Hon. Angel M. Bermudez (Ret.) joins JAMS after more than 18 years of judicial service on the Riverside County Superior Court, where he spent the majority of his tenure presiding over unlimited civil matters. During his nine years on the civil bench, he handled a wide array of complex cases, including product liability, catastrophic personal injury, contract and business, professional negligence and real property matters. He also served in the family law division, where he resolved matters involving marital dissolution, custody and financial disputes.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Bermudez spent 16 years as a senior deputy district attorney, which informs his disciplined and analytical approach to case management and dispute resolution. He was a white-collar crime specialist with extensive use and understanding of special masters. He is widely recognized for his fairness, preparation and ability to navigate high-conflict matters with civility and efficiency. His judicial career was also marked by his long-standing commitment to legal education and mentorship, including teaching trial advocacy, leading seminars for new judges and founding the Southwest American Inn of Court, which will be renamed in his honor in 2025.

As a judge, and with the consent of the parties and counsel, Judge Bermudez has mediated matters to settlement in Spanish during closed sessions. A native Spanish speaker with a university-level Spanish education, he brings additional value to Spanish-speaking parties seeking culturally competent dispute resolution.

At JAMS, Judge Bermudez serves as a mediator, arbitrator and special master in disputes involving personal injury and torts, product liability, business and commercial, real estate, professional liability and family law matters.

Representative Matters

• Automotive Disputes
• As judge, presided over numerous Lemon Law trials to verdict involving claims against automobile manufacturers under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
• As judge, settled countless discovery disputes between counsel for automobile manufacturers and customers concerning Lemon Law and breach of implied warranty of fitness and merchantability issues
• Business Commercial
• As judge, mediated over many days a litigation pertaining to a significant fire in Calimesa involving multiple plaintiff groups; multiple individual plaintiffs, including wrongful death claimants; various institutional claimants; multiple carriers; and corporate defendants
• As a judge, analyzed and ruled on numerous cases involving the applicability and enforceability of arbitration clauses in a variety of contractual matters
• As counsel, specifically as the city attorney, negotiated numerous transactions involving large-scale development agreements; navigated breach of business and commercial contracts
• As counsel, litigated and brought to verdict several complex, months-long fraud and embezzlement matters
• As counsel, litigated and tried matters involving government integrity, including self-dealing allegations in commercial transactions
• Civil Rights
• As judge, presided over litigation involving a civil rights claim by a criminal defendant for damages against the county due to use of deadly or excessive force by a law enforcement agency
• As judge, presided over a wrongful death trial to verdict against a peace officer for asphyxiating a suspect by placing a knee on the plaintiff’s neck and chest
• As counsel, routinely addressed concerns about civil rights claims pertaining to litigation as both a city attorney and deputy district attorney
• Eminent Domain
• As judge, presided over numerous eminent domain cases involving governmental agencies and individual property owners for acquisition of real property
• As counsel, initiated litigation and actively litigated eminent domain proceedings on behalf of a municipality to facilitate the expansion of a municipal park
• Employment Law
• As judge, presided over employment law trials to verdict involving claims under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)
• As judge, presided over an employment law trial to verdict focusing on the characterization of an independent contractor, prior to the adoption of the ABC test
• As judge, presided over numerous cases involving wrongful termination, wage and hour, discrimination, hostile work environment, retaliation and constructive discharge claims
• As counsel, negotiated numerous labor agreements and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with union groups
• Family Law
• As judge, presided over thousands of hearings involving family disputes
• As judge, tried family law matters involving property and its characterization, including Smith-Osler issues, and child custody, including move-away and visitation
• As judge, tried a matter requiring the authoring of a significant ruling on the application of Sharia law to family law
• As judge, decided discovery disputes, fee issues and the need for professional valuators for high-worth assets, including businesses
• As judge, presided over family law disputes involving claims of ownership, possession and visitation of pets
• Finance
• As judge, presided over significantly large revenue litigation involving the national merchant bank process; the matter required the appointment of a receiver and extended judicial oversight throughout the course of the proceedings
• As judge, presided over numerous cases of financial elder abuse and unfair business practices
• As judge, presided over countless Homeowner Bill of Rights (HBOR) matters involving claims of unfair financial dealings
• Personal Injury
• Presided over a multiday settlement discussions in a complex litigation arising from a major fire in Calimesa involving multiple plaintiff groups, including wrongful death claimants; numerous individual and institutional parties; several insurance carriers; and corporate defendants
• As judge, often tried as many as 20 non-expedited jury trials to verdict in this area per year; in one year alone, tried three wrongful death claims along with other areas
• As judge, tried the third-largest verdict in California in 2020, involving a case of permanent disabling injury to a child; the litigation included tort claims against a citizen driver as well as claims against a municipality for negligent roadway design
• As judge, successfully managed and settled numerous personal injury cases, including tenant health claims related to living conditions, motor vehicle accidents, pedestrian incidents and similar matters
• As judge, adjudicated premises liability disputes involving shopping malls, national and local retailers, hotels, motels and residential properties
• As judge, tried to verdict a complex matter involving a claim of wrongful death of an patient admitted into a drug treatment facility who died as a result of an inappropriate detoxification process; this included complex statutory analysis of whether MICRA could apply to such a facility
• As judge, tried to judgment a matter involving a claim of improper instruction of a gymnastics maneuver to a student
• As judge, conducted Frye/Daubert hearing on the use of novel instruments for the detection of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in a case tried to verdict
• Professional Liability
• As judge, presided over numerous medical malpractice trials to verdict involving claims related to anesthesia, various types of surgery, emergency room and postoperative care, nursing, dentistry, and oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS)
• Real Property
• As judge, presided over a trial to verdict involving easements by necessity and prescription
• As judge, presided over numerous trials involving commercial and residential leases
• As judge, conducted a multiday settlement conference in a seven-year dispute between a homeowners association and a homeowner in Indian Wells, referred from a master calendar for jury trial; the matter involved numerous CC&R and tort claims and was successfully resolved, including attorneys’ fees
• As judge, adjudicated claims for wrongful foreclosure and unfair business practices
• As judge, presided over quiet title actions, slander of title claims, partition matters and related lis pendens issues
• As counsel, negotiated and resolved issues relating to land use approvals with property owners and developers

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Honors

• Lifetime Achievement Award, Southwest Bar Association, 2022
• Prosecutor of the Year, Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, 2005
• Honored by Resolution by the California State Assembly for Outstanding Service to the County of Riverside, 2005
• Outstanding Achievement Award, Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, 2000
• Chapter Renaming (to Angel M. Bermudez Inn of Court), Southwest American Inn of Court, November 2025

Memberships and Professional Activities

• Founder and President, Southwest American Inn of Court, 2011–2025
  Created a successful local chapter dedicated to fostering civility, ethics and education within the legal profession
• Seminar Leader, Witkin Judicial College, 2011, 2012
  Instructed new judges on legal doctrine, judicial ethics and practical courtroom management
• Director, Judicial Extern Program, 2010–2025
  Mentored law students from leading universities, including Yale, UCLA, USC, Columbia, Pepperdine and USD; supervised legal writing and co-authored articles for bar publications
• Instructor, Temecula Legal Scholars Program, 2021–2025
  Lectured undergraduate students on legal careers and foundational principles of the law

Background and Education

• J.D., University of San Diego School of Law, 1991
• B.A., University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 1988