- Extensive experience in multiple areas of civil litigation and trial work, including construction/construction defect, wildland fire/vegetation management, premises liability, product liability, complex tort and construction litigation, farm and ranch, landlord/tenant, wrongful death, mobile home park, and contract cases throughout California
- Conduct and coordinates Emergency Response Investigations in response to events of a fatal or catastrophic nature which require immediate attention in order to preserve evidence, secure witness statements and information, and counsel clients accordingly
- Represents and counsels individuals, small businesses, municipalities and large corporations in all aspects of litigation, including successful mediations, arbitrations and trials
- Provides pro-active, strategic counsel to a diverse client base in areas of risk management with the goal of avoiding litigation and minimizing exposure
- Experience in developing strategy and litigating complex and high-exposure cases involving bad faith, wildland fires, construction defect, landlord/tenant claims and toxic tort
- Counsels and defends general contractors, subcontractors and material suppliers in construction-related matters and disputes, including indemnity and contractual issues, construction defect and construction site injuries
- Defends and counsels property owners and managers against premises liability claims of dangerous conditions, trespass and nuisance claims, and mobile home park and landlord/tenant issues
- Experience defending horse and ranch owners against horse-related injuries, ranching disputes
- Defends manufacturers, retailers and distributors of commercial and consumer products in cases involving alleged manufacturing and/or design defects, failure to warn, and breach of warranty claims
- Defends commercial transportation companies and common carriers in claims ranging from moderate to catastrophic losses

David S. Wilgus
Partner
Practice Experience
- Extensive experience in multiple areas of civil litigation and trial work, including construction/construction defect, wildland fire/vegetation management, premises liability, product liability, complex tort and construction litigation, farm and ranch, landlord/tenant, wrongful death, mobile home park, and contract cases throughout California
- Conduct and coordinates Emergency Response Investigations in response to events of a fatal or catastrophic nature which require immediate attention in order to preserve evidence, secure witness statements and information, and counsel clients accordingly
- Represents and counsels individuals, small businesses, municipalities and large corporations in all aspects of litigation, including successful mediations, arbitrations and trials
- Provides pro-active, strategic counsel to a diverse client base in areas of risk management with the goal of avoiding litigation and minimizing exposure
- Experience in developing strategy and litigating complex and high-exposure cases involving bad faith, wildland fires, construction defect, landlord/tenant claims and toxic tort
- Counsels and defends general contractors, subcontractors and material suppliers in construction-related matters and disputes, including indemnity and contractual issues, construction defect and construction site injuries
- Defends and counsels property owners and managers against premises liability claims of dangerous conditions, trespass and nuisance claims, and mobile home park and landlord/tenant issues
- Experience defending horse and ranch owners against horse-related injuries, ranching disputes
- Defends manufacturers, retailers and distributors of commercial and consumer products in cases involving alleged manufacturing and/or design defects, failure to warn, and breach of warranty claims
- Defends commercial transportation companies and common carriers in claims ranging from moderate to catastrophic losses
Memberships and Affiliations
- State Bar of California
- Alameda County Bar Association
- United Contractors (UCON)
- Western Manufactured Housing Communities (WMA)
Publications
- Author, "Nonpoint source Pollution and the Semi-Clean Water Enforcement and Pollution Act of 1999”, 31 McGeorge Law Review 447 (2000).
- Author, “The Nature of Nuisance: Judicial Environmental Ethics and Landowner Stewardship in the Age of Ecology”, 33 McGeorge Law Review 99 (2001).
Practice Experience
Memberships and Affiliations
- State Bar of California
- Alameda County Bar Association
- United Contractors (UCON)
- Western Manufactured Housing Communities (WMA)
Publications
- Author, "Nonpoint source Pollution and the Semi-Clean Water Enforcement and Pollution Act of 1999”, 31 McGeorge Law Review 447 (2000).
- Author, “The Nature of Nuisance: Judicial Environmental Ethics and Landowner Stewardship in the Age of Ecology”, 33 McGeorge Law Review 99 (2001).
Education
- University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law (J.D., 2001)
- University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A. in History, with honors and distinction, 1997)
Bar Admissions
- California, 2002
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 2002
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, 2004
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 2004