Practice Area Overview

For over a quarter century, the attorneys at Donahue Davies LLP, have served the Sacramento community and clients nationwide in general civil trial practice, with an emphasis in the following areas:

Civil Litigation

DD is a full service civil litigation firm that has represented a diverse range of clients for over 30 years. The firm’s attorneys have a wealth of experience guiding plaintiffs and defendants through all steps of litigation in high exposure cases involving multi-million dollar damages claims. Our experienced team of trial attorneys has successfully handled hundreds of cases for our clients, whether nationwide corporations and insurance companies or small businesses and individuals. For more information, please see the civil litigation page.

Personal Injury

DD represents both plaintiffs and defendants in all types of personal injury matters, including claims arising from motor vehicle accidents, wrongful deaths, toxic torts, professional liability, premises liability and product liability matters. The firm’s attorneys have a particular wealth of experience both in prosecuting and defending actions involving punitive and exemplary damages in the multi-million dollar range.

Insurance Defense

Our insurance defense practice at DD has represented insurance companies and their insureds for over two decades. DD’s insurance defense actions include all manner of vehicle accidents, premises liability, environmental liability, construction defect, professional liability, fire loss, product liability, property and casualty insurance and pooled risk groups. In addition, the firm assists insurance companies in answering coverage questions, including interpreting insurance policies and providing defense litigation for claims involving bad faith denial of a claim. DD also provides representation for claims involving third party litigation and subrogation. DD attorneys have developed cost-effective, efficient defenses to the claims confronting the insurance clients and their insureds.

Product Liability

DD attorneys have handled a broad range of product liability actions regarding motor vehicles, in addition to cases involving defective machinery, watercraft, agricultural products, aircraft, playground equipment, power tools, recreational sports equipment, medical products, consumer products, chemicals and pesticides. DD provides aggressive solutions to resolve complex product liability disputes. The firm assists clients on both the plaintiff and defense sides, including Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies and nationwide manufacturers. For more, please see the product liability page.

Construction Law

Construction related litigation is a significant part of DD’s caseload. The firm represents owners, design professionals, general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers and sureties in both federal and state courts. DD’s practice areas include construction defect litigation, delay claims and related litigation, insurance coverage and insurance bad faith litigation, mechanics liens, stop notices and bond claims, as well as the interpretation and enforcement of private and government contracts. DD has unparalleled experience in the representation of grading and paving contractors in construction defect litigation and of striping subcontractors in personal injury claims allegedly arising out of defective property conditions. The firm has in-depth experience handling industrial injury, property damage and business loss claims that are related to the construction industry. The firm has also been active in the handling of environmental law, mold litigation and other toxic tort cases.

Some of the DD attorneys focus almost exclusively on construction-related litigation, and our team includes a professional engineer who is licensed in California with over 20 years of experience in design and construction. This gives the firm a unique insight into the particular issues at play in construction defect claims.

Public Entity Defense

DD has extensive experience in defending public entities in cases involving alleged dangerous property conditions, including road and highway designs and public works. The firm also defends public entities in excessive force cases, including defending county and city law enforcement agencies, officers and correctional facilities in claims involving alleged federal civil rights violations. In addition, the firm has provided representation in numerous matters involving employment law. DD understands the budget constraints of public entities and effectively works within an agency’s hierarchy. Our clients include public entities throughout the Cities of Sacramento and Folsom, and the counties of El Dorado, Placer, Yolo, Yuba, Calaveras and Sacramento. For more information on DD’s public entity clients, please view the representative clients page.

Aviation Litigation

DD attorneys have considerable expertise in aviation law. DD represents air carriers, aircraft owners, pilots, mechanics, fixed base operators, aerial applicators and other certificate holders directly and through insurers in litigation. DD handles a variety of liability matters for its aviation clients and insurers, including common carrier claims, personal injury or wrongful death actions, property damage and crop damage claims and product liability claims involving aviation equipment.

Commercial Litigation

DD provides state-wide representation for clients in complex business and commercial litigation matters, including contract disputes, fraud and negligent misrepresentation, unfair competition, business torts, consumer finance and toxic torts. The firm also represents franchisors, distributors and manufacturers in lemon law, franchise and warranty litigation. DD attorneys represent business clients spanning from major Fortune 500 companies to small local businesses.

Real Property Law

Attorneys at DD offer comprehensive real property representation, including the interpretation and enforcement of real estate purchase and sale agreements, as well as other real estate related contracts, litigation of boundary disputes, easement disputes, commercial landlord/tenant disputes, non-disclosure issues, insurance coverage and related matters. For more information on the expertise of the firm’s attorneys in real property law, please see the attorney profiles.

Agricultural Law

DD assists clients in matters involving agricultural law, including contract disputes, business disputes, farm agreements, wine and grape agreements, crop duster litigation, farm equipment cases, pesticide and agricultural chemical litigation. The firm’s experienced lawyers work together in overlapping issues involving business and commercial litigation, personal injury claims, product liability and toxic torts. DD is uniquely familiar with the standards and regulations governing the agricultural industry in California.

Mediation & Arbitration

DD understands that not all legal issues are best resolved through aggressive litigation, and has developed and implemented comprehensive strategies to help clients obtain amicable resolutions, avoiding costly court battles. Attorneys at the firm have over 20 years of experience in alternative dispute resolution, and have served as judicially-appointed arbitrators, independent mediators and settlement conference judges in a wide range of disputes throughout Sacramento and Northern California. For additional information about the firm’s qualifications, see the attorney profiles.

30 Years of Service

For the past thirty years, whether representing large corporations, insurance companies, small businesses or individuals, the lawyers at DD have been dedicated to providing exceptional legal representation for their clients. We encourage you to contact Donahue Davies LLP about your legal needs.