Kevin C. Khasigian has joined the firm as an Associate. Mr. Khasigian will focus on administrative law, civil litigation, bankruptcy and estate planning for the firm.

In 2003, Kevin obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and then went on to complete his Juris Doctorate at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 2007 with great distinction. Mr. Khasigian has studied under U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy in Salzburg, Austria. In addition, he has put forth great effort to aid the victims of the tragic events that followed Hurricane Katrina as a participant in “Project Katrina”, a program for law students who traveled to New Orleans to assist the Public Defender’s office.

Mr. Khasigian is a native of Elk Grove, CA, and a graduate of Jesuit High School in Carmichael. Wilke Fleury also welcomes Latika Sharma and Steven J. Williamson to the firm. Ms. Sharma, who was born in the Fiji Islands and raised in Stockton, CA, attended the University of California, Berkeley where she received a B.A. in Political Science. She received her Juris Doctorate in 2007 from the University of California, Davis School of Law and joined the firm in May of 2008.

Ms. Sharma’s practice focuses on health care and insurance regulatory matters, medical negligence, hospital liability and employment and labor litigation.

Mr. Williamson received his B.A. in Behavioral Science and Law from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was also born. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 2005. Before joining the firm in 2008, he practiced general civil law in Stockton, CA.

Mr. Williamson’s current practice focuses on medical malpractice defense, hospital liability defense, and the defense of skilled nursing facilities.

Wilke Fleury has welcomed veteran litigator Donald A. Lounsbury to the firm where he will serve as Senior Trial Counsel. Mr. Lounsbury brings more than 30 years of legal experience to the law firm and will specialize in complex litigation defense of individual professionals, healthcare institutions and corporations.

Mr. Lounsbury received his undergraduate degree from California State University, Long Beach, where he was a member of the Blue Key National Honor Society. He then went on to obtain his Juris Doctorate from Western State University College of Law. Mr. Lounsbury has completed more than 200 civil and criminal jury trials, court trials, arbitrations and mediations. In addition, he was awarded the highest possible rating by Martindale-Hubbell based on extensive and confidential attorney peer review. Mr. Lounsbury joins the firm from Orange County’s Herzfeld & Rubin, LLP, where he served as Senior Trial Counsel and Managing Attorney.

A Sacramento jury deliberated less than three hours before returning a near-unanimous verdict in favor of Lodi Memorial Hospital in a medical negligence action. The two week trial in Sacramento County Superior Court pitted Joan Perry, the widow of Stanley Perry, against the hospital and its staff after her husband died suddenly of a ruptured aortic aneurysm during a routine treadmill test one day following admission for sudden onset of chest pain. Mrs. Perry claimed that the hospital and others mismanaged her husband’s care.

Retained by Optima Insurance, the insurance carrier for the hospital, Wilke Fleury partner, David A. Frenznick, successfully argued that the hospital had met and exceeded the standard of nursing care in all aspects of Mr. Perry’s care. Mr. Perry presented with classic signs of coronary artery disease and, prior to the treadmill test, his cardiologist was timely informed by the nursing staff of all pertinent changes in the patient’s condition.

Lodi Memorial Risk Manager, Daleen Murray, praised Wilke, Fleury attorneys after receiving the jury’s verdict. “Your devoted time, expertise and professionalism lead us to the desired outcome of a defense verdict,” she said. “We will most definitely call upon Wilke, Fleury and Mr. Frenznick for our future legal needs.”

After a nine week trial in the Federal District Court in Sacramento, a jury unanimously awarded our client, Pacific MDF Products, Inc., $6,670,185. Pacific MDF manufactures home improvement products, such as baseboards and crown moulding, out of fiberboard at its plant in Rocklin, California. The manufacturing process generates a significant amount of sawdust, which must be disposed of in environmentally sensitive ways. Pacific MDF decided to purchase from Defendants, Advanced Recycling, Inc., Bio-Mass Energy Concepts, LLC and Donald Kunkel, a system which would permit Pacific MDF to burn the sawdust to create both steam heat and electricity to run its plant.

When Defendants were unable to overcome both design and manufacturing defects in the cogeneration system, Thomas G. Redmon and Daniel L. Baxter of our office filed the lawsuit alleging 11 different causes of action, including breach of contract, breach of warranty, fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation, and making false promises. The jury deliberated for less than two days before finding in favor of our client on every cause of action.

Pacific MDF expressed praise for the quality of the representation it received based, not just on the end result, but on the fact that Mr. Redmon and Mr. Baxter exhausted every effort on its behalf to settle the matter in a cost effective manner prior to taking the matter to trial.

The International Journal of Occupational & Environmental Health recently published a letter to the editor authored by David A. Frenznick, who heads the firm’s construction law group.  The letter, entitled Courtroom Impact of the ACOEM Statement on Mold, comments on a long-standing medical-legal debate.

Mr. Frenznick represents owners, developers and contractors in residential and commercial construction disputes.