This is the lawyer who got a victory for the LDS church and an en banc win in the 9th circuit; he is also challenging landlord-tenant regulations promulgated and enforced by Los Angeles in the post-pandemic period that squarely conflict with U.S. Supreme Court precedent and constitutional first principles."

 

(Larson LLP website)

Larson Law Firm partner, Mr. Rick Richmond, is well known and respected statewide, nationally and internationally for his expertise and wins.

I got to know Mr. Richmond when he was here in Humboldt and have followed cases of interest.

The County of Humboldt should take a look at Mr. Richmond's bio from the Larson LLP site. If this is who they want to take on; it would not be the first stupid decision made by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors who instead of holding people, employees, department heads and the lawyers they employ accountable for their botched incompetence, double down and the  people who expose their stupidity aren't the problem.

https://www.larsonllp.com/people/rick-richmond/

"Recognized for his litigation and trial prowess by The American Lawyer, The National Law Journal, The Legal 500, Daily Journal, Law360, and Los Angeles Business Journal, and a two-time winner of the California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award by the Daily Journal, Rick is esteemed by colleagues and critics alike. While he is widely recognized for his trial victories, Rick is known in the legal community for being a “fixer,” taking on the most difficult cases that other lawyers have been unable to resolve."

There are two cases involving the Ninth Circuit teied by Mr. Richmond I wanted to share with my readers, particularly those in California and nationwide.

The first case is one Mr. Richmond won for the LDS Church in federal trial court, but then lost 2-1 in the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Richmond then reached out to Mr. Paul Clement, attorney and former Solicitor General of the United States.

Mr. Clement got the Ninth Circuit to grant en banc review and then won 11-0.  "That’s unheard of in the Ninth Circuit, " Mr. Richmond told me.

 LDS Church Ninth Circuit ruling:

"The en banc court affirmed the district court’s order granting summary judgment to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“the Church”) in an action brought by James Huntsman, a former member of the Church, alleging that the Church had committed fraud by using tithing funds to finance commercial endeavors despite stating that it would not do so. Huntsman contended that the Church committed fraud under California law by misrepresenting which funds it used to finance the City Creek Center project, a redevelopment of a commercial shopping mall in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah; and which funds were used to allegedly “bail out” the Beneficial Life Insurance Company, a Church-owned entity. Huntsman tithed substantial sums to the Church from 1993 to 2015. The en banc court held that no reasonable juror could conclude that the Church misrepresented the source of funds for the City Creek project. The Church had long explained that the sources of the reserve funds included tithing funds, and Huntsman had not presented evidence that the Church did anything other than what it said it would do. The en banc court held that Huntsman’s claim with respect to the $600 million allegedly transferred to Beneficial Life also failed. Huntsman did not identify any specific statements made by the Church about the source of funds for Beneficial Life. Accordingly, the record did not support a claim of fraudulent misrepresentation. Finally, the en banc court held that the church autonomy doctrine had no bearing in this case because nothing in the court’s analysis of Huntsman’s fraud claims delved into matters of Church doctrine or policy. "

The second lawsuit challenges "landlord-tenant regulations promulgated and enforced by Los Angeles in the post-pandemic period that squarely conflict with U.S. Supreme Court precedent and constitutional first principles."

That case currently on appeal in the Ninth Circuit.  "We are making a Takings Clause challenge to the rent control ordinances here in Los Angeles, which are completely out of control and getting worse."