Areas of Expertise

• Bodily Injury
• Business and Commercial Litigation
• Construction
• Employment
• General Liability and Premises Liability
• Insurance Litigation
• Landlord-Tenant & Habitability Claims
• Professional Liability and Malpractice
• Real Estate

Education and Licenses

• California Supreme Court, 1993
• United States District Court, Central District of California, 1993
• State Bar of California, 1993
• Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, Juris Doctor, 1993
• University of California at Berkeley, Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, 1989

Professional Associations and ADR Training

• Professional Skills Series – Preparing You for the ADR Landscape in Response to COVID19, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law, 2020
• Los Angeles County Bar Association 40 Hour Mediation Training Course, 2019
• Southern California Mediation Association, Member of Annual Conference Steering Committee
• Los Angeles County Bar Association, Adequate State Court Funding and Operations Committee
• Professional Liability Underwriting Society
• Defense Research Institute

Pro Bono Positions

• Center for Conflict Resolution, Panel Mediator
• Los Angeles County Bar Association Attorney-Client Mediation and Arbitration Services, Panel Mediator and Arbitrator
• Tour de Summer Camps Annual Cycling Event, Outreach Chair
• Camp Ramah in Ojai, California, Board Member

Construction

• A large residential development company filed a complex construction defect case against its general contractor, subcontractors and material suppliers arising out of the new construction of 1,400 unit apartment community.
• The owners of a large custom home in Los Angeles filed claims with the California State Contractors Board and the Surety Bond company against their general contractor arising out of the failure to complete the construction of a major remodel and basement addition.

Real Estate Litigation

• Property owner filed a complaint against his neighbor arising out of the neighbor’s impermissible construction of a roadway improvement in violation of aningress and egress easement in favor of property owner’s property.
• General Contractor filed a complaint against the property owner for failing to complete the construction contract and failing to pay outstanding retention amounts to general contractor and its subcontractors.

Insurance Litigation

• Policyholder sued for defective construction of a new residence filed a complaint against its insurer for breach of contract, breach of the duty to defend, breach of the duty to indemnify and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
• Policyholder filed a complaint against its insurer and insurance broker for failing to renew its insurance policy requiring the policyholder to pay for its defense of a complaint filed by a plaintiff that lost his leg in a work-related accident.

Professional Liability and Malpractice

• Homeowners filed a complaint against the listing and buying real estate agents, a home inspector and a real estate appraiser for failure to disclose defects and for misrepresenting the permitted square footage of the property.
• Large car dealership filed a complaint against its accountant for failure to prepare proper financial statements to preserve the dealerships vouchers and tax deductions from the City of Los Angeles.

General Liability

• An automobile accident case where plaintiff refused to take the money from defendant’s insurer and filed a small claims complaint to recover more than offered pre-suit.
• A complaint filed by a customer against a supermarket and a security company for assault, battery and false imprisonment arising out of the alleged shop lifting of a pack of gum.

Bodily Injury

• Personal injury matter arising out of a large commercial crane that fell onto a residence injuring an occupant and damaging the residential structure. The matter included claims by a utility company, electrical contractor and a few internet providers against the crane company for business interruption damages.
• Personal injury case involving a trip and fall down a staircase in a Los Angeles restaurant that resulted in a severe and permanent injury requiring a structured settlement.

Landlord-Tenant & Habitability Claims

• Landlord filed an unlawful detainer complaint against its disabled tenant for failure to pay multiple months of overdue rent and for failing to vacate the unit.
• Multiple plaintiffs residing in a low-income apartment building filed a complaint against the current and prior owner of their building claiming several violations of the Municipal Code, Civil Code and the Healthy and Safety Codes.

Employment

• A non-profit corporation that provides a group home for developmentally disabled young adults was sued by its Executive Director for wrongful termination and a hostile work environment.
• Several employees of a make-up manufacturing company filed a complaint against the company for a hostile work environment and constructive termination.

Business and Commercial Litigation

• Dispute between a Cannabidiol (CBD) Company and a Distribution Company regarding the interpretation of several provisions of an Implementation Agreement to sell its products in multiple States in the United States.
• Heirs to a family run pistachio tree company filed an action against a nephew who received a larger distribution of the assets of the estate than closer related family members.

Jeffrey Kaplan helps people, businesses and organizations resolve their legal disputes out of court. He has an innate ability to read people and situations to develop trusted and mutually agreed upon mediated solutions to simple and complex legal disputes. Mr. Kaplan is an excellent listener who puts people at ease enabling them to share necessary information to end their dispute. Mr. Kaplan effortlessly combines his legal expertise with his five Cs:

• Cool under pressure in evaluating and resolving disputes
• Calm demeanor in dealing with emotionally charged issues and problems
• Controlled in assessing differing positions to a conflict
• Clear-Minded in seeing through specious arguments
• Creative problem solver

As a mediator, Jeffrey’s tireless work ethic, persistence, strong evaluative skills and zealous preparation enable him to successfully resolve all types of disputes. People seek him out for his sound and practical advice, directness and willingness to reality check people. Mr. Kaplan expertly overcomes impasse allowing parties to reduce the heavy financial and emotional toll of protracted litigation.

He focuses in real estate, professional liability, construction defect law, habitability claims, homeowner association disputes, personal injury, employment matters and insurance coverage. He has successfully resolved thousands of disputes through mediation.

Mr. Kaplan earned his J.D. from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley with a major in Political Science. He has been a civil litigator for twenty-seven years. His three decades as a trial attorney provide his mediation clients with an honest assessment of their probability of success in an arbitration or trial.

Mr. Kaplan is a member of the State Bar of California, Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Southern California Mediation Association, the Professional Liability Underwriting Society and DRI. He volunteers as a mediator and arbitrator for the Center for Conflict Resolution and the Los Angeles County Attorney Fee Dispute Program. For the past 7 years, Jeffrey has been the Outreach Chair for an annual cycling event that raises money to help send more than fifteen hundred kids to summer camp.

In his spare time, Mr. Kaplan enjoys traveling with his family, cycling, hiking, playing basketball, tennis, and reading spy novels. He is always looking for his next challenge.