Hon. Larry A. Burns, Ret.

Civil Rights

• As a District Judge, he adjudicated and presided over numerous jury trials in cases alleging police misconduct, use of excessive force, deliberate indifference to incarcerated detainees and inmates, racial and sexual discrimination, and violations of free speech and religious liberty guarantees. Representative cases Ramirez v. Reddish, 104 F.4th 1219 (10th Cir. 2024) (alleged constitutional violations of immigrants’ rights); Bryan v. MacPherson, 630 F.3d 805 (9th Cir. 2010) (qualified immunity for taser use); Ortega v. San Diego Police Dep't., 669 Fed. Appx. 922, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 19349 (9th Cir. 2016) (fatal police shooting); and Acosta v. Hill, 504 F.3d 1323 (9th Cir. 2007) (alleged unlawful seizure and excessive force).
• Sitting by assignment with the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit, he authored an opinion applying First Amendment principles to adverse action taken by a school board against a fellow board member. Blair v. Bethel Sch. Dist., 608 F.3d 540 (9th Cir. 2010) (free speech claim).
• As a Magistrate Judge, he successfully mediated over one hundred cases involving alleged violations of the Americans with Disability Act and the California Unruh Civil Rights Act. He also helped settle prisoner lawsuits over conditions of confinement.

Class Actions

• As a District Judge, he adjudicated dozens of class action disputes alleging labor law violations, COVID relief fraud, defective products and products liability, data and privacy breaches, false marketing and advertising, securities fraud, and antitrust violations. Representative cases include Van Patten v. Vertical Fitness Group, LLC, 847 F.3d 1037 (9th Cir. 2017) (Telephone Consumer Protection Act), and Lucas v. Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc., 217 F. Supp. 3d 1200 (S.D. Cal. 2016) (dismissal for false claims by class representative). By special assignment, he presided over a jury trial in Lennox v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., case no. 09-cv-13744-LAB (M.D. Fla. 2015), one of the Engle progeny class action tobacco cases. He also adjudicated Multi-District Litigation (MDL) cases, including In re Musical Instruments & Equip. Antitrust Litig., 798 F.3d 1186 (9th Cir. 2015).

Complex Civil Matters

• As a District Judge, he adjudicated and presided over jury trials involving consumer class actions, government and business contract litigation, trade secret and arbitration clause disputes, civil fraud, securities litigation, Qui Tam, and whistleblower actions. Representative cases included alleged violations of the California Consumer Protection Act, the California Unfair Competition Law, the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, the Unfair Practices Act, the Private Attorney General Act, the Federal False Claim Act, the Federal Debt Collections Practices Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Federal Arbitration Act. See, e.g., Van Patten v. Vertical Fitness Group, LLC, 847 F.3d 1037 (9th Cir. 2017); Hubbard v. Phil's BBQ of Point Loma, Inc., 609 Fed. Appx. 478, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 11781 (9th Cir. 2015).
• He supervised Receivership actions, including a multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme case in which investors eventually recouped over 95% of their investments. Securities And Exchange Commission v. Gina Champion-Cain, 19-cv-1628-LAB (S.D. Cal. Feb. 24, 2023). He occasionally dealt with bankruptcy issues and authored two bankruptcy law decisions while sitting by assignment with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. (IPC (USA), Inc. v. Ellis (In re Pettit Oil Co.)), 917 F.3d 1130 (9th Cir. 2019); and Perle v. Fiero (In re Perle), 725 F.3d 1023 (9th Cir. 2013).

Employment Issues

• As a District Judge, he adjudicated and presided over jury trials in employment cases alleging wrongful discharge, employment and hiring discrimination, sexual harassment, whistleblower retaliation, illegal background investigations, employee privacy violations, wage and hour disputes, and misappropriation of trade secret information. Representative cases include Merrick v. Hilton Worldwide, Inc., 867 F.3d 1139 (9th Cir. 2017) (age discrimination); and Steffens v. Regus Group, PLC, case no. 08-cv-1494-LAB, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116536 (S.D. Cal. 2013) ($4.6 million jury verdict in whistleblower retaliation case).
• Sitting by assignment with the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit, he authored two employment law opinions: Gutierrez v. Colvin, 844 F.3d 804 (9th Cir. 2016) (clarifying standards to be followed by ALJ in awarding or denying disability benefits); and Schmidt v. Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Ry., 605 F.3d 686 (9th Cir. 2010) (clarifying test for determining whether one is an “employee” under the Federal Employers Liability Act).
• As a Magistrate Judge, he successfully mediated dozens of employment discrimination cases, many at Early Neutral Evaluation conferences.

