Kibler Fowler & Cave LLP

We’re hiring … again! Kibler Fowler & Cave LLP is seeking a litigation attorney, preferably with three to five years’ experience, to join its expanding team in New York. We handle business disputes and litigation across a wide spectrum of industries (including financial services, real estate, insurance and general business). We have a close-knit and collegial team. The ideal candidate desires significant front-line litigation and trial experience who’s ready on a day-to-day basis to drive cases on their own, interface with clients and adversaries, make decisions and appear in court. Strong academic credentials (Top 10% of class) along with Big Law or federal clerkship experience is a plus, but not a requirement. Candidates must be admitted in New York. We are looking for the right candidate who fits in with our collaborative and creative culture, and who is dedicated, as we are, to client service and results. We offer competitive pay and benefits, and small firm flexibility that will allow them to grow their own client relationships. We are passionate about litigation and have a loyal and sophisticated client base. If interested, please email your resume to the head of our New York office, Partner Daniel Stujenske ([email protected]). Inquiries will be kept confidential.

We’re hiring … again! Kibler Fowler & Cave LLP is seeking a litigation attorney, preferably with three to five years’ experience, to join its expanding team in Los Angeles. We handle business disputes and litigation across a wide spectrum of cutting edge and evolving industries (including entertainment, IP, real estate, finance, cannabis, cryptocurrency and general business). We have a close-knit and collegial team. The ideal candidate desires significant front-line litigation and trial experience who’s ready on a day-to-day basis to drive cases on their own, interface with clients and adversaries, make decisions and appear in court. Strong academic credentials (Top 10% of class) along with Big Law or federal clerkship experience is a plus, but not a requirement. Candidates must be admitted in California. We are looking for the right candidate who fits in with our collaborative and creative culture, and who is dedicated, as we are, to client service and results. We offer competitive pay and benefits, and small firm flexibility that will allow them to grow their own client relationships. We are passionate about litigation and have a loyal and sophisticated client base. If interested, please email your resume to Managing Partner Michael Kibler ([email protected]). Inquiries will be kept confidential.

In this edition of the KF&C California Law Blog, we discuss a recent decision by the California Supreme Court finding that under California law, the economic loss rule does not bar a claim for fraudulent concealment. After a lengthy analysis of the history and evolution of the economic loss rule, the court ruled that a plaintiff may assert a fraudulent concealment claim based on conduct occurring during a contractual relationship if (1) the elements of the claim can be established independently of the parties’ contractual rights and obligations and (2) the tortious conduct exposes the plaintiff to a risk of harm beyond the reasonable contemplation of the parties when they entered into the contract. (See Rattagan v. Uber Technologies, Inc. (Cal. 2024) 324 Cal.Rptr.3d 433)   Differing judicial interpretations and applications of the economic loss rule among federal courts and other state courts have created uncertainty for our clients regarding the risk of conducting business in various jurisdictions. Now, under California law, parties will be able to sue counterparties to their contracts for both affirmative deception and fraudulent concealment, even if the resulting harm is an economic loss, so long as the resulting harm was “beyond the reasonable contemplation of the parties when they entered into the contract.” When drafting contracts, practitioners may seek greater certainty for their clients by choosing at the outset to contractually guard against certain risks by imposing specific obligations on the other party and allocating agreed-upon remedies should a breach occur. Practitioners may also want to draft contracts that provide for how violations will be treated, provide greater deterrence for some kinds of violations, or that eliminate the need to litigate regardless of whether the breach was intentional or negligent. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gMUt6_Wf

Managing Partner Michael Kibler was quoted in a USA TODAY article titled, “Politics, drugs and taxes: jury selection for Hunter Biden’s tax trial could get personal.” The article discusses the jury selection process as it begins today for Biden’s tax trial, focusing on how the Court will work to eliminate potential jurors’ biases and how both Biden’s defense team and the government prosecutors are shaping their approaches. With extensive experience in jury selection throughout his career, Mike shared his thoughts on the process. He explained, “[w]hat Judge Scarsi is trying to accomplish is to weed out biased jurors who will not be able to consider the facts presented in the trial and apply to the law he will read to them in the jury charge to reach a fair verdict.” He continued, “[i]f he thinks a question is intended to pre-argue a theme rather than weed out bias, he won’t ask it.” Mike further noted that “[f]rom the court’s perspective, the judge will want to explore whether the juror can be impartial, listen to the evidence and arguments, and follow the law as given to them notwithstanding the familiarity.” Mike also provided insight from the lawyers’ perspective, noting that “[i]f I were representing the government, my ideal juror would be a lunch-pail, tax-paying working stiff,” and “[i]f I were (Biden’s) lawyer, my ideal juror would be someone who leans liberal and who has had personal or family experience dealing with addiction.” Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eDgpqAgP

