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At Alder Law, we believe that being a lawyer is about more than just legal advocacy—it’s about being a trusted leader in the community. That belief is at the heart of the work our founder, Mike Alder, and his wife, Gina Zapanta, have done to provide relief for those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires and to support immigrant families seeking legal assistance. When devastating wildfires forced families to evacuate their homes, Gina and Mike took immediate action, booking ten hotel rooms and offering them free of charge to those in need. What started as a small act of kindness quickly grew into a major community effort, providing over 300 hotel rooms for more than 500 evacuees and raising over $100,000 to extend assistance. Beyond shelter, their outreach included organizing a marketplace of essential items, distributing gift cards, and now shifting efforts to support mental health services for those impacted. Their dedication to social justice doesn’t stop there. Inspired by a commitment to advocacy, Gina and Mike have also launched the Equity and Justice Alliance, a legal initiative connecting people in need with pro bono and affordable immigration attorneys. The project aims to protect constitutional rights and ensure legal access for all, regardless of documentation status. This kind of hands-on, community-driven advocacy is what defines our work at Alder Law. To read the full story about Mike and Gina’s impact, check out the original article from Loyola Law School here. For updates on their ongoing community efforts, follow @zalawyers and @ginazapanta_ on Instagram.

At Alder Law, we believe in being more than attorneys—we are members of this community, committed to standing by our neighbors in times of need. As wildfires devastate neighborhoods across Los Angeles County, displacing thousands, we have made it our mission to provide immediate relief for those affected. A Commitment to Help When the Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst Fires erupted earlier this week, leaving countless families without homes, we knew we had to act. Our partners, Mike Alder and Gina Zapanta, shared a heartfelt video message on social media, offering free hotel rooms to evacuees: “We have reserved a hotel block of rooms here in Sherman Oaks. Please reach out to us,” Gina shared.“Forget anything else, other than asking for help,” Mike added. The response was immediate and overwhelming. What began as a small gesture quickly turned into a large-scale effort to secure hotel accommodations for displaced families across the Valley, including areas like Burbank, North Hollywood, and Sherman Oaks. Providing Relief to Families in Need So far, our efforts have provided shelter and care for over 160 evacuees—parents, children, and pets—who have been forced to flee their homes. Among those we’ve assisted is Ariana Perez, who escaped the Eaton Fire evacuation zone with her young son. While her Altadena home was tragically destroyed, she and her son now have a safe and stable place to stay. “I was lucky enough to get picked by them so they could help me and my son out,” Perez shared. “He doesn’t know nothing. He’s just so happy and he doesn’t know what’s going on.” Supporting the Community In addition to providing hotel rooms, we are assembling care packages and raising funds to expand our efforts. Every contribution we receive goes directly toward helping families impacted by these wildfires find shelter, comfort, and a sense of normalcy during this difficult time. Read About Our Efforts in the Media Our community outreach has been featured on multiple news outlets. Learn more about what we’re doing and how you can help: ABC News: Los Angeles couple helps evacuees of devastating LA wildfires CBS News: Los Angeles attorneys offer free hotel rooms for wildfire evacuees ABC7: Local attorneys provide a lifeline for families devastated by Palisades and Eaton fires Join Us in Making a Difference The support we’ve received from the community so far has been inspiring, but the need remains great. If you would like to help, we encourage you to visit our Instagram pages, @ginazapanta and @mike_alder, where we’re coordinating fundraising and donations. A Message of Hope At Alder Law, we are deeply committed to serving our community—not just in the courtroom but in every way we can. The resilience and strength of Los Angeles inspire us daily, and we are honored to play a role in supporting our neighbors as they navigate this challenging time. Together, we will rebuild, recover, and move forward. For those in need of assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We are here for you.

