Daniel K. Dik

Daniel Dik’s specialty is analyzing anything and everything intricate, convoluted, or complicated requiring tortuous research and analysis of legal ambiguities, followed by learned guidance for the proper course of action. Among lawyers, he is a superb writer, resulting in frequent consultations from other attorneys inside and outside the Firm on law-and-motion and dispositive motions and appeals. Prior to, and during law school, Dan worked for approximately ten years as a Clinical Laboratory Technologist at Los Angeles County-Harbor UCLA Medical Center and at Long Beach Community Hospital. He is fluent in Spanish.

Dan’s 20 plus year legal career has and continues to be widespread, working in areas of employment law, including sexual harassment, discrimination of all types and wrongful termination, defense of class actions, bad faith defense, insurance coverage, business disputes and dissolutions, unfair competition/business practices, trade secrets, breach of contract, commercial fraud, general and commercial liability encompassing everything from property rights, premises liability to homeowners and auto negligence; mechanics liens, medical and legal malpractice, and wrongful death to name just a few. He has undertaken a significant portion of the appellate practice of the Firm. Prior to going into litigation, he was a transaction attorney with an old-line downtown LA working on debt restructuring, due diligence incident to the acquisition of financial institutions, tax issues, oil rights, and mortgage-backed securities.

Dan represents both public and private clients in state and federal courts in a wide range of industries including construction, real estate, petroleum, general business, security, healthcare including hospitals, physicians, and physician groups, ancillary service providers and plan providers, insurance, manufacturers of all types including welding and crane equipment, guns and others products. Some of his litigation successes include:

Published Appellate Decisions:

• DeRuyter v. Methodist Hospital, the issue of religious entity exemption from the California Fair Employment and Housing Act that was before the California Supreme Court.

• Green v. Par Pools, involving allegations of discriminatory failure to equally compensate female employees and allegations of sexual harassment. At trial, Todd received a defense judgment and also successfully defended the appeal on the equal pay issue.
• Ileto v. Glock, Inc., our client gun manufacturer (Bushmaster Firearms) was dismissed from multi-count federal action because the shell casings at the shooting site indicated a bullet too big to fit into our client’s rifle.
• Little Company of Mary Hospital v. Superior Court (Marin), this published opinion now establishes that no punitive damages can be sought against a religious entity (hospital), regardless of the cause of action alleged, without plaintiff first prevailing on a motion backed up by evidence demonstrating a case for those damages.
• Ronald F. v. DDS, (2nd Dist. Div. 2, 2017) 8 Cal.App.5th 84.

Unpublished decisions:

• Sterling-v-NBA-Report Lawsuit by billionaire dispossessed owner of the L.A. Clippers dismissed against physician who examined him, pursuant to the terms of a trust, and found former owner incapacitated to serve as trustee.
• Taylor v. Bazikyan, A defense attorney made a motion in the underlying matter, on behalf of his client, seeking to have plaintiff declared a vexatious litigant.
• Degenshein v. 21st Century Toys, In house counsel for toy company sued for wrongful termination of employment, basing his action on communications between that counsel and the company protected by the attorney-client privilege, and protected by the lawyer’s duty to preserve inviolate client confidences and secrets.
• Huntington Memorial Hospital v. Alsamann, Child gets kicked in the head by a horse while attending benefit horse show with his mother.  Mother and child sue for emotional distress, and father also brings a claim for NIED on a bystander theory.
• Arakelian v. Conquest, Over 50 former employees of an internet company (Feed the Monster Media) that suddenly went out of business sued the company and sued its CEO based largely upon claims for unpaid wages and stock bonuses.
• Darian v. Accent Builders, Darian sued everyone ever involved in the renovation of the Malibu Pier, as well as the LA County Sherriff, the governor, and several judges who ruled unfavorably to him, on multiple actions filed in state and federal court, and sought consolidation in the Central District of California.