Insurance Coverage

• As a District Judge, he adjudicated and presided over jury trials in insurance-centric cases including coverage disputes, excess insurance conflicts, and bad faith claims. Representative cases include Cox v. Paul Revere Life Insurance Co., case no. 08-cv-1353-LAB, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61797 (S.D. Cal. 2011) (alleged breach of disability insurance case). He managed and approved numerous insurance class actions, determining class certification and approval of class settlements. Representative cases include Smith v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals Inc. et al., case number 08-cv-02353-LAB (S.D. Cal. 2010) ($2.9 million settlement). He successfully mediated several coverage dispute cases including Bear, LLC v. Marine Group Boat Works, LLC, case No. 14-cv-02960-BTM (S.D. Cal. 2015) ($9.2 million partial settlement).

Trademark Issues

• As a District and Magistrate Judge, he adjudicated and mediated copyright, trademark, and trade dress disputes. He also mediated cases alleging the unauthorized use of a person's name, photograph, and likeness for financial gain. Representative cases include Gwynn v. Seltzer Caplan, case no. 00-cv-1197-BTM(LAB) (S.D. Cal. 2001) (confidential settlement of dispute alleging unauthorized use of name and likeness).

Medical Malpractice

• As a District Judge, he presided over bench trials in medical malpractice cases under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), including claims of medical negligence during childbirth, surgery, and pre-operative and post-operative care.
• As a Magistrate Judge, he successfully mediated medical malpractice disputes, including cases involving medical licensure issues.

Professional Malpractice Legal

• Adjudicated many cases addressing the legal adequacy of lawyers' performances in both civil and criminal cases. Questions about performance often arose in criminal cases, where defendants challenged their lawyers' effectiveness under the Sixth Amendment and the precedent set by Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984). He is well familiar with constitutional standards for assessing ineffective assistance of counsel.
• Adjudicated legal malpractice claims alleging due process violations arising from the revocation of attorney licenses and the right to practice law. As Chief Judge, he made final decisions in cases in which the District Court Disciplinary Committee recommended disciplinary action or suspension of attorneys' privileges to practice in federal court due to misconduct, malfeasance, or incompetence.

Real Property

• As a District Judge, he adjudicated cases involving land use restrictions, constitutional challenges to zoning laws, boundary disputes, eminent domain actions and other takings by the federal government, and actions seeking “stop work” injunctive relief. Representative cases include Save the Park and Build the School v. National Park Service, et al., Case No. 20-cv-01080-LAB, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 131439 (S.D. Cal. 2020) (“stop work” injunction under the California Environmental Quality Act); Caputo v. Monge, 737 Fed. Appx. 312, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 15400 (9th Cir. 2018) (bench trial challenging restrictive covenants and Idaho zoning regulations); Tollis Inc. v. County of San Diego, 505 F.3d 935 (9th Cir. 2007) (constitutional challenge to zoning restrictions on adult entertainment facilities).

Catastrophic Injury

• As a District Judge, he presided over bench trials in personal injury cases under the FTCA. Representative cases include Hendrickson v. United States of America et al., case no. 11-cv-1746 (S.D. Cal. 2014 (motorcycle collision with border patrol vehicle resulting in $5.4 million verdict). He also adjudicated and presided over jury trials in product liability cases resulting in personal injury. Representative cases include Latanya Jenkins. v. Tristar Products, Inc., case no. 20-cv-1637 (LAB) (S.D. Cal. 2023) (pressure cooker explosion causing severe burns and loss of consortium).

Product Liability

• As a Magistrate Judge, he successfully mediated death and personal injury cases including cases alleging defective products. Representative cases include Anderson et al. v. Sunbeam Products Inc. et al., case no. 01-cv-1109- IEG(LAB) (electrocution of a 9-year-old while holding a Sunbeam iron).