James Goldman

Partner

jgoldman@millerbarondess.com 310.552.7569 vCard Print Bio

Education

J.D., Order of the Coif, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law

Admissions

California

Partner

Biography

Since graduating from UCLA Law School in 1973 (Order of the Coif), James Goldman has represented clients in trials and appeals in state and federal courts, regulatory proceedings (involving the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Home Loan Bank Board, California and Arizona State Boards of Accountancy, Federal Trade Commission, California Department of Corporations, NYSE, NASD, and FINRA), arbitrations and mediations. His practice has focused on complex commercial litigation involving:

Real estate transactions, including environmental and conservation issues, purchase/sale agreements, title issues, easements, eminent domain issues, construction contracts for public and private projects, construction defect litigation, leases/landlord-tenant issues, financing transactions, joint ventures/partnerships, and foreclosures/work-outs;
Public and private company financing transactions, including secured and unsecured loans and equity investments; and
Professional liability, including claims against lawyers, accountants, real estate brokers, securities underwriters and brokers, asset managers, and construction design professionals.

Mr. Goldman successfully defended an accounting firm in one of the largest securities class actions ever to have been tried, as described in Dillion and Cannon, “Circle of Greed: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Lawyer Who Brought Corporate America to its Knees” (Random House 2010). He has also served as defense counsel in securities actions involving American Continental Corp./Lincoln Savings, Occidental Petroleum Corp., Financial Corp. of America, McCulloch Oil Corp., Republic Corp., Columbia Pictures, New World Entertainment, Inc., Live Entertainment, Inc., Carolco Pictures, Inc. Children’s Wonderland, Inc., Aura Systems, Inc., Chantal Pharmaceutical Corp., Destination Films, Inc., Entropin, Inc., Budget Furniture Rentals, Inc., Cannon Film Group, Inc., and Apparel Technologies, Inc.

Notable Representations

Mr. Goldman has successfully represented clients in numerous appellate matters, including:

Bunker Hill Park Limited v. U.S. Bank National Association, 231 Cal.App.4th 1315 (2014) (holding that dispute between landlord and tenant under ground lease was arbitrable);
1300 N. Curson Investors, LLC v. Drumea, 225 Cal.App.4th 330 (2014) (holding that trial court erred in applying rent control provisions to property manager);
Tucker Land Company v. State of California, 94 Cal.App.4th 1192 (2001) (holding that constituent members of joint powers agency are not liable for obligations of joint powers agency);
Summerfield v. Superior Court (Appeal No. B239590) (granting writ of mandate to direct trial court to vacate order granting summary judgment);
Friends of Temescal Pool v. Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (Appeal No. B219256) (affirming judgment that disability laws did not prevent closure of public recreational facility);
BadTax v. Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (Appeal No. B16909) (affirming validity of assessment district);
RTC Mortgage Trust 1994-S2 v. 6710-40 Havenhurst, 62 Cal.App.4th 304 (1998) (reversing trial court construction of “fair value” provision in anti-deficiency statutes);
Children’s Wonderland, Inc. v. Diversified Intergenerational Care, Inc. (Appeal No. B149745) (affirming judgment against contractor in dispute with owner relating to construction of day care facility);
Richland Mortgage Corp. v. Kern (Appeal No. B119223) (affirming judgment against “hard money” lender seeking deficiency judgment); and
Fox v. Safe In Heaven Dead Productions, Inc. (Appeal No. B148488) (reversing summary judgment in malpractice/conspiracy case against law firm).

Honors and Awards

Best Lawyers in America^®
Recognized in Real Estate Law (2013-2024)
Southern California Super Lawyers^® (2007, 2009-2010, 2014-2018)
Awarded the highest possible Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating, AV® Preeminent ™ (AV is a registered certification mark of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards, and policies)

Professional Activities

Active in bar associations, having served as, among other things, President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, a member of its Executive Board, a member of the Board of Governors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and a member of the Litigation Sections of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of California.
Served on the editorial boards of Class Action Reports and Los Angeles Lawyer, and authored numerous articles on real estate, corporate finance, and business litigation issues published in, among other places, The California Commercial Lender, Real Estate Workouts & Asset Management, The Real Estate Finance Journal, the Los Angeles Daily Journal, the San Francisco Daily Journal, and the Los Angeles Lawyer.
Participated in many public speaking engagements on legal topics, including programs sponsored by the Federal Bar Association, the California State Bar, the American Bar Association, the Federal Practice Institute, Lorman Education Services, and Loyola Law School.