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CONTACT CASE MANAGER

Hon. Robert D. Foiles (Ret.)

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    Biography
    General Biography
    Practice Areas & Industries
    Business Commercial
    Construction Defect
    Employment Law
    Estate Probate Trusts
    Governmental & Public Agency
    Personal Injury
    Professional Liability
    Real Property
    Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities
    Background and Education

    Hon. Robert Foiles (Ret.) serves as a neutral at JAMS, where he focuses his practice on business and commercial disputes, employment matters, estate and probate issues, personal injury, real estate and other complex civil cases. With 27 years of judicial experience, including service as a presiding judge and civil settlement judge, Judge Foiles is known for quickly mastering the facts and legal issues in even the most challenging matters. He combines a practical, analytical approach with a personable style that puts parties at ease, and he is highly regarded for his proactive case management and commitment to following up to help parties reach resolution.

    Judge Foiles joined JAMS after nearly three decades on the San Mateo County Superior Court. During his judicial tenure, he handled a broad range of civil and complex litigation, as well as probate matters. As a trial judge, he presided over nearly 150 civil and criminal jury trials, including numerous high-profile cases, and conducted more than 1,000 mandatory settlement conferences.

    In his final judicial assignment, Judge Foiles served in the civil department, overseeing both general civil and complex cases involving personal injury, employment, commercial, real property, professional liability, government and construction defect claims. Elected by his colleagues to serve two terms as presiding judge from 2007 to 2008 and from 2013 to 2014, he later served as the county’s civil settlement judge, where from 2015 to 2018 he conducted all civil mandatory settlement conferences.

    Representative Matters

    • Business Commercial
        • Mediated breach of contract in which the seller was left with a large amount of inventory that could not be repurposed
        • Mediated lease renewal dispute between new commercial building owner and lessee with an option to renew
        • Mediated financial scam of “pig butchering” in which the financial institutions were accused of misfeasance
        • Mediated declaratory relief action between law firms regarding the appropriate division of attorney fees
        • Mediated dispute over a management services agreement between manufacturer and trademark owner
        • Mediated dispute between business owner and shopping center association regarding assessments and CAM charges
        • Mediated dispute between shareholders of a closely held farming and ranch corporation regarding governance and dividend issues
        • Mediated business/commercial dispute between a tour company and another party
        • Mediated breach of contract dispute regarding governance of a church
        • Presided over and settled commercial contract disputes involving claims for failure to pay, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, theft of trade secrets, unfair competition, exercise of stock option rights and failure to pay commissions
        • Presided over contract disputes regarding interpretation, performance and damages, as well as liquidated damages
        • Presided over and/or resolved partnership dispute litigation and accounting claims
        • Presided over breach of contract litigation regarding violations of competition clauses, trade secrets, corporate raiding and confidentiality clauses
        • As a judge, negotiated claims involving insurance bad faith litigation
    • Construction Defect
        • Mediated dispute regarding water intrusion for a commercial building
        • Mediated single family home construction project involving contractor’s claim of non-payment and allegations of inadequate performance by the homeowner
        • Mediated construction breach of contract case involving a school project dispute
        • Presided over multiparty construction defect cases involving homes, shopping centers, schools, condominiums and large development projects
        • Settled numerous claims between generals, subcontractors, owners and design professionals
        • Presided over litigation involving alleged unlicensed contractors
        • Resolved matters involving insurance issues, including indemnity, apportionment and failure to defend
    • Employment Law
        • Mediated wrongful termination claim involving five plaintiffs alleging discrimination and retaliation
        • Mediated wage and hour dispute involving 24 hour “on call” hospitality workers with claims of unpaid wages and discrimination issues
        • Mediated numerous wage and hour claims involving failure to pay all due compensation and missed breaks
        • Presided over numerous sexual harassment and wrongful termination/constructive termination claims
        • Approved multiple class action and California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) wage and hour settlements
        • Presided over Labor Board appeals involving Labor Code violations
        • As a judge, handled numerous employment cases involving alleged Labor Code violations, including, but not limited to, failure to pay overtime, failure to reimburse expenses, failure to timely pay, failure to provide wage statements and failure to provide required breaks
        • Presided over/settled cases involving alleged violations of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) claiming failure to prevent age, sex and racial discrimination and retaliation
        • Presided over cases involving the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
    • Estate Probate Trusts
        • Mediated trust dispute in which claimant claimed rights pursuant to Marvin v. Marvin
        • Mediated elder abuse claims and claims of undue influence
        • Mediated allegations of the trustee's breach of fiduciary duty in the allocations of trust assets regarding the exemption and survivor trusts
        • Mediated banking sector financial elder abuse case related to a financial scam
        • Mediated financial elder abuse claim made by estate against real estate agent
        • As a judge, negotiated settlements between family and relatives in probate and trust disputes
        • Conducted mandatory settlement conferences and resolved claims of undue influence and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with wills and trusts
    • Governmental & Public Agency
        • Mediated case where resident sought judicial review of governmental entity’s findings regarding tree removal
        • Presided over multiple administrative mandate cases involving city and county ordinances and regulations
        • Presided over and settled matters involving public entity disputes, including eminent domain
        • As a judge, handled school district cases involving alleged negligence and negligent supervision
    • Personal Injury
        • Mediated wrongful death action brought by numerous family members alleging conductor negligence in train accident
        • Mediated numerous vehicular accidents involving wrongful death or serious bodily injury
        • Mediated personal injury assault and battery case arising from a physical altercation
        • Mediated auto accident claim involving dangerous conditions of public property
        • Mediated uninsured motorist claim
        • Mediated personal injury claim involving bodily injury at a retail store
        • Settled, presided over and tried hundreds of cases involving premises liability and auto, pedestrian, bike, truck and motorcycle accidents
        • Presided over catastrophic personal injury matters, including wrongful death, traumatic brain injury, loss of limb and disfigurement cases
        • As a judge, presided over and settled numerous products liability claims
    • Professional Liability
        • Conducted numerous jury trials involving medical malpractice
        • As a judge, managed, presided over and settled claims of professional negligence, including those in the fields of medical, legal, dental and chiropractic
    • Real Property
        • Mediated dispute between two factions of a church congregation over property rights and remedies
        • Mediated dispute regarding the alleged breach of a commercial lease occurring during Covid restrictions
        • Mediated breach of lease in which tenant discovered zoning precluded their intended use of the commercial property
        • Mediated numerous cases involving easements, retaining walls and boundary disputes
        • Mediated claims of uninhabitability by tenants against landlord
        • Mediated residential landlord-tenant dispute with retaliation and contract claims
        • Mediated real estate easement dispute concerning ingress-egress rights
        • Mediated dispute regarding CCR interpretation for adjacent commercial properties, including financial responsibilities
        • Mediated contentious dispute between residential property owner and HOA regarding bylaws and CC&Rs
        • Mediated dispute concerning property improvements and payment related issues
        • Presided over litigation of violations of covenants, conditions and restrictions for commercial property parking rules
        • Presided over/settled multiple claims between neighbors and/or homeowners’ associations involving easements, parking, landscaping, encroachments, views, privacy, noise and harassment
        • As a judge, managed, presided over and settled cases involving sale of residential and commercial property
        • Presided over property and boundary line and prescriptive easement litigation
        • Presided over numerous matters relating to claims of failure to disclose defects in home prior to sale of property to buyer
        • Presided over/settled landlord/tenant cases

    Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

    Memberships and Affiliations

    • Board of Governors, Association of Business Trial Lawyers, Northern California
    • Board of Directors, San Mateo Law Library
    • Judicial Council Court Facilities Advisory Committee

    Selected Awards and Honors

    • Trial Judge of the Year, American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), 2023
    • John J. Meehan Alumni Fellow Award for Mentorship, University of San Francisco, 2019
    • Trail Lawyers Judge of the Year, San Mateo County Bar Association, 2008

    Selected Recent Lectures and Panels

    • Trial Skills, Tips and Tricks for Trial, San Mateo County Barristers, March 2023
    • Trial Practice in Bay Area Courts, National Business Institute, December 2023
    • Civil Litigation Do’s and Don’ts, National Business Institute, October 2022
    • Trials in the Post-Pandemic Era, ABTL Northern Chapter, May 2022

    Background and Education

    • San Mateo County Superior Court, 1997–2024
      • Civil and Complex, 2021–2024
      • Civil Settlement Judge, 2015–2018
      • Presiding Judge, 2007–2008, 2013–2014
      • Assistant Presiding Judge, 2005–2006, 2011–2012
      • Supervising Judge, Family Law Division, 2011–2012
      • Supervising Judge, Commissioners, 2011–2012
      • Supervising Judge, Civil Division, ADR and Case Management, 2004–2006
      • Law and Motion, 2005
      • Family Law, 1998–1999
    • Deputy District Attorney, San Mateo County, 1985–1997
    • Law and Motion Research Attorney, San Francisco Superior Court, 1984–1985
    • J.D., University of San Francisco, 1984
    • B.S., Accounting and Finance, University of California, Berkeley, 1981
    Counsel Comments
    • “He's going to listen to your position, and in a respectful way, he's going to ask you to explain what you know, he may not agree with you, but I think it's going to be a very fruitful conversation because when he doesn't agree with you, and you have your client present, that's helpful for your client to hear."
      - Northern California Defense Counsel
    • “He gets a good grasp of the issues and what is important to the parties, what are your strong points? What are your weaker points? He gets a good grasp of that early on and proceeds from there to work between the parties to get them to a point where it can resolve.”
      - Northern California Plaintiffs’ Counsel
    • “My clients really ended up connecting with him and trusting him, and obviously, his decades of service on the San Mateo County bench go a long way in allowing the parties to feel that level of trust.”
      - Bay Area Employment Counsel
    • “His ability to focus discussions in a productive way that allows clients to express their frustrations and feel heard while also guiding them to understand the realities and risks involved with their case is just invaluable.”
      - Bay Area Employment Counsel
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      This page is for general information purposes. JAMS makes no representations or warranties regarding its accuracy or completeness. Interested persons should conduct their own research regarding information on this website before deciding to use JAMS, including investigation and research of JAMS neutrals. See More

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