Kathleen E. O’Leary (Ret.), JAMS Mediator and Arbitrator

Hon. Kathleen E. O’Leary (Ret.) joins JAMS following more than four decades of distinguished judicial service in California, including over 25 years on the Court of Appeal. Most recently, she served as the presiding justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three, based in Santa Ana, where she was the first woman to hold that role. Prior to her appellate service, she served on the Orange County Superior Court, including as its presiding judge, and on the West Orange County Municipal Court.

Throughout her career, Justice O’Leary earned a reputation for collegiality, fairness and sound judicial administration. As a trial judge, Justice O’Leary presiding over hundreds of trials and other contested matters. As a trial court leader, she helped navigate Orange County’s courts through the challenges of county bankruptcy, led the unification of the municipal and Superior courts, and advanced efforts to improve court efficiency and public access. At the appellate level, she presided over thousands of civil and criminal matters; authored roughly 2,600 opinions, including close to 200 published opinions; and was recognized for her deep knowledge of procedural fairness and constitutional rights. She also sat five times on the California Supreme Court as a pro tem justice.

Justice O’Leary has been widely recognized for her service to the judiciary and to the public. She was named Jurist of the Year by the Judicial Council of California and received numerous awards for her leadership in access to justice, court innovation and the advancement of women in the legal profession. She also held leadership roles on the Judicial Council of California, including as co-chair of the Access and Fairness Advisory Committee and chair of the Advisory Committee on Financial Accountability and Efficiency. In all of her leadership roles, Justice O’Leary has demonstrated an innate ability to forge a consensus to advance the cause of justice.

In addition to her judicial duties, Justice O’Leary has been deeply engaged in judicial education and mentorship, serving as an adjunct professor, faculty instructor and advisor to various legal and civic organizations.

At JAMS, Justice O’Leary focuses her practice on mediation, arbitration and neutral analysis in a broad range of areas, including appellate, business and commercial, civil rights, government/public agency, employment, insurance, personal injury/torts and real estate. She brings to her dispute resolution practice a commitment to neutrality, efficiency and thoughtful decision-making grounded in decades of trial and appellate court experience.

Representative Matters

The following matters are judicial decisions authored by Justice O’Leary while on the bench

Appellate

- Authored roughly 2,600 opinions, including almost 200 published opinions

Business Commercial

- Action against importer for breach of contract and violation of the Independent Wholesale Sales Representatives Contractual Relations Act
- Action on behalf of a public agency alleging company involved in foreign currency exchange violated Unfair Competition Law (UCL), False Advertising Law (FAL) and breach of fiduciary duties
- Automobile wholesale dealer action against assignees of retail dealer's rights under consumer conditional sale contracts, seeking declaratory relief and alleging violation of the Unfair Business Practices Act

Civil Rights

- Male baseball game attendees brought action against professional baseball team and sponsor of Mother's Day promotional event, alleging that giving free tote bags to female attendees 18 years old and over violated Unruh Civil Rights Act
- Authored numerous opinions identifying protected speech in the context of a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation

Employment Law

- Claim that premium pay for rest and meal break violations constitutes “wages” under the Labor Code section providing for waiting time penalties
- University physician’s action against university for settling malpractice claim against him without his consent
- Action by graduate student after being denied advancement in a Ph.D. program, alleging violations of due process, breach of employment contract, invasion of privacy and retaliation for exercising free speech rights
- Action alleging wrongful discharge and termination for reporting fraud, in violation of public policy
- Action against county under Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) for failure to accommodate and engage in good faith interactive process

Governmental & Public Agency

- City sued Caltrans to determine appropriate amounts owed to city for underground electrical facilities to accommodate freeway widening. City disputed Caltrans’ claim for “betterment” credit.
- Retired firefighter suffered on-the-job injury and received a disability pension from county retirement system; the county imposed a “disability offset” due to firefighter's receipt of pension from California Public Employees Retirement System from his prior job; the county sought the offset due to the alleged reciprocity of the systems
- Mobile home residents petitioned for a writ of mandate to compel the California Department of Parks and Recreation to rescind its certification of the environmental impact report (EIR) for a project that would replace a mobile home park
- Action by passenger of car involved in accident against Department of Transportation (DOT), alleging negligent roadway construction; the DOT asserted a deign immunity defense

