Hon. Fred K. Morrison (Ret.)
Hon. Fred K. Morrison (Ret.) joined JAMS in 2009 after serving nine years in the trial courts and over 14 years on the California Third District Court of Appeal. During his tenure on the appellate bench, Justice Morrison authored over 160 published opinions. Having served in both civil and criminal departments while on the trial bench, he has handled a diverse range of cases throughout his career.
As a JAMS neutral he has mediated, arbitrated, and served as a special master and discovery referee in cases involving the business of healthcare, government and police liability, employment disputes, eminent domain, and all manner of commercial litigation and professional malpractice cases.
Justice Morrison has taught a law school course in Arbitration Practice and Mediation and has presented about Effective Advocacy in ADR throughout Northern California and the Bay Area.
Attorneys praise Justice Morrison’s quick intelligence, good judgment, common sense, and humility.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
- Since joining JAMS over eight years ago, Justice Morrison serves as mediator, arbitrator, special master, and discovery referee on a wide variety of cases, effectively assisting parties in reaching resolution
- Served 14 years on the California Third District Court of Appeal, prior to which he served as a trial court judge on the Sacramento Superior Court and Municipal Court for nine years
- Justice Morrison was a member of the Third District Court of Appeal Committee to establish the Appellate Mediation and Settlement Program
Representative Matters
- Business Commercial
- Trade secrets dispute involving theft of customer information other trade secrets and unfair competition
- Class action matters involving credit card privacy statute and the entitlement to attorney fees under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1021.5 (private attorney general statute)
- Class action case involving violations of the TCPA and the use of Automatic Telephone Dialing Systems
- Breach of contract action between a Danish seller of agricultural products and the American company that purchased the products
- Dispute over a lease option to buy a truck stop with significant issues involving terms of sale and business valuation methods
- Trademark infringement and copyright suit involving a major jewelry manufacturer
- Matter involving termination of a business partner and valuation of the business
- Disputes involving investment fraud and breach of contract
- Breach of contract action involving a dispute over the proper functioning of computer software
- Dispute involving the breakup of a failed partnership involving a large commercial property development
- Foreclosure on a construction loan and effect of general contractor’s completion guarantee
- Termination of a law firm shareholder and valuation of partnership share
- Contract dispute involving natural gas exploration
- Civil Rights
- Dispute regarding the amount of legal fees due after plaintiffs prevailed in a California Voting Rights Act class action case
- Suit against a local police department for false arrest and defamation.
- Case against a police department for excessive force in the use of a Tazer
- Case involving the death of a hostage from police gunfire
- Discovery Referee
- Acted as a Discovery Referee in numerous complex cases involving assertion of privilege, use of privilege logs, electronically stored information and massive document requests
- Employment Law
- Numerous disputes involving allegations of sexual discrimination, hostile work environment, and constructive wrongful termination
- Wage and hour cases
- Wrongful termination case involving allegations of incompetence and insubordination
- Sexual harassment and discrimination case involving an employment agency
- Whistle blower claim involving alleged retaliation and wrongful discharge
- Employee termination matter involving sexual harassment and hostile work environment issues
- Conducted evidentiary hearing for federal court on factual issues in civil rights suit stemming from an allegation of wrongful termination
- Matters involving USERRA
- Estate Probate Trusts
- In re Estate of Kievernagel (2008) 166 Cal. App. 4th 1024. Wrote first appellate opinion involving a dispute between the parents a deceased man and his wife over the disposal of sperm stored in a fertility clinic
- Action for undue influence in a family estate dispute involving the “disinheritance” of a deceased’s new friend
- Health Care
- Numerous hospital reimbursement cases involving alleged underpayments by insurance companies and over billing by hospitals
- Declaratory relief dispute between major health care providers regarding contract interpretation
- Dispute between a hospital and supplier of nuclear medicine equipment and technical assistance
