James C. Earle, Esq.
James C. Earle, Esq.
Mediator
James C. Earle, Esq. joined ARC as a mediator after more than 38 years of representing both plaintiffs and defendants. Mr. Earle’s unique and varied skill set and diverse background enable him to carefully evaluate the benefits and burdens faced by parties. As lead counsel in more than 50 jury trials, bench trials, and binding arbitrations, as well as more than 900 mediations as litigant’s counsel and mediator, his experience has aided developers, general contractors, sub-contractors, hotels, homeowners, munic ipalities, and national construction product manufacturers. His clients have received his support as lead counsel in construction and products liability litigation in numerous federal and state courts through out the nation and Canada. He is one of the few attorneys with hands-on experience in construction as a licensed California general contractor (B) and subcontractor (C-36 Plumbing). He has served a mediation panelist for the U.S. District Court since 2015, as a mediator and arbitrator for AAA since 2014 and was a mediator for the Los Angeles County Superior Court Mediation Program in the 1990’s.
ORGANIZATIONS & ACHIEVEMENTS
- Named among Best Lawyers in America - Construction Law by Best Lawyers (2020-2025)
- Named a Southern California Super Lawyer for 12 years (2007, 2009-2019)
- Named as one of the West Coast’s Top-Rated Lawyers for 2019 by ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell
- Martindale-Hubbell, Peer Reviewed, AV® Preeminent™ Rating since 1990's
- LEED Green Associate since 2016
- Licensed in six states: California, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Washington
- Member, Fellowship of the Construction Lawyers Society of America; Chairperson, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Construction Law Subsection; Executive Committee Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Real Estate Section
PRACTICE AREAS
Construction, construction defect, habitability, products liability, insurance, wrongful death, class action, residential and commercial real estate, commercial and high-end residential landlord-tenant disputes, HOA and COA disputesCONFLICT RESOLUTION EXPERIENCE
Mr. Earle's representative matters include:- Prosecuted and defended multimillion-dollar defects claims brought against regional and national developers and builders involving thousands of single-family residences
- Drafted and negotiated construction contracts for owners of multimillion-dollar shopping center projects
- Defended hundreds of general contractor and subcontractor claims and disputes, including construction defects, default and termination, mechanic's lien disputes, claims under performance and payment bonds, and liquidated damages clauses
- Prosecuted and defended claims involving HOAs in disputes with developers, general contractors, and subcontractors
- Defended developers/builders, general contractors, and subcontractor of large multitract home projects in multi-party litigation alleging construction defects, mold claims
- Represented commercial property owners in federal and state courts defending Americans with Disability Act lawsuits
- Represented international construction material manufacturers in cases throughout the U.S. involving products liability, construction defects, and compatibility issues
- Represented national plumbing company in a California statewide class action that resulted in dismissal of the class action, a determination that plaintiff was not the prevailing party, and a further determination that plaintiff was not entitled to attorney's fees and costs
- Defended product manufacturers in wrongful death cases involving hotel fire litigation in the Las Vegas Hilton case in Nevada and the DuPont Plaza Hotel in Puerto Rico
- Represented product manufacturers in environmental litigation involving chemical contamination, chemical incompatibility and remedial activities
EDUCATION & TRAINING
- J.D., Golden Gate University School of Law, 1985
- B.A., Rowan University, 1978
- M.A., Counseling, San Jose State University, 1981
- Certified Mediator, Pepperdine University Mediation Certification Program since 1995
Mr. Earle is available throughout California.
