Elise R. Sanguinetti

Emeryville • Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Civil Appeals & Legal Malpractice

Elise R. Sanguinetti's career is marked by substantial verdicts and settlements, with several recent cases involving six-, seven-, and eight-figure amounts. A notable example is the case where she and her colleague, Anna Mezhebovskaya, secured a $7.4 million verdict (with 45% comparative fault) on behalf of a man who suffered severe injuries after falling through a sliding-glass door made of plate glass. AT v. Franciscana Apartments, CGC-22-600176 (S.F. Sup. Ct., filed June 15, 2022).

This case brought to light the obligations of landlords in ensuring tenant safety, irrespective of grandfathered building codes. The final award amounted to more than $4 million, a testament to Sanguinetti's dedication and skill.

"This verdict sent a strong message to landlords throughout San Francisco that you can't ride behind grandfathered building codes to claim your building is safe," Sanguinetti said. "Building codes are the bare minimum that should be asked of landlords to make sure their properties are managed and maintained in a safe manner."

She also noted that premises liability cases are an uphill battle and very few law firms or lawyers take these cases all the way to trial because they are costly and the risk is high.

"This case took three and a half weeks in trial," Sanguinetti said. "There were twelve expert witnesses combined between the parties, including those related to liability and to damages. The plaintiff's diagnosis of complex regional pain syndrome is a diagnosis that most jurors, attorneys and judges are not familiar with. Artfully explaining the diagnosis, its impact on the patient and asking a jury to award significant lifetime pain and suffering because of CRPS took immense planning and skill."

Another significant case led by Sanguinetti involved the death of Dee'Non Jones in a trucking collision. Despite attempts by the broker trucking company to seek summary judgment, Sanguinetti and her partner, Jamie Goldstein, successfully countered these motions, leading to a settlement of $2.55 million on behalf of Jones' children.

On the subject of trends in the field, Sanguinetti said, "The approval of Alternative Business Structures/non-lawyer owned law firms and the abolition of the ABA Model Rule 5.4 in Arizona will have an impact on California law firms, the extent of which is currently unknown. I am carefully and cautiously watching this space."