Kibler Fowler & Cave is proud to announce that Managing Partner Michael Kibler was recently recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, and Counsel Stephen Raiola and Associate Shiqi (Sara) Borjigin were recognized in the 2025 edition of the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America. Mike and Sara were both recognized for their work in Commercial Litigation. Stephen was recognized for his work in Commercial Litigation and Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions. Mike has been included in The Best Lawyers in America® for the fourth consecutive year, Stephen has been included in in the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for the third consecutive year, and Sara has been included in the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for the fourth consecutive year. KF&C Partner Matt Cave has been recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America in past years. This honor is based on an exhaustive peer review survey during which recognized lawyers are asked to provide confidential evaluation of their peers through a voting process. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gFRSxmWF

On August 3, 2024, Managing Partner Michael Kibler was a featured speaker on the “Perspectives on Civil Litigation” panel as part Loyola Law School, Los Angeles’s 19th Annual Journalist Law School. Loyola’s Journalist Law School fellowship program, chaired by Professor Jessica Levinson, is a legal bootcamp for more than 30 for reporters, editors, and producers who cover the law. The program condenses contemporary core law school subjects and break-out topics into a dense four days, with courses taught by Loyola Law School professors, top practitioners, legislators, and judges. More than 1,000 reporters, editors, and producers have completed the fellowship from a wide range of local, national, and international news organizations. The panel was moderated by political journalist Alex Cohen, and Mike was joined by co-panelists Cyndie Chang and Jennifer Baldocchi. #JLS

In this edition of the KF&C California Law Blog, we discuss the recent California Supreme Court decision in Quach v. California Commerce Club, No. S275121, 2024 WL 3530266 (Cal. July 25, 2024), in which the court eliminated the longstanding requirement under the California Arbitration Act that a party opposing arbitration show that it had suffered prejudice as a result of the moving party’s delay in attempting to compel arbitration. The elimination of the prejudice requirement will likely result in more frequent claims of waiver in opposition to a party’s attempt to enforce an arbitration agreement. Practitioners responding to a complaint should promptly investigate whether the dispute may be subject to an arbitration agreement before engaging in any litigation conduct including serving even initial discovery. Parties seeking to avoid arbitration clauses will likely test the boundaries of waiver and argue that even very limited litigation conduct should result in waiver. Parties seeking to avoid that result should diligently investigate issues of arbitrability and if appropriate, move to compel arbitration at the earliest opportunity. Read the full blog here: https://lnkd.in/eBMyMncq For further questions or comments on the content of this post, please contact Michael Kibler or Michael Carnevale.

Kibler Fowler & Cave’s Appellate Litigation practice group secured an appellate victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit where KF&C acted as court-appointed amicus curiae tasked by the Court to argue for reversal of the district court’s order entering summary judgment in favor of two defendant police officers. The officers were accused in a pro se complaint of violating the plaintiff’s Fourth Amendment rights by accosting him while he was seated in his own car in his own driveway, detaining and frisking him without reasonable suspicion, and searching his car without probable cause. Following oral argument, the Fourth Circuit reversed the district court’s finding that the officers were justified in conducting a Terry stop of the plaintiff and vacated the district court’s subsequent ruling that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity. In vacating the district court’s judgment, the Court adopted nearly all the arguments that were presented in KF&C’s brief. The precedential opinion concluded that that the officers lacked sufficient reasonable, particularized suspicion as to the plaintiff and should not have seized him or searched his vehicle. The Court’s decision noted that an anonymous call regarding a nearby alleged stabbing provided limited information about the alleged crime and offered no details about any assailants, and that the officers targeted the plaintiff merely because his car was running, and used his innocuous conduct to justify escalating the encounter by detaining him at gunpoint. The Court found that under a reasonable interpretation of facts, their officers’ actions were neither necessary nor justified. The KF&C team includes Counsel Stephen Raiola (who argued the appeal) and Associate Charles Cardinal. The Fourth Circuit’s Amicus Curiae appointment was the second Amicus appointment of KF&C by a federal court of appeal. Last year, Stephen was appointed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to present arguments regarding the constitutionality of a New Jersey law.

Kibler Fowler & Cave LLP's petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court was selected as its “Petition of the Week” by SCOTUSblog for the week of July 9. On March 20, 2024, Kibler Fowler & Cave filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court on behalf a small family business and two small business owners who, despite having never been accused of criminal wrongdoing, have had their property seized pursuant to the federal criminal forfeiture statute, 21 U.S.C. § 853. Following the filing of the cert petition, the Supreme Court called for a response from the government, and Kibler Fowler & Cave was joined by six Amici, including the The Rutherford Institute, Cato Institute, Manhattan Institute, The Buckeye Institute, Goldwater Institute, and Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The KF&C team on the petition includes Counsel Stephen Raiola and Associate Zien Halwani. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gP-nCKgX

Kibler Fowler & Cave LLP is proud to be a Gold Sponsor of the Korean American Bar Association of Washington DC (KABA-DC) Summer Reception and 2024 Mentorship Program Kickoff Event, which will take place on Thursday, July 18 at The Hyatt House in Washington, D.C. KABA-DC is an organization representing more than 800 Korean American attorneys at all levels of the state and federal government, private practitioners, as well as local law school students. It provides invaluable community service and legal support for the Korean American community of the greater Washington, D.C. area. KF&C Counsel Nathan Park is Co-President of KABA-DC for the 2023-2025 term.