A veteran litigator and counselor, Mark Olson has represented institutional and individual clients in a wide range of business disputes. Mark works closely with clients to achieve their business and litigation goals efficiently and economically.

Focused on Resolving Complex Business Disputes

Having represented clients including individuals, developers, hedge funds, receivers, hospitals, and automotive and trucking companies, Mark brings a practical perspective to planning and executing dispute resolution and litigation strategies. Mark focuses his practice on financial service, real estate and transportation litigation, routinely representing clients in state, federal and bankruptcy courts throughout California. Mark also defends businesses against personal injury suits.

Breadth and Depth of Commercial Conflict Resolution

His recent matters within the past twelve months include:

• Bankruptcy – representing a West Coast clothier in the bankruptcy of an East coast retailer; a family in the bankruptcy of the automotive service franchisor to which they had leased property; and secured commercial lenders in borrower bankruptcies; and advising hospital and medical staff provider on bankruptcies of public hospitals;
• Litigation – representing a receiver of an automobile dealership; a distressed-debt investor in the workout and foreclosure of commercial loans; and a property owner in a suit against adjoining landowners for flooding his property;
• General business – counseling a local manufacturer on debt restructuring and resolving dispute with a major shareholder;
• Personal injury – representing a national supplier against indemnity claims by a manufacturer for liability to a burn victim, and a construction contractor in a case alleging the wrongful death of an elementary school student.

A Strengthened Focus on Insurance Coverage Claims and Opinions

Bringing his litigation and unique experience in detecting and prosecuting accounting fraud to bear on coverage questions and strategies, Mark's insurance coverage matters have involved first- and third-party policies. These include director and officer, commercial general liability, and business, homeowner and automobile polices, including suspected fraudulent first-party claims.

Mark is a member of the firm’s trial practice, financial services and insurance coverage groups. He frequently speaks to financial services and insurance industry groups and has several published cases in his career background.

Mark Olson’s major litigation representations have included the following: 

• Business torts – Obtained a defense verdict on a $2 million conversion claim against the manager of a business, prevailed on a cross-claim for defamation against the chief executive officer of the business and obtained a punitive damages award, after two three week liability and damages trials in Contra Costa County Superior Court.
• Class action – Successfully defended a national moving company in a class action brought in federal court, obtaining dismissals of Section 17200 and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act claims and denial of certification of the class on the remaining claims, enabling a favorable settlement while on appeal. 
• Personal Injury – Successfully obtained early dismissal of contractor from high-stakes multiparty wrongful death suit arising from death of elementary school student.
• Construction lending – Successfully created a strategy permitting a construction lender, in $6 million stop-notice and mechanics-lien litigation on a major shopping center project, to quickly close its construction loan and extend and sell the permanent loan prior to the release of liens and stop notices and the successful conclusion of the remaining litigation.  
• Business litigation – Represented a mobile phone accessory/OEM manufacturer in litigation, successfully using a series of injunctive remedies to unwind a failed business combination with a hostile competitor.

Mark's published cases include:

• Peninsula Guardians, Inc. v. Peninsula Health Care District, 168 Cal.App.4th 75, 85 Cal. Rptr. 3d 253 (2008) 
   
• Roberts v. North American Van Lines, Inc., 394 F. Supp. 2d 1174 (N.D. Cal. 2004), discussed in W. Masterson, E. Baron & L. LaMothe, Cal. Civ. Prac., Bus. Litig. § 51:2 (2009) and in S. Davis, Disparity Out of Uniformity: Rethinking the Continued Vitality of the Carmack Amendment's Pre-Emption of State Consumer Protection Laws, 21 Loy. Consumer L. Rev. 325, 345-347(2009)
   
• Robertson v. North American Van Lines, Inc., 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7788, 2004 WL 5026265 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 13, 2004)
   
• Sandwich Chef of Texas, Inc. v. Reliance National Indemnity Ins. Co., 202 F.R.D. 212 (S. Dist. Tex. 2001), rev'd, 319 F.3d 205 (5th Cir. 2003)
   
• Washington Group International, Inc., 2001 Bankr. LEXIS 2151 (Bankr. D. Nev. Nov. 16, 2001)
   
• Sandwich Chef of Texas, Inc. v. Reliance National Indemnity Ins. Co., 111 F.Supp.2d 867 (S. Dist. Tex. 2000)