News

The Firm prevailed before the California Court of Appeal in an important case concerning relief from default judgments. David Alverson entered the case to represent a default judgment debtor (real estate development company) after the judgment debtor had already filed its motion to set aside the default judgment and after the judgment debtor’s post-filing discovery that it – and its counsel of record – had notice of the default judgment eight years prior. Nevertheless, Mr. Alverson convinced the trial court to set aside the default judgment not only because the plaintiff had sued the wrong defendant but also because the judgment debtor had, eight years prior, relied on its then-counsel to advise whether it should move to set aside the default judgment but counsel never advised at the time that such action should be taken. In a published decision after oral argument by Mr. Alverson, the Court of Appeal upheld the trial court’s decision to set aside the ten-year-old default judgment. Politsch v. Metroplaza Partners, LLC, 109 Cal. App. 5th 397 (2025).

We are honored to announce that Lesnick Prince Pappas & Alverson LLP has been selected by Chambers and Partners for inclusion in its inaugural Chambers USA Spotlight California 2025 Guide. The Chambers Spotlight Guide “was conceived to highlight exceptional small and medium-sized law firms.”

Chambers recognized the firm’s work in two distinct practice areas: bankruptcy & restructuring; and commercial litigation.

Only two LA firms were included in the bankruptcy and restructuring category. “Lesnick Prince Pappas & Alverson LLP is a strong Los Angeles firm with a broad bankruptcy practice. The firm is experienced acting for debtors in Chapter 11 proceedings, in addition to bankruptcy-related litigation.”

Regarding the firm’s litigation practice, Chambers stated, “Lesnick Prince Pappas & Alverson LLP handles a range of commercial litigation matters, with notable expertise in partnership disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims and fraud cases.

Matt Lesnick, Chris Prince, Michael Pappas and David Alverson were named to the 2025 Southern California “Super Lawyers” list published by Thomson Reuters and Los Angeles magazine. Selection to the list is an honor received by no more than five percent of all lawyers in Southern California. Lesnick and Prince were selected in the area of bankruptcy. Pappas and Alverson were selected in the area of business litigation.

Judge Scott C. Clarkson, United States Bankruptcy Judge, issued an order for relief in the involuntary chapter 7 bankruptcy case of True Pharmastrip, Inc. Chris Prince represented the petitioning creditors who initiated the involuntary proceeding after True Pharmastrip’s CEO pled guilty to securities fraud. True Pharmastrip opposed the petition, and the order for relief was entered after more than a year of litigation.

Lesnick Prince & Pappas LLP represented medical technology companies Bruin Biometrics, LLC and BBI Medical Solutions, LLC, in litigation with its former Chief Financial Officer who it accused of embezzling company funds. The CFO used his access to company systems to falsify documents, forge signatures and manipulate company programs to enrich himself. The CFO cross-complained for $19 million in allegedly lost equity opportunities as well as damages under the Labor Code. Mike Pappas led the trial team, and after a 3-week trial, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of the companies and against the CFO on claims for theft and misappropriation, fraud and concealment, and breach of fiduciary duty. A judgment was entered in favor of plaintiffs on November 18, 2024, for $3,372,514.21. Bruin Biometrics, LLC, etc. et al v. Ryan Stearns, Los Angeles Superior Court case no. 21STCV30064.

Matt Lesnick, Chris Prince, Michael Pappas, and David Alverson were named to the 2024 Southern California “Super Lawyers” list published by Thomson Reuters and Los Angeles magazine. Selection to the list is an honor received by no more than five percent of all lawyers in Southern California. Lesnick and Prince were selected in the area of bankruptcy. Pappas and Alverson were selected in the area of business litigation.

David Alverson prevailed in a federal lawsuit on behalf of a Canadian stock transfer agency company against California-based shareholders of a Canadian corporation. The shareholders’ claims sought multi-million-dollar damages and alleged that, under Canadian securities law, the transfer agency company wrongfully refused to remove restrictive legends from the shareholders’ stock certificates. After obtaining dismissal of the lawsuit on forum non conveniens grounds, David participated in oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which ultimately upheld the District Court’s dismissal. The case was featured in the June 14, 2023 edition of the Daily Journal.

Figueroa Mountain Brewing, LLC successfully closed the sale of substantially all its assets in chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in United States Bankruptcy Court. Chris Prince and Matt Lesnick represented Figueroa Mountain in the sale and related chapter 11 proceedings. The COVID-19 pandemic and a dispute with one of its secured lenders had put Figueroa Mountain on the verge of shutting down when it filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2020. Chris and Matt successfully guided Figueroa Mountain through a difficult chapter 11 process and negotiated a global settlement that preserved the Central Coast’s largest and best recognized independent craft brewery.

After trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court and the issuance of findings by the appointed accounting referee, David Alverson prevailed on behalf of his client in a business dispute between two co-owners of commercial property. David secured a seven-figure judgment on his client’s partition and accounting claims and obtained a complete defense victory on the opposing co-owner’s breach of fiduciary duty claim.