Richard E. Buck , Esq.
Richard E. Buck, Esq., joined JAMS following a widely respected 38-year legal career and is available as a mediator, arbitrator, special master/referee and neutral evaluator. As a litigation attorney, Mr. Buck specialized in complex commercial and residential projects (including long-cause matters), insurance coverage, real estate (habitability, disclosure, misrepresentation and flipper cases), class actions, homeowners’ associations, major land subsidence/geotechnical defects, medical malpractice, wrongful death/catastrophic personal injury, subrogation, and general tort/negligence and product defect cases. He is extremely knowledgeable of the litigation and mediation processes. He is best known for his calm demeanor and relentless pursuit of civility in litigated and mediated matters. He has a keen awareness of risk management and the necessity of cost containment in legally and factually complex, expert-driven matters.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
Mr. Buck has been counsel in approximately 1,300 mediations, served as mediator in 500+ cases and litigated approximately 600 cases in the following areas:
- Residential single-family home and condominium projects representing the developer/general contractor (including Right to Repair/SB800 claims), many involving hundreds of units in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Sacramento, San Francisco, Kern, King and Tulare counties
- Commercial buildings, including hotels, medical offices, hospitals, airplane hangar and high-rise/mixed use condominium projects
- Class action involving galvanized pipe product defect allegations, representing five developers/general contractors in Los Angeles County
- Luxury custom homes and remodeling disputes, including numerous cases involving celebrity owners
- Construction claim disputes concerning delay damages, liquidated damages, mechanic’s liens, bond claims and stop notices
- Risk transfer among contractors and design professionals
- Insurance coverage
- Wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury cases involving commercial trucks and motor carrier liability
- Over 500 automobile and premises liability cases, mold/asbestos litigation and bed bug cases
- Risk transfer disputes concerning “additional insured” carriers, primary and excess carriers, and express contractual indemnity
- Nuisance, inverse condemnation and dangerous conditions under Government Code Section 835 cases
- Multipurpose athletic fields
- Fire sprinkler cases
- Breach of Contract (Residential and Commercial Purchase/Sale, Loan Agreements, Partnership Agreements)
- Noise/acoustical engineer claims
- Assault and battery; intentional torts
Representative Matters
- Construction Defect
Residential: Single-Family, Condominium and Luxury Custom Homes
- Construction defects concerning roofs, windows, framing, concrete, stucco, plumbing/HVAC, balconies, electrical, pools and soils subsidence
- Represented five builders/developers in class action claim for pinhole leaks in galvanized pipe involving approximately 5,000 homes in Los Angeles County
- Right to Repair/SB 800 claims
- Violations of Business & Professions Code Sections 7100 et seq.
- Soils subsidence/slope creep; water-cement ratio, water vapor barrier, and soils sulfates and complex geotechnical issues
- Subrogation claims involving plumbing and fire losses
- PEX plumbing connections and copper pipe defect claims
- WRAP/OCIP policies
- Homeowners’ association (HOA) claims involving defects in roofing, stucco, concrete flatwork and slope failures
- Defect allegations concerning sewer main pipes
Commercial
- Curtain wall/glazing and window defects in high-rise medical office building
- Hotel structural steel defects
- Claims for defective waterproofing on decks, walkways and planters in mixed-use building
- Commercial storage buildings: claims of withdrawal of subjacent and lateral support
- Allegations of defective installation of caissons/columns
- Hotels: construction defect, delay damages, loss of business/rents and business interruption
- Low-income apartment housing projects
- Airplane hangar: alleged construction defects, delay damages and mechanic’s lien
- Subterranean parking garages: water damage/intrusion
- Fire sprinkler failure
Risk Transfer/Indemnity
- Interpretation and scope of express contractual indemnity in residential and commercial cases
- Implications of Crawford v. Weathershield and defense exposure
- Additional insured obligations under CGL insurance policies with focus on “completed operations” and “ongoing operations” provisions
- Employment Law
Wrongful Termination
- Multiple wrongful termination matters, including whistleblower retaliation
Harassment
- Sexual harassment and Gender Discrimination matter between Team Supervisor and Manager, including hostile work environment and disparate treatment
Separation Agreement
- Matter between corporate officers concerning alleged violation of confidentiality provision
Wage & Hour
- Personal Injury
- Wrongful death/traumatic brain injuries sustained in commercial trucking incidents
- Motor carrier liability
- Vehicle liability
- Premises liability/slip and fall in commercial retail establishments
- Dog bites
- Negligence and intentional tort allegations asserted against churches and religious organizations
- Professional Liability
Professional Negligence in Construction
- Architectural design defects and structural design defects
- Claims against mechanical engineers involving HVAC systems
- Claims against geotechnical engineers for failure to properly test soils and soil compaction, failure to properly design residential slabs/foundations
Medical Malpractice
- Claims involving standard of care issues brought against orthopedic surgeons, plastic surgeons, OB/GYN certified specialists and general practice/family practice providers
- Real Property
Real Property/Habitability
- Encroachment and neighboring walls/fences
- Easement disputes
- Landlord/tenant
- Breach of implied warranty of habitability
Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities
Bar Admissions
- California, 1985
- Missouri, 1994
- Texas, 2021
Completed virtual ADR training conducted by JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS
- American Arbitration Association ADR Training includes:
- Fundamentals of Arbitration Process; Advanced Case Management Issues; Dealing With Delay Tactics in Arbitration; Managing Cases Involving Self-Represented Parties; Efficient and Cost-Effective Arbitration; Maximizing ADR Advocacy for Today’s Economy; What Lawyers and Arbitrators Need to Know About Commercial Arbitration; Dispositive Motions in Arbitration; Ethics for Arbitrators, Mediators and Attorneys; The Art of Facilitating Settlement; Best Practices in Expedited/Fast Track Arbitrations
- Mediation Panel, United States District Court, Central District of California, 2024-2025
- Orange County Superior Court Mediation Panel 2024-2025
- Speaker, Construction Law Group, Mediating Multiparty Construction Disputes, 2025
- Speaker, West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar, Strategies for Achieving a Complex Global Settlement and Identification of Obstacles, 2025
- Speaker, West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar, Construction Mediation Training for the Insurance Professional, 2024
- Riverside County Superior Court Mediation Panel, 2023-2025
- Judge Pro-Tem/Temporary Judge, Orange County Superior Court, 1995–2025
- Judge Pro-Tem/Temporary Judge, Riverside Superior Court, 1992–1994 and 2018–2025
- Southern California Super Lawyer, Construction Litigation, 2021
- AV Preeminent Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
- Mediating the Litigated Case, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law, 2016
- Speaker, Mealy’s Construction Defect Seminar, 2001
- Warren J. Ferguson American Inns of Court, 2000
- Member, Citizens Advisory Committee, Yorba Linda Water District, 2015–2017
- Mock Trial Competition Judge, Constitutional Rights Foundation, 1999
- Traffic Safety Commissioner, City of Placentia, 1995–1998
- Court-Appointed Arbitrator, Orange County Superior Court, 1994–2000
- Court-Appointed Arbitrator, Riverside County Superior Court, 1991–1994
- Author, “Malicious Prosecution,” Washburn Law Journal, 1983
Background and Education
- Partner, Cooksey Toolen Gage Duffy & Woog, 2000–2022
- Associate, Cooksey Toolen Gage Duffy & Woog, 1995–2000
- Arbitrator, American Arbitration Association, 2003–2023
- Partner, Tuverson & Hillyard, 1993–1995
- Associate, Tuverson & Hillyard, 1985–1989 and 1990–1993
- J.D., Washburn University, 1984
- B.A., Political Science/International Relations, University of California, Los Angeles, 1977
Home Office
HOME OFFICE
Orange County, California
5 Park Plaza, Suite 400, Irvine, CA 92614
Available to Travel
AVAILABLE TO TRAVEL
Atlanta, Georgia
1230 Peachtree St. NE, Suite 2950, Atlanta, GA, 30309
Boca Raton, Florida
2500 N. Military Trail, Suite 200, Boca Raton, FL 33431
Boston, Massachusetts
One Boston Place, 201 Washington Street, Suite 3300, Boston, MA 02108
Century City, California
1925 Century Park East, 14th Floor, The Watt Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90067
Chicago, Illinois
71 S. Wacker Drive Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60606
Dallas, Texas
5956 Sherry Lane, Suite 1330, Dallas, TX 75225
Detroit, Michigan
150 West Jefferson, Suite 1600, Detroit, MI 48226
Houston, Texas
609 Main Street, Suite 3930, Houston, TX 77002
Inland Empire, California
Citrus Towers, 3390 University Ave., Suite 450, Riverside, CA 92501
Las Vegas, Nevada
7160 Rafael Rivera Way, Suite 400, Las Vegas, NV 89113
London, United Kingdom
1 Paternoster Lane, St. Paul's, London EC4M7BQ UK
Los Angeles, California
515 S. Flower St, Suite 4500 Los Angeles, CA, 90071
Miami, Florida
One Biscayne Tower, 2 South Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 3600, Miami, FL 33131
Minneapolis, Minnesota
90 S. 7th Street • Suite 3875, Minneapolis, MN, 55402
New York, New York
NY Times Building, 620 8th Ave, 34th Floor, New York, NY 10018
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1717 Arch Street, Suite 3810, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Sacramento, California
1415 L Street, Suite 700, Sacramento, CA 95814
San Diego, California
401 B Street, Suite 2100, San Diego, CA 92101
San Francisco, California
Two Embarcadero Center, Suite 1500, San Francisco, CA 94111
Santa Rosa, California
50 Old Courthouse Square, Suite 600, Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Seattle, Washington
1420 Fifth Ave., Suite 1650, Seattle, WA 98101
Silicon Valley, California
160 W. Santa Clara St., Suite 1600, San Jose, 95113 CA
St. Louis, Missouri
190 Carondelet Plaza, Suite 1450, Clayton, MO 63105
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
77 King Street West, Suite 2020, Toronto, ON M5K 1A1
Walnut Creek, California
1255 Treat Blvd., Suite 700, Walnut Creek, CA 94597
Washington, D.C.
1050 K Street NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20001
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"He's very experienced in the realm of construction defect litigation, having done hundreds of these cases. He knows the law. He knows the insurance. He's a very good communicator. He puts people at ease. He shows people the strong points, the weak points of their case. And he makes very good recommendations on how to get these cases resolved."
-Plaintiffs' Attorney
"I was impressed at the approach you employed in your attempt at resolving the matter.”
-Defense Attorney
"Rick has a really unique approach in that he gains everybody's trust. He listens really well,"
- Construction Attorney
"He's very good at having the tough conversations - if he has to - when it comes to maybe lowering a client's expectations or evaluating a claim in real time. He's really good at having that conversation with someone who is a non-lawyer in the mediation process."
-Defense Attorney
"I don't think there could have been a better Mediator for this matter.”
-Defense Attorney