AlderLaw Attorneys Named Super Lawyers for Peer Recognition and Professional Achievement AlderLaw is extremely proud to announce that 6 of our lawyers have been recognized as 2019 Super Lawyers: Mike Alder, Jennifer Burkes, Jennifer Ostertag, Lauri Brenner, Marni Folinsky and Lourdes DeArmas!! Congratulations! Mike Alder (Top 100) and Marni Folinsky (Top 50 Women) were additionally recognized in Southern California Super Lawyers Top Lists. This is the 15th year in a row that Mike Alder has been recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer (2004 – 2019) and the 11th year Marni Folinsky has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a top lawyer in Southern California (Rising Star: 2008-2013, Super Lawyer 2014-2019, Top 50: Women Southern California Super Lawyers 2018 & 2019). Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. This selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. Super Lawyers Magazine features the list and profiles of selected attorneys and is distributed to attorneys in the state or region and the ABA-accredited law school libraries. Super Lawyers is also published as a special section in leading city and regional magazines across the country. Lawyers are selected to a Super Lawyers list in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Surveillance footage showing Chance the Rapper’s bodyguard Star Thomas holding Travis Montgomery against a wall in the lobby of the W Hotel.Source: WGN News Mike Alder and Alexis Gamliel of AlderLaw, along with attorney Tim Tomasik of Tomasik Kotin Kasserman in Chicago, are representing a Los Angeles man in a lawsuit against Star Thomas, one of Chance the Rapper’s bodyguards, following a violent encounter in Chicago’s W Hotel in 2017. The incident, which is the basis of the lawsuit, occurred in the lobby of the W Hotel in Chicago just two days before Chance the Rapper was set to perform at Lollapalooza and was caught on hotel surveillance video. Police were called to the hotel and Thomas was taken into custody and later charged with misdemeanor battery. Star Thomas is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, as are Starwood Hotels and the W Hotel’s local Director of Operations for inadequate security. “While Star Thomas was the person actually choking Travis and violently injuring him, the hotel and its ownership and management are responsible for allowing the incident to happen,” explains Tomasik. “When you’re a guest at a hotel, they owe you the ‘highest duty of care,’ and have to take the right steps to ensure your safety. The W Hotel knew there would be hundreds of guests around their property during Lollapalooza, which attracts music fans from around the world, and absolutely failed to have adequate security to protect guests in the lobby and hotel.” Chancellor Jonathan Bennett, known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is not a defendant in the suit at this time. For more information: https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/4/4/18313466/chance-the-rapper-s-bodyguard-sued-for-allegedly-attacking-guest-at-w-hotel https://www.tmz.com/2019/04/05/chance-the-rapper-bodyguard-lawsuit-body-slam-chicago-elevator https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/suit-filed-by-hotel-guest-following-assault-by-chance-the-rappers-bodyguard-300824998.html https://www.tkklaw.com/news-publications/suit-filed-by-hotel-guest-following-assault-by-chance-the-rapper-s-bodyguard

The Second District Court of Appeal affirmed jury’s $1 million punitive damages award against Geico General Insurance Co. for its unreasonable delay in paying an injured policyholder the full limits of his policy following a head-on collision. AlderLaw is pleased to report that a California Appellate Court has affirmed a jury’s punitive damages award in one of its cases against Geico. The case involved a head-on collision in which AlderLaw’s client Michael Mazik suffered a severe and inoperable fracture to his heel bone. Mazik received $50,000 from the at-fault driver’s insurer, Mercury Insurance Co., and then requested the $50,000 underinsured motorist limit under his own policy with Geico.  Unfortunately, Geico refused to pay out the underinsured motorist coverage and, between January 2010 and February 2012, Geico offered between $1,000 and $18,887 to settle his claim. Mazik rejected the offers and the dispute went to arbitration where our client was ultimately awarded the full $50,000 policy limit. In May 2014, represented by Mike Alder, Lauri Brenner and Allison Stone of AlderLaw, Mazik sued Geico for bad faith. The case proceeded to trial, and in July 2016, a jury found that Geico had unreasonably delayed paying out the client’s policy limit. The jury awarded Mazik $4,313,508* in compensatory and punitive damages.  Geico appealed the punitive damages award saying there was insufficient evidence that any “officer, director or managing agent” of the insurer acted in bad faith and that even the reduced award was too much.  The 2nd District Court of Appeal found there was extensive evidence indicating Geico deliberately ignored medical records establishing the severity of the foot injury suffered by Mazik during the 2008 auto accident. “In concluding that Mazik’s claim was worth far less than the policy limits, Geico disregarded information provided by Mazik showing that he had a permanent, painful injury, and instead selectively relied on portions of medical records that supported Geico’s position that Mazik had fully recovered”Administrative Presiding Judge Justice Elwood Lui The Court found that the record in the case was replete with evidence that Geico “cherry-picked” medical information pertaining to Mazik’s condition and “disregarded unfavorable findings” that supported his claim for the full policy limit. They also found that Geico’s regional administrator who oversaw Mazik’s claim clearly qualified as the insurer’s managing agent, and he “either authorized unreasonably low settlement offers or approved decisions not to increase those offers” on multiple occasions. “There was sufficient evidence for the jury to conclude that [Geico through its regional administrator] engaged in oppressive conduct by ignoring information concerning the serious and permanent nature of Mazik’s injuries for the purpose of saving the company money.”Justice Lui In addition, the appellate panel said the reduced $1 million punitive damages award was not unconstitutionally excessive, given the “degree of reprehensibility of Geico’s conduct.” Among other things, the panel noted that, while the insurer was withholding full payment on Mazik’s claim, he went into debt to pay bills and suffered through other personal difficulties due to the severity of his injury. “In light of the factors indicating significant reprehensible conduct and the three-to-one ratio of punitive to compensatory damages, we cannot say that the trial court’s decision approving punitive damages of $1 million exceeds constitutional restraints.”Justice Lui Appellate attorney Norman Pine of Pine Tillett Pine LLP was quoted by Law360: “We are quite pleased with Presiding Justice Lui’s thorough opinion, which covers a vast array of punitive damages issues concerning, inter alia, managing agent requirements, application of the five ‘reprehensibility factors,’ the proper ratio between the punitive award and the compensatory damages award, and other excessiveness issues.  Advocates of punitive damages will find much to be pleased with,” Pine said. “One major contribution the opinion makes is its focus on common sense realities concerning what jurors may reasonably deduce from disputed evidence.” Mazik v. Geico-$1M Punitive Damages Award Affirmed-Read the full opinion here. *After trial, the lower court found that the $4 million punitive damages sum awarded by the jury was excessive based on the circumstances and reduced it to $1 million.

