First Admitted: 1993, California

Professional Webpage: https://noonanlance.com/attorneys/sean-coughlin/

Bar/Professional Activity:

Association of Business Trial Lawyers; San Diego Bankruptcy Forum; San Diego County Bar Association; Irish American Bar Association, 2022

Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):

Successfully defeated an objection to a client’s claim in Bankruptcy Court on a disputed area of law (resulting in a reported decision). In re Van Buren Plaza (1996) 200 B.R. 384, 1996
Obtained reversal on appeal for a lender of an adverse Superior Court ruling on the lender’s claims against an escrow company leading to a favorable settlement for the client. Bates v. Chicago Title Company, 2013 WL3753062., 2013
Defeated borrower’s attempt to obtain TRO restraining foreclosure on commercial property and ultimately obtained dismissal of Federal lawsuit against a lender for alleged federal regulatory violations following Motion to Dismiss. Acevedo v. The Loan Company of San Diego, L.P. 2020 WL 4596760., 2020
Successfully defended claims for breach of fiduciary duty and wrongful foreclosure against a commercial lender by prevailing on demurrer. Successfully defended the judgment on appeal. Newman v. The Loan Company of San Diego, L.P. 2016 WL 7048006, 2016
Prevailed at trial on a quasi-contract claim on behalf of a contractor; obtained a judgment in the full amount of damages sought, plus attorneys’ fees, interest and penalties; collected full amount of the judgment from the defendant for the client., 2004
Obtained a tentative ruling granting complete summary judgment for a client in the defense of a preferential transfer action filed by a bankruptcy trustee (leading to a favorable settlement for the client)., 2012
Obtained a reversal on appeal of an adverse summary judgment ruling. Then obtained an affirmance of the reversal in a reported decision by the Chief Justice of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, leading to a favorable settlement for the client on the eve of trial. The reported decision resolved a number of outstanding areas of law in the Ninth Circuit, including the tolling of the statute of limitations for a Trustee to file an avoidance action for a concealed transfer. Gladstone v. U.S. Bancorp; et al. (2016) 811 F.3d 1133. , 2016
In representing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy Trustee, obtained a 100% distribution to creditors (in what was listed as a no asset estate) by obtaining rulings that the bankruptcy estate had an interest in a commercial building and by successfully negotiating the sale of the bankruptcy estate’s interest to the non-debtor co-owner of the building. The case involved successfully defending multiple appeals of the Bankruptcy Court’s rulings as to the bankruptcy estate’s interest in the commercial building and the order approving the sale of the building. In re Judith Jean Hoffman, 2015 WL 848992., 2015
In representing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee, obtained a 100% distribution to creditors (in what was scheduled as no asset estate) through successful prosecution of a fraudulent conveyance claim to recover financial assets transferred to an offshore entity. , 2011
Obtained complete defense verdict after trial on claims by former client against a law firm for alleged breach of fiduciary duty and fraud. The judgment also resulted a ruling validating the client’s claim in excess of $800,000. Assisted client in obtaining full recovery of the claim amount plus interest and attorneys’ fees. , 2018
Obtained summary judgment for company on claims by departing employee and stockholder asserting excessive stock buyout price and various alleged claims for anticompetitive practices. , 2006
Represented a commercial lender in a lien priority dispute related to its $600,000 loan (ultimately resulting in a reported appellate decision in the client’s favor and leading to a favorable settlement for the client). In re Mehdi Loloee (1998) 241 B.R. 655, 1998

Pro bono/Community Service:

Volunteer mediator for the United States Bankruptcy Court (San Diego), 2023

Honors/Awards:

AV Preeminent® Peer Review rating, Martindale Hubbell International Law Directory, 2023
Top Lawyers in San Diego for real estate litigation, San Diego Magazine, 2023

Educational Background:

I received my undergraduate degree in Economics and History in 1989 from the University of San Diego I received my law degree in 1993 from California Western School of Law. , 1993

Industry Groups:

Bankruptcy Trustees
Businesses Of All Sizes
Commercial real estate lenders
directors and shareholders of corporations
managers and members of limited liability companies
Officers
partners and partnerships
Private Fiduciaries
probate administrators
Receivers

Sean C. Coughlin