First Admitted: 1979, California

Professional Webpage: http://www.cheastylaw.com/robert-cheasty/

Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):

$53 million judgment on behalf of client who was struck by Defendant drunk driver. Case upheld on appeal. ... ... . Mulitple cases of recieving over a Million dollars in judgemnts after trial on behalf of clients. ... ... . Millions received in settlements for clients. ... ... . Received $100,000 policy limits (Allstate) on of client Plaintiff who rear-ended Defendant's SUV - on theory that Defendant SUV driver was intentionally trying to get hit on the Freeway. ... ... . Successfully represented numerous clients in range of cases including defending copyrights to two academy-award-winning movies; defending copyright infringement cases against major software company; defending clients in cases involving the Department of Justice; in business and real estate litigation. ... ... . Represented Acupuncture Associations, schools and practitioners before the courts, administrative bodies, and legislatures to proitect the rights of the practitioners and the public. ... ... . Successfully defended various acupuncturists in matters involving allegations of malpractice. ... ... . Promoted and defended the rights of farm workers and construction workers. ... . Achieved the highest recovery of benefits on behalf of union carpenters in the State of California.
$7million in trial for wrongful death (fatal stabbing) at high school graduation party and for a non -fatal stabbing of another party attendant. Result: $4,000,014,803.21 awarded to parents of the deceased young man. $3,031,662.51 awarded to the young man who was stabbed but not fatally. Ramos v. Oppelt, Alameda Co. Sup. Ct. RG 08370620., 2011

Pro bono/Community Service:

Past public positions include: 1.) Mayor of Albany, California; 2.) Chair, Albany Redevelopment Board; 3.) Chair, Albany Pension Board; 4.) President, Solano Avenue Association; 5.) President, Citizens for East Shore Parks; 6.) Co-Chair, Albany Earthquake Preparedness Program (EQPP); 7.) President, Bay Dredging Action Coalition, dedicated to ecologically sound dredging solutions in San Francisco Bay - BDAC ensured the continued vitality of shipping in the region, while using the clean dredge material for wetland restoration projects around the Bay. 8.) League of California Cities, representing the East Bay on the Water Policy Subcommittee, helping to produce for the first time ever a statewide consensus on water policy in 1987-88. 9.) Chair, Albany Economic Advisory Board. 10.) Executive Director, Citizens for East Shore Parks.

Honors/Awards:

California Certified Acupuncturists Association, Exceptional Contribution to the Profession (1984 – 2006); ... California Certified Acupuncturists Association, for Dedication and Outstanding Service (2002); ... Fourth Conference of World Traditional Medicine, Award for Outstanding Contribution (1998); ... California Certified Acupuncturists Association, for Dedication & Outstanding Service (1997)

Educational Background:

Law School: University of San Francisco School of Law, JD 1978, Honors: Class Graduation Speaker; Law Review; Moot Court Honors Undergraduate: City University of New York, BA 1971 (major honors)

White Papers:

Wrote the White Paper on agricultural mechanization in the context of farm labor and collective bargaining for the State of California, Agricultural Labor Relations Board.

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

Publications: U.C. Davis Law Review - on bargaining rights of workers in cases of agricultural mechanization; U.S.F. Law Review - on Constitutional rights and standards of proof in cases of custodial confessions; Numerous pieces for local newspapers; Briefs and writings for clients and public interest groups; Wrote the position paper for the State of California on the issue of farm labor and mechanization. Teaching & Lecturing: UC Berkeley (guest lecturer, graduate and undergraduate levels); UC Hastings Law School (Judge: Trial Advocacy Program; Moot Court Program); USF School of Law (Judge: Trial Program; Moot Court Program); Kings College (guest lecturer, London, U. K.); State of California (trial techniques); California Certified Acupuncture Association: (Requirements of the Acupuncturist Treater in Personal Injury Cases; Health Care in the Health Maintenance Environment); United Practitioners of Chinese Medicine: (Lecture: Medical Malpractice); American Institute of Chinese Medicine, Third World Conference of Traditional Medicine: (Lecture: The Emergence of Provider Networks); Fifth International Congress of Chinese Medicine: (Lecture: Current Trends); American Association of Chinese medicine & Acupuncture (Lecture: Developing Trends in Medicine, Law and Malpractice.), Lecture to American Association of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, Lecture on charting, on the proper use of code; risks for non compliance; descriptions for treatment and care in Acupuncture, My representation of Acupuncture Groups for over 30 years., Acupuncturists, 2020

Other Outstanding Achievements:

Won a lawsuit to enforce the California Environmental Quality Act to protect Point Molate from a disastrous plan that would potentially destroy Ohlone Sacred burial sites, and build housing in an extreme fire hazard zone that features a single road with its entrance and exit passing within feet of a major oil refinery and fuel storage facility. This road takes traffic directly into a clogged freeway that is often backed up for miles, with the result that people fleeing a wildfire would be left to burn as happened in Paradise, California. Point Molate itself hosts bald eagles, osprey, leopard sharks, angel hair, Dungeness crab, river otters and the ever essential herring run, along with the healthiest stand of eelgrass in S.F. Bay and likely the west coast. All that habitat and the life it supports would have been risked for a highly dangerous development. (Point Molate Alliance et al. v. City of Richmond et al.), 2023
See Verdicts,Judgments and Settlements above.

Firm News (Newsletters):

Put out regular articles and publications dealing with Sea Rise, Climate Change, Protection of habitat (e.g. eelgrass, essential to the herring run, the dungeness crab spawning, etc.) in San Francisco Bay., Citizens for East Shore Parks Newsletter, East Bay

Industry Groups:

Acupuncture Associations; Environmental Law: advocacy/litigation protecting habitat
open space.
parks

Robert C. Cheasty