“We lose everything in that. We are waiting one year for a solution now,” Jose Becerra said. “With the city not accepting the claim it’s really hard to understand. They promised to help and they never give the help.” A report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives said human error was the cause of the catastrophic explosion – officers miscalculated the weight of the explosives placed into a “total containment vessel.” The Becerra family on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles, saying the city hasn’t fulfilled its promise to help them rebuild. South LA fireworks blast: Explosive material exceeded capacity of containment truck, LAPD says “We lose everything in that. We are waiting one year for a solution now,” Jose Becerra said. “With the city not accepting the claim it’s really hard to understand. They promised to help and they never give the help.” LAPD told Eyewitness News it doesn’t comment on pending litigation. The city attorney’s office has settled come claims. According to the Becerra family attorney, they’re asking for at least $ 1 million from the city to rebuild their home. “To date (the city has) not even accepted their claim, much less provide any income,” the family’s attorney Michael Alder said. “We have had to do a fundraiser for the entire block, which we’ve done. Our firm has also gifted money to the Becerra family just for them to survive.” Some repairs in the neighborhood have been made. The Becerras say they just want their home and life back. “This is my home. This is my family, and they won’t accept this? That’s not nice. That’s a shame,” Becerra said with anger in his voice. “I feel ashamed about my city.” Read More

POMONA (CNS) – Two former employees and one current worker at Romano’s Macaroni Grill, all females, are suing the owners of the restaurant chain, alleging that management did not do enough to stop two male supervisors at the now-closed Industry location from sexually harassing them. Shanell Covarrubias, Maria Raya and Idalia Carrera brought the lawsuit Wednesday in Pomona Superior Court against Italian Restaurant Group LLC and two of their bosses, Cesar Pavias and Jose Castro. The complaint alleges sexual battery, hostile work environment harassment, gender discrimination, failure to prevent discrimination and harassment, retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent retention and supervision. The women seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. A Macaroni Grill representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Read More

Safety is once again the topic of conversation among Sweetwater Union School District parents. “I send my children to school, hoping it’s a safe place, a place where they can learn and just focus,” said Aysha Ali, a Castle Park High School parent. Yet, two Sweetwater families say that’s no longer the case. According to Civil Attorney Hugo Salazar, a Southwest High School Junior injured himself while at school. “The Southwest student fractured his elbow during P.E. class while participating in a soccer activity in the fields,” said Salazar. The student tripped on a hole in the soccer field, he added. The student’s mother didn’t want to go on camera but did share with NBC 7 that her son had to undergo several weeks of therapy to recover from the incident. “The mother has actively reached out to the school, to the district, and was constantly ignored,” said Salazar. Read More

CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — Two South Bay families plan on suing the Sweetwater Union High School District after, they say their kids were hurt due to unsafe conditions on campus. The family attorney’s filed the legal complaints on Thursday and say their clients feel the district could have avoided these injuries. The families are being represented by Alder Law. Read More

CHULA VISTA- La seguridad es una vez más el tema de conversación entre los padres del Distrito Escolar de Preparatorias Sweetwater Union. “Envío a mis hijos a la escuela con la esperanza de que sea un lugar seguro, un lugar donde puedan aprender y simplemente concentrarse”, dijo Aysha Ali, madre de la Preparatoria Castle Park. Sin embargo, dos familias de Sweetwater dijeron que ese ya no era el caso. Según el abogado civil, Hugo Salazar, un estudiante de la Preparatoria Southwest se lastimó mientras estaba en la escuela. Read More