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Partner

Gary J. Wax

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Biography

Gary Wax, an appellate lawyer, represents a wide range of clients in civil appeals and in writ proceedings, including business owners, property owners, insurers, employers, public entities, film finance lenders, film producers, bankruptcy creditors, and trademark holders.

Gary also regularly provides assistance to trial counsel in proposing jury instructions and verdict forms and drafting dispositive motions and oppositions—all with a keen eye toward helping preserve the record for any future appeal.  Gary takes pleasure in drafting targeted motions in limine that eliminate entire issues or experts from an adversary’s case.

Before joining GMSR as an appellate lawyer, Gary worked in the film industry as a creative executive, where he acquired distribution rights for feature films such as the Oscar-nominated City of God.  Gary now uses his appreciation for effective storytelling to deliver persuasive briefs and arguments for clients seeking to uphold or reverse their trial court judgments in California state or federal appellate courts.

Gary’s top five favorite legal films of all time:  12 Angry Men, A Few Good Men, The Verdict, True Believer, and Primal Fear.  Ask Gary about the rest of his top 500 movie rankings.

**Call or email Gary when you have ANY questions about how to file a civil appeal in California state court or the Ninth Circuit**

High-Impact Wins

2022

Beaudreau v. Burnham USA Equities, Inc. et al. (Aug. 23, 2022, G059971) 2022 WL 3593351 [nonpublished opinion]

Reaffirmed existing law that businesses with perpendicular parking generally have no duty to protect against curb-jumping vehicles

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2021

Carachure v. Scott (2021) 70 Cal.App.5th 16

Clarified existing law regarding a court's power to (1) grant partial nonsuit on an affirmative defense and (2) unilaterally approve a settlement agreement

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2019

Pryor et al. v. Fitness International, LLC (Jan. 3, 2019, B287329) 2019 WL 92775 [nonpublished opinion]

Reaffirmed that an employer owes no duty to the general public to keep a drug-addled employee at work through the end of his shift

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2015

Garcia v. Holt (2015) 242 Cal.App.4th 600

Made new law regarding the absence of a landlord's duty as to unknown dangerous activities in a rental unit

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2013

Brown v. Mid-Century Insurance Co. (2013) 215 Cal.App.4th 841

Made new law regarding the interpretation of the "sudden and accidental discharge" clause of an insurance policy

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2010

Greenspan v. LADT, LLC (2010) 191 Cal.App.4th 486

Made new law regarding the application of alter ego liability

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Speaking and Involvement

2024
Special Verdicts: Advantages & Pitfalls, ABTL
2021
Keeping The Lid On The Policy, American Property Casualty Insurance Association
2020
MAXIM-izing Results in Any Insurance Case: How to Use the Maxims of Jurisprudence to Persuade, American Property Casualty Insurance Association
2019
CYA (Coach Your Attorneys): How to Help Your Outside Counsel Preserve the Record for an Appeal, American Property Casualty Insurance Association
2019
Is Dynamex Dynamite? Evaluating Dynamex’s Potentially Explosive Effects On Tort Defendants, Employers, And The Gig Economy; Association of Southern California Defense Counsel Seminar
2018
Stop Controlling Me! Recent Legal Developments In Employee/Independent Contractor Classification In The Gig Economy, 29th Annual PCI Western Region General Counsel Seminar
2017
Experts: Can’t Live With Them, Can’t Live Without Them, 28th Annual ACIC General Counsel Seminar
2017
The Importance of Post-Judgment Motions, MCLE presentation the Los Angeles Law Library
2016
Reptiles, Picassos and Stealth Bombers: Tips for Combatting Plaintiffs’ “Reptile” Theory and Other Aggressive Efforts to Inflate Non-Economic Tort Damages, ACIC’s 27th Annual General Counsel Seminar in Las Vegas
2015
“Secret Agents”: The Coverage You Didn’t Think You’d Be Providing, ACIC’s 26th Annual General Counsel Seminar
2011
Paparazzi Law in a Flash: Examining California’s Past, Present and Future, Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review Symposium

Professional Associations

Association of Southern California Defense Counsel (ASCDC)
Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ABTL) - Board Member and Co-Editor of ABTL Report
Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA)
Beverly Hills Bar Association (BHBA)
DRI - Defense Research Institute
IMLA - International Municipal Lawyers Association
Loyola Law School 1L Mentor