- Qui tam whistle blower case involving drug prices charged to government health care programs
- Disputes concerning out of contract reimbursement rates between health care providers and physician independent practice groups
- Disputes among members of a physician partnership
- Personal Injury
- Action arising from a work site injury involving issues of contractual indemnification and insurance coverage between multiple insurance companies
- Matter in which plaintiff suffered severe allergic reaction to facial makeup, heard while case was on appeal
- Environmental cleanup case with contractual indemnification and real property leasing issues
- Action involving civil rights and personal injury liability arising out of an alleged trespass on a defense contractor facility
- Allegations of elder abuse and wrongful death in a nursing home
- Case involving multiple deaths caused by a fire in senior citizens’ residence facility
- Uninsured motorist claim involving injuries and loss of self-employment income
- Professional Malpractice
- Legal malpractice case regarding alleged conflicts of interest and multiple representations
- Legal malpractice dispute stemming from representation in the underlying vehicle accident matter
- Medical malpractice action involving causation questions related to eye surgery
- Medical malpractice case involving injuries suffered after a hip replacement
- Real Property
- Case involving damage to real property, inverse condemnation, negligence, and insurance issues
- Breach of contract case brought by a land owner and developer against a church
- Matter involving environmental cleanup liability, contractual indemnification, and real property leasing issues
- Dispute over the proper allocation of property tax revenues between county office of education and a school district
- Action to rescind a land sale based on a mutual violation of the Subdivision Map Act
- Action alleging unfair enforcement of CC&Rs by homeowners association
- Served as a judge pro tem in a dispute over the ownership and inheritance of agricultural land
Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities
- Ninth Circuit Trustee, Board of Trustees of the American Inns of Court, 2009-2013
- Member, Third District Court of Appeal Committee to Establish Appellate Mediation and Settlement Program
- Presiding Special Master, Commission on Judicial Performance Hearing, 2007
- Member, Supreme Court Advisory Committee for Publication of Court of Appeal Opinions, 2005-2006
- “Medical Malpractice Litigation: Policy, Procedures and Perspective,” John M. Mott Memorial Lecture, University of California, Davis Medical School, 2001
- Speaker, programs on civil litigation and medical malpractice, University of California, Davis Medical School, 2001-present
- Justice Pro Tem, California Supreme Court, 2002
- Judge of the Year, Sacramento County Bar Association, 1997
- Member, Governing Board, California Center for Judicial Education and Research, 1995-2000
- Founding Member and Executive Committee Member, Anthony M. Kennedy Inn of Court, 1990 to present; (President, 1993-1997)
- Member, Sacramento County Bar Association, 1978 – 1985; Bar Council, 1983-1985; Secretary-Treasurer, 1983; Vice-President, 1985
- "From Military to Mediation," ADR Profile, Daily Journal, August 24, 2012
Background and Education
- Justice, California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, 1994-2009
- Judge, Sacramento Superior Court, 1989-1994
- Municipal Court Judge, Sacramento, 1985-1989
- Assistant U.S. Attorney, Sacramento, CA, 1982-1985
- Professor, McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento, CA, 1975–1982; Adjunct Professor, 1982-1989
- Second Lieutenant to Brigadier General and National Guard Special Assistant to the Judge Advocate General of the Army, California National Guard, 1975-1993
- U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corp., U.S. Army, 1971-1975
- J.D., magna cum laude, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 1971
- U.S. Army (tours in Korea and Vietnam), 1963-1975
- B.S. (Psychology), Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 1963
Home Office
HOME OFFICE
Sacramento, California
1415 L Street, Suite 700, Sacramento, CA 95814
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
Orange County, California
5 Park Plaza, Suite 400, Irvine, CA 92614
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1717 Arch Street, Suite 3810, Philadelphia, PA 19103
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
Disclaimer:
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
Search our global directory of mediators, arbitrators and ADR professionals.
JAMS Neutral Inquiry
T:
*Required Fields
-
- Neutral Not Found
- Attorney
- Senior Counsel, Sacramento Law Firm
- Managing Partner, Sacramento Law Firm
- Managing Partner, Sacramento Law Firm
- Attorney
- Business Litigator