Brian S. Kabateck

Los Angeles • Personal Injury, Mass Torts, Disaster Litigation & Class Actions

Brian S. Kabateck's recent legal endeavors have been significant and impactful. He spearheaded the filing of more than 1,200 government claims against various public entities responsible for flood control measures and maintenance in flood-affected communities in California's Central Valley and Monterey Bay area.

This move is a crucial step towards achieving justice and compensation for the extensive damages experienced by these communities, especially vulnerable populations who often bear the brunt of natural disasters.

In a class-action lawsuit, Kabateck achieved a substantial settlement with Orange County, enabling struggling restaurant owners across the state to file class-action lawsuits against local and state agencies. This action aimed to recoup operational fees incurred despite government-mandated closures and service reductions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kabateck has also been at the forefront of representing ratepayers in a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) for an overbilling scandal. Coming off his tenure as the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) president, he successfully obtained sanctions, disgorgement, and fines of nearly $2 million in this complex and contentious case after filing motions against the previous class counsel, who allegedly engaged in a scheme with other attorneys to defraud the court and attempted to cover up the wrongdoing.

"I saw this huge black eye for the plaintiffs' bar because these were all plaintiff's lawyers," Kabateck said. "I thought someone needed to get in there and clean this thing up, make it right and make sure the class members were protected. I felt that I was the best person at the time set up to do that, coming off the bar presidency and trying to reinvigorate the county bar. Suddenly, I got involved in the case, and I had no idea it would turn into the street fight and battle that it turned into, particularly with one lawyer who has harassed me on a regular basis and filed lawsuits against us to try and stop us from doing our job and interfering. We've suffered a lot of abuse due to simply doing the job that Judge [Elihu] Berle appointed us to do."

Kabateck's role as the founding and managing partner of Kabateck LLP has led to the recovery of tens of millions of dollars for victims who have sued corporations and public entities for various claims, including digital privacy, civil rights violations, sexual abuse, defective products, insurance bad faith, catastrophic injury and workplace mistreatment.

"Our firm handles a broad base of cases instead of just auto accidents," Kabateck said. "We're taking on the Maui wildfire cases because of our vast experience with the California wildfire litigation. We also do consumer class action matters and have done drug mass torts in the past. We like cases that are more esoteric and legal-driven as opposed to just based on the facts. We have that experience."

He is also involved in legislative efforts, co-authoring laws like the Consumer Privacy Act and SB33, aimed at safeguarding consumers' rights and holding banks accountable for fraudulent accounts.