Insurance

- Following underlying construction defect action against insured housing developer, primary insurers for subcontractors sued excess insurer for declaratory relief and equitable contribution
- Policyholders brought an action against automobile insurer, alleging a companywide practice of using inferior parts not manufactured by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM)
- Action by insured and liability insurer against automobile insurer for declaratory relief, equitable contribution, equitable indemnity, breach of the contractual duty to defend and indemnify and bad faith; insurer claimed the excavator's collision with dump truck was within automobile policy’s mechanical device exclusion
- Action by insured against insurer for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing after insurer elected to have damaged vehicle repaired rather than totaled
- Driver’s insurer alleged injured roommate was an insured within the meaning of the policy such that it did not have a duty to indemnify driver for roommate’s judgment
- Action by excess insurer for declaratory relief and equitable contribution following underlying construction defect action

Personal Injury

- Wrongful death action brought by mother whose son committed suicide while receiving inpatient treatment at drug rehabilitation facility; named defendants were the drug rehabilitation treatment provider, treating physician, supervising clinical psychologist, and marriage and family therapist intern
- Action for personal injury and loss of consortium against general contractor and excavation subcontractor, alleging office worker contracted illness from storing excavated dirt on vacant lot near office
- Action by former worship director against church for intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation and invasion of privacy; church claimed ministerial exception barred defamation liability for statements made in firing worship director
- Passenger sued pilot for negligence and strict liability after private airplane crashed on approach to dirt airstrip; pilot filed a cross-complaint against owner of private airstrip for negligence arising from a statutory violation, negligence, premises liability and loss of consortium
- Wrongful death action by widow against ship owner and company that operated ship for marine education program, alleging their negligence resulted in adult chaperone's death during a free-diving daytime excursion off the ship

Real Property

- Shopping center developer filed combined petition for writ of administrative mandamus and complaint for damages for inverse condemnation against city, contending that city's development restrictions, requiring developer to leave approximately one-third of its property undeveloped to accommodate reconstruction of freeway interchange, were invalid and constituted an uncompensated taking of developer's property
- Purchaser of one-half interest in residential property brought action against vendor and her lender for fraud and quiet title, and to partition the property by sale
- After trustee distributed excess proceeds from nonjudicial foreclosure sale to borrower, a junior lienholder brought action against trustee for breach of statutory duties
- Condominium homeowners brought action against homeowners’ association seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to compel compliance with the declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) by enforcing trimming of palm trees

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Memberships and Affiliations

Co-Chair, Committee on Providing Access and Fairness, Judicial Council of California, 2007-2017
Chair, Committee on Financial Accountability and Efficiency, Judicial Council of California, 2019
Member, Executive Committee, Commission on the Future of the Courts, 2015-2017
Member, Judicial Council of California, 1993-1996

Awards and Recognition

Sills Award for Appellate Excellence, Appellate Section, Orange County Bar Association, 2022
Legends of the Law Award, Masters Division, Orange County Bar Association, 2016
Joan Dempsey Klein Distinguished Jurist Award, California Women Lawyers, 2014
Community Leadership Award, Orange County Lavender Bar Association, 2014
Judge of the Year, Saint Thomas More of Orange County, 2010
Aranda Access to Justice Award, 2007
Franklin G. West Award, Orange County Bar Association, 2006
Judge of the Year, Celtic Bar Association of Orange County, 2005
Bernard S. Jefferson Award for Distinguished Service in Judicial Education, California Judges Association, 2003
Jurist of the Year, Judicial Council of California, 1999
Judge of the Year, Orange County Hispanic Bar Association, 1998

Background and Education

Justice, California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, 2000–2025
- Presiding Justice, 2012–2025
- Associate Justice. 2000–2012
Judge, Orange County Superior Court, 1986–2000
- Presiding Judge, 1998–2000
Judge, West Orange County Municipal Court, 1981–1986
Orange County Public Defender, 1976–1981
Private Practice, 1981
J.D., Southwestern University School of Law, 1975
B.A., Loyola Marymount University, 1972