Hon. Cecily Bond (Ret.) served over 20 years as a judge on the Sacramento Superior Court before becoming a full-time neutral in 2000. Judge Bond is known for her tenacity and superior problem-solving skills, particularly when parties come to an impasse. She mediates, arbitrates, and serves as discovery referee and/or special master in a wide variety of cases. Her experience includes employment, construction defect, health care, professional liability, personal injury, as well as business and commercial disputes. Judge Bond has handled complex, civil matters of all kinds throughout her legal and judicial career and is committed to assisting parties reach resolution.

Always well-prepared and willing to listen, Judge Bond’s ability to get to the essential issues of a case quickly allows the attorneys and their clients to resolve their disputes efficiently.

ADR Experience and Qualifications

• Responsible for the development and implementation of the Sacramento Superior Court's Civil Settlement Conference Program, which uses local attorneys in conjunction with a supervising judge to settle civil cases and which resulted in a dramatic increase in the percentage of settlements
• Presided over hundreds of civil trials and settlement conferences involving a wide variety of matters
• Discovery referee in a wide variety of litigation pending in trial courts, both state and federal

Representative Matters

• Agribusiness & Food Law
• Agricultural dispute involving sale and distribution of land
• Cases involving toxic chemicals and business disputes, partnership dissolution, and estate issues
• Business Commercial
• Disputes between individuals, business, and financial entities, including partnership dissolutions, and corporate shareholder disputes
• Experience with business cases involving contract interpretation including buy-sell agreements, leases, and options to buy real property, as well as issues of damages, restitution and specific performance
• Matters involving commercial disputes over quality of manufactured goods, accounting disputes
• Class action case involving unfair business practices, false advertising, and breach of contract against a major automobile manufacturer
• Mediator and arbitrator for case involving produce, packaging disputes and trademark issues in the Central Valley
• Construction Defect
• Chair of three arbitrator panel involving remodel of a commercial center with numerous areas of dispute regarding construction costs, change orders, and modifications
• Sole arbitrator in a commercial property with severe sewer and septic system problems as a result of installation by prior owner
• Disputes with public regulatory agencies and developers involving compliance with state and federal regulations and  environmental requirements
• Homeowner Associations’ disputes with respect to services, nuisances, construction of new facilities (at a ski resort), interpretation of CC&Rs, and disputes with suppliers (roof, snow removal, and water intrusion)
• Numerous cases between individual homeowners; Homeowners Associations, general contractors, and subcontractors involving issues relating to grading, foundations, structural, mold infestation, HVAC, roofing, stucco, plumbing, electrical defects, and water damage
• Numerous matters both residential and commercial involving construction delay and contract interpretation, penalties, bonus provisions, bonding issues, and disputes over change orders
• Elder Abuse
• Mediated many elder abuse cases in both Northern and Southern California as well as Nevada
• Has successfully resolved elder abuse claims resulting in six- and seven-figure dollar settlements
• Employment Law
• Resolved numerous wage and hour disputes as well as wrongful and constructive terminations, sexual harassment, physical harassment, improper sexual conduct, retaliation, and defamation claims
• Handled a variety matters alleging discrimination (age, racial, sexual, disability, and national origin)
• Settled matters involving alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, Cal-FEHA, Federal Employees Labor Act (FELA), and the EEOC
• Class actions involving questions on whether workers are employees
• Class action involving employees who performed cleaning and janitorial functions asserting various claims, including unpaid overtime, mileage reimbursement, split shift premiums, meal period violations
• Several matters involving unfair competition, trade secrets, and misappropriation of ideas, designs, customer lists and products
• Several whistleblower cases involving a variety of claims, notably: violation of health standards by manufacturing company of food products, the processing of misconduct allegations against teachers, and financial misconduct
• Cases where violations of employee safety provisions are alleged
• Discrimination case involving a major public utility concerning hiring, promotion, management, special master with respect to the enforcement of a consent decree
• Stipulated by the parties involved to be the Special Master in a Federal District Court case to oversee enforcement of a consent decree and settlement of major litigation involving, among other matters, discrimination in hiring and promotion involving a regional transit authority
• Resolution of labor management disputes relating to interpretation of collective bargaining agreements
• Health Care
• Mediator and arbitrator in several matters involving managed healthcare, billing practices, and scope of insurance coverage for specific medical care
• Contract disputes involving Inter-hospital agreement for patient care services; Hospital-Health Plan Reimbursement Agreements
• Handled multi-million dollar managed care dispute between provider and health care organization disputing overpayments/underpayments for services rendered
• Arbitrated dispute between provider and health care organization to determine which entity was responsible for several thousand dollars of extraordinary cancer care expenses under the terms of the contract between the parties
• Prepared internal procedure for resolution and evaluation of disputes between the five major health plans and their enrollees due to allegations of misrepresentation and failure to disclose prior medical condition of plan member
• Insurance
• Numerous matters involving various coverage and bad faith issues
• Dispute regarding insurance coverage, scope and meaning of policy language and exclusions in cases involving financial transactions, pollution and fire damage
• Personal Injury
• Resolved cases involving design defect litigation, class actions (involving major motor vehicle manufacturer) as well as individual claims for personal injury
• Cases involving animal attacks including snakes and dogs
• Injuries and property damage resulting from various activities including: a high speed chase, snowboarding accident, chemical use/discharge, lack of supervision at amusement park, as well as many motor vehicle and airplane accidents
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims
• FELA matters involving rail road employees with injuries such as loss of hearing, injuries to the neck and back, and loss of limbs
• Assault and battery matter involving known gang members
• Home fire case caused by faulty wiring which resulted in major injuries
• Molestation case involving a boy scout leader
• Rape and sexual assault matters
• Regional fire case against a major public utility company where overhead electrical wires fell as a result of a deceased tree, causing major fire that resulted in catastrophic loss
• Professional Liability
• Several cases involving allegations of improper accounting procedures, failure to give appropriate tax advice, and co-mingling of monies for personal use with business income
• Heard numerous legal malpractice matters involving interpretation of partnership agreements, buy-sell agreement, valuations of legal practices as well as claims of misrepresentation and fee disputes and apportionment of attorney’s fees between counsel
• Medical and dental disputes involving allegations of negligence for failure to diagnosis, failure to perform procedures in conformity with the standard of care, failure to adequately explain consequences of procedures and/or courses of treatment, failure to involve other specialties, and failure to provide adequate follow up care

