property

litigation. This litigation, and related counseling, has involved both large

institutions and small business clients operating in various industries,

including banking, investment banking, venture capital, information

technology, law, accounting, real estate, construction, paving, agriculture,

gaming, entertainment, hotel and casino, jewelry, apparel and other retail,

as well as issues relating to withdrawals from or dissolutions of law partnerships.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Training

American Arbitration Association, Basic Arbitrator Training, San Francisco,

1991 (one day); AAA Commercial Arbitrator Training Workshop, 1999 (two

days); AAA Arbitrator II Training, 2002 (two days); Rosenberg Mediation

Training, 2003 (five days, certificated); Bar Association of San Francisco

Advanced Mediation Training, 2004 (two days, certificated)

Professional Licenses

Admitted to the Bar, California, 1985

Professional Associations

State Bar of California, Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution, 2007-2010; American Arbitration Association, National Roster of Commercial

Arbitrators, Large & Complex Case Panel, Securities Panel, Panel of

Mediators; Bar Association

of San Francisco, Mediation Services Panelist and Early Settlement Program Panelist; State Bar of California, Alternative Dispute Resolution

and Litigation, Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Sections; Bar

Association of San Francisco, Mediation and Arbitration Sections; Edward J. McFetridge American Inn of Court, San Francisco, past-Executive Board Member

and Program Chair

Education

California State University, Northridge (BA-1982); Hastings College of the

Law (JD-1985), magna cum laude, Order of the Coif.

Publications and Speaking Engagements

Mediation Do s and Don ts, Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF)

Seminar Panel, September 2009; Mediation Confidentiality and Creating

Enforceable Settlement Agreements, California State Bar Annual Conference

Seminar, September 2009; Drafting Effective Mediation Clauses, BASF Business

Law Section, November 2008; What Trial Lawyers Know (and Don't) About

Arbitrating, California State Bar Annual Conference, September 2008; So

That's How They Do It Around Here: Procedural Issues in Commercial

Arbitrations, BASF ADR Section and Arbitration

Committee, August 2008;

Mediating Residential Real Estate Disputes: Safeguarding the Right to Attorney Fees in Subsequent

Proceedings, BASF Bulletin, July 2007; Maximizing Results in Mediation, BASF

Mediation Services Seminar, April 2007; Ten Things Not to Do When Bringing Your Case to Mediation,

Barristers Club of San Francisco Seminar, August 2005;

Discovery and Hearing Practice in Commercial Arbitrations: The View from the

Neither Side, BASF, 2004; Discovery Practice in

Commercial Arbitrations, BASF, 2003; California

Commercial and Residential Leasing and Eviction Law, National Business

Institute, 1994, 1996, 1999; Picking Up a Plaintiff s Pen: Drafting

Complaints in Civil Litigation, CEB Civil Litigation Reporter, May 1993,

reprinted in Forum, a publication of the California Trial Lawyers

Association, in September 1993, reprinted in revised form in Family Law

News, Spring 1994; Statutory Limitations on Corporate Spending in Ballot

Measure Campaigns: The Case for Constitutionality, 36 Hastings Law Journal

433 (1985)

Compensation

$425 per hour (including both hearing and study time). Hourly rate

discounted to $400 for arbitrations with less than $1 million in

controversy; and to $350 for arbitrations with less than $500,000 in

controversy.

All mediations are $350 per hour. The hourly rate for mediating

multiple-party cases is the same as for two-party cases, with the modest

expenses for additional room rentals simply passed through.

If

mediation or arbitration is cancelled or postponed within 30 days of

scheduled date, or for cases set for three days or more of hearing, if

cancelled or postponed within 45 days of scheduled hearing start date,

cancellation fee of six hours per reserved hearing date applies, unless

reserved dates can be rebooked. Cases in San Francisco Bay

Area (including Sacramento, Santa Rosa, San Jose, Oakland and East Bay)

mediated or arbitrated without travel time or expense charges. Cases outside

this area heard with travel expenses paid by parties; in most cases, travel

time not charged.

Personal

Born 1953, Los Angeles, California

Matthew J. Geyer

Attorney Arbitrator Mediator

1750 Montgomery Street

San Francisco, CA 94111

415-***-****

415-***-**** (fax)

abp9mj@r.postjobfree.com

uction, commercial landlord-tenant and other real property, copyright



Contact this candidate