Guerena has a strong track record of securing victories or favorable settlements for clients engaged in civil litigation, including at the appellate stage.
She was brought on to defend a businessman after a nearly $34 million judgment had been awarded against him in 2015 by a San Diego Superior Court jury.
Her client did not have the funds to stay the judgment while the case was on appeal, and he was also facing a related fraudulent conveyance action.
Guerena successfully negotiated a global settlement of both the underlying action and the fraudulent conveyance claim for a small fraction of the judgment. Berkay v. Ersan et al., 0055614 (San Diego Super. Ct., filed July 1, 2013).
"In discussions with opposing counsel, we got everyone to realize that continuing to litigate and go through three to four years of appeals wasn't in anyone's best interest," Guerena said.
The Duane Morris partner has also defended U.S. Bank in many multimillion-dollar disputes involving residential mortgages, including claims for wrongful foreclosure.
Guerena said she has been able to get a number of the claims dismissed early in the process.
"The majority of the time the borrower did not have viable claims because the reason for the foreclosure was unfortunate circumstances," said Guerena, adding that some of the plaintiffs were provided assistance in submitting documents to obtain loan modifications.
In addition, Guerena has defended U.S. Bank against allegations it violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act or TCPA, as well as state and federal debt collection laws.
She said she has been able to resolve every TCPA case she has had within the first 30 to 90 days after filing.
"Because the costs of litigating are so expensive, we find we can reach a favorable result for the client by settling early in the case," Guerena said.
— Lyle Moran
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