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Recognized as a "Top Lawyer," Sacramento Magazine, 2022-2023
• Recognized as a "Top Neutral," Daily Journal Top Neutrals List, 2013
• Recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyer, ADR Category, 2009-2014
• Recognized as a Top 30 California Neutral, Daily Journal, 2006
• Judge of the Year Award, Sacramento Consumer Attorneys, 1999
• Sacramento Women Lawyers, Francis Newell Carr Award, 1997
• Judge of the Year Award, Sacramento County Bar Association, 1988
• Judge of the Year Award, Capitol City Trial Lawyers, 1988
• Business and Professional Women, Top Hat Award, 1980-1981
• Member, State Bar of California, California Women Lawyers, Sacramento Women Lawyers
• Authored numerous articles and publications on a wide variety of topics
• Frequently requested lecturer and panelist for a variety of organizations, including the CJER, CEB, California Judges Association, Rutter Group, and California State Bar, Litigation Section
• Member of the L.A. Copyright Society
• Co-Authored article on development of cable television
• "Abstract Adjudications: Cecily Bond often relies on unique solutions to reach settlements," ADR Profile, Daily Journal, August 7, 2015

Background and Education

• Judge, Sacramento Superior Court, 1980-2000
• Judicial Council Task Force on Complex Civil Litigation, 1997-1999
• Member, Judicial Council of California, 1988-1990
• Presiding Judge, 1988, 1989; Presiding Judge, Appellate Department, 1982-1985
• Deputy Director and Chief Counsel, Employment Development Department, Sacramento, CA, 1976-1980, handled a variety of administrative and legal duties, including representing the Governor in both the California and the United States Supreme Courts
• Private practice, Loeb & Loeb, Los Angeles, CA, 1965-1976
• J.D., University of California, Los Angeles, 1965
• M.A., Public and Constitutional Law, University of California, Berkeley, 1963
• B.A., University of Southern California, 1961