Christopher L. Pitet

Testimonials

As a lawyer, I know what it takes to win in the courtroom.  Simply put, Chris Pitet is one of the best, which is why I refer all my clients to him to handle all aspects of business controversies and litigation.

- Nick Magliarditi

President, DII Capital, Inc.

As a former professional athlete, I know what it is like to compete at the highest level.  And as I have seen firsthand, when it comes to talking to a judge or jury, Chris is at that level.  He really is that good.

- Jean Francois Jomphe

Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes, Montreal Canadiens, Team Canada Alumni

Chris represented me in a dispute regarding the sale of my company.  The buyer demanded millions of additional compensation from me after the closing of the sale.  Following the adage that the best defense is a strong offense, Chris immediately filed suit, and the buyer ended up paying me money shortly after losing an attempt to dismiss my action against it.  Chris came up with a great strategy and executed flawlessly.  Chris is a “fixer.”  If I ever find myself in a dispute again, he will be the first call I make.

- Danny Ryan

Experience

With over two decades of experience, Christopher L. Pitet is recognized as an accomplished trial and appellate lawyer. Over the course of his career, Mr. Pitet has litigated and tried a wide range of significant civil matters for corporate and individual clients.  His primary areas of practice include Business Litigation; Intellectual Property litigation; Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith litigation; Real Estate litigation; and Trust and Probate litigation. In addition to his busy trial practice, Mr. Pitet regularly handles appellate matters, with several of his cases resulting in published opinions.

Prior to co-founding Adkisson Pitet LLP, Mr. Pitet practiced law with two of the nation’s largest law firms. Mr. Pitet also had the distinction of being Orange County’s first Reserve Deputy District Attorney, where he prosecuted criminal matters at the special request of the District Attorney.   He graduated cum laude from Loyola Law School, where he served as Senior Production Editor for the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review.  He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California.

Representative Matters

Over the course of his career, Mr. Pitet has litigated and tried a wide range of significant civil matters for corporate and individual clients.  Representative matters include:

Trials, Arbitrations and Settlements:

• Bedrosian v. Hadid – after a seven-week jury trial in Los Angeles representing famed real estate developer Mohammed Hadid, obtained a verdict rejecting most of plaintiffs’ claims in a real property dispute and their request for over $30 million in damages.

• Zanone v. City of Whittier – after a four-week jury trial in Los Angeles, obtained a seven-figure verdict in favor of a police officer who suffered gender discrimination.

• Romanello v. Ettefagh – obtained the largest dental malpractice jury verdict in San Diego history for an existing corporate client.

• BGC, Inc. v. Rinnovo, LLC – obtained bench ruling finding successor corporation liability; then obtained six-figure jury verdict with punitive damages for holistic technology company.

• Casilio v. Valentine – after seven years of litigation, obtained defense judgment on claims of fraudulent transfer of real property.

• Competitive Capabilities International, Inc. v. Phase 5 Group, Inc. – obtained seven figure arbitration award for failure to pay royalties after overturning a settlement agreement.

• Tarnowski v. Masterpiece Publishing, Inc. – obtained six-figure arbitration award for well-known artist against art publishing company.

• Oakley v. Executive Risk Specialty Insurance Company – obtained multi-million dollar settlement in insurance coverage dispute

Published Appellate Matters:

• Unfair Competition - Valley Vista Services, Inc. v. City of Monterey Park, 118 Cal. App. 4^th 881 (2004)
• Sexual Harassment - Ahmadi-Kashani v. Regents of University of California, 159 Cal. App. 4^th 449 (2008)
• Gender Discrimination - Zanone v. City of Whittier, 162 Cal. App. 4^th 174 (2008)

Publications

Mr. Pitet has several publications to his credit. He is the author of The Problem with “Money Now, Terms Later“: ProCD, Inc. v. Zeidenberg and the enforceability of “Shrinkwrap” Software Licenses, 31 LOY. L.A. L. REV. 325 (1997). He is also the author of Through the Motions: Effective Defenses to Dispose of an Appeal, Los Angeles Daily Journal (June 2, 1999). Finally, Mr. Pitet contributed to the FEDERAL APPELLATE PRACTICE GUIDE – NINTH CIRCUIT (Lawyers Co-op 1997).

Community Involvement

Mr. Pitet is also active in the community. He served on the Board of Directors of Laura’s House, a non-profit entity dedicated to ending domestic violence in Orange County. He formerly was a member of Irvine Valley College Foundation’s Board of Governors, where he served as Chairman. In addition, Mr. Pitet dedicates a substantial amount of his professional time to worthy pro bono cases for clients who cannot afford an attorney.