V. James DeSimone

DeSimone often faces long odds in court. Even so, the case of Daniel Garza stood out. Garza accused Los Angeles Police Department Officer Mario Cardona, a neighbor, of an off-duty attack in which Cardona punched Garza in the face, handcuffed him and forced him to the ground and used a pain compliance wrist lock.

A federal civil jury ruled in Garza's favor in 2017, finding Cardona used excessive force in the attack and awarding the plaintiff $210,000. Judge Stephen V. Wilson of the Central District of California OK'd $663,000 in attorney fees. But there the case stalled because Wilson ruled only Cardona would be held liable and dropped Chief of Police Charles Beck and the city as defendants. Los Angeles refused to indemnify Cardona and he filed for bankruptcy.

"It's the only time I know of that the city refused to indemnify an officer for compensatory damages," DeSimone said.

But the case wasn't over. DeSimone hired a bankruptcy attorney to have a say in those proceedings. "That's when the real twist developed," DeSimone said. "We learned that behind the scenes the city had promoted Cardona to sergeant a month after the trial ended."

In April, Wilson agreed to hold a new trial July 9 to decide whether Beck and the city could be held liable for the jury award, based on a ratification theory for having promoted the officer weeks after he was found liable for constitutional violations. Garza v. City of Los Angeles, 2:16-cv-03579 (C.D. Cal., filed June 17, 2016).

-- John Roemer