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Marc A. Eisenhart

Partner

Marc Eisenhart is a California State Bar Certified Appellate Specialist. Marc brings a wealth of trial and appellate experience to the areas of real estate, business, employment and landlord-tenant litigation. Marc is a tenacious advocate who excels at problem solving and forward-reaching strategy to obtain remarkable results for his clients. After 25 years representing individuals and businesses in dozens of jury trials, bench trials, arbitral or administrative hearings, and after more than two dozen appeals and writs in the appellate courts, Marc has earned a reputation as a formidable, passionate attorney who always keeps his client’s best interests at heart.

  • California
  • Nevada, Pro Hac Vice
  • United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of California
  • United States District Court for the Central District of California

  • Santa Clara University School of Law, J.D. (1996)
  • State University of New York, Stony Brook, B.A., Magna Cum Laude (1991)

  • Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Pro Tem
  • Santa Clara County Superior Court Judicial Arbitrator
  • Metro Newspaper’s “Best of Silicon Valley 2011” Awarded “Best Litigator”
  • Santa Clara University School of Law Lecturer, teaching Remedies and creating curriculum for, and teaching, “Anatomy of an Unlawful Detainer Action”
  • Frequent lecturer to small companies on wide range of employment matters, including wage and hour issues, risk mitigation, and implementation of personnel policies and practices
  • San Jose Pro Bono Project Assisted in the H.E.L.P. Division (Homelessness Prevention Eviction Law Project)
  • Apartment Owners Association (a national landlord association)Lecturer, speaking to audiences of landlords and property managers
  • Charter School of Morgan Hill Frequent Community Partner Award recipient
  • Santa Clara County Bar Association Member

Real Estate
  • Represented buyer in multi-million dollar buy-sell transaction when, before close of escrow, seller tendered notice of cancellation of sale. Inside just seven days, filed and served a lawsuit for specific performance, recorded a lis pendens, obtained a T.R.O. preventing sale of property, and settled the matter with seller to enforce the buy-sell agreement and reimburse buyer for every cent of attorney’s fees and costs incurred.
  • Represented residential buyer in non-disclosure claim against seller in binding arbitration arising out of failure to disclose problems with the property’s expansive soil. Buyer won arbitral award.
  • Represented defendant in intra-familial dispute over title and ownership to residential dwelling. After leveraging client’s position with pending summary judgment motion, and before final adjudication, the matter settled with agreed-upon sale of the home and a significant portion of the sale proceeds going to the client.
  • Represented plaintiff, an owner, in intra-familial dispute over title and ownership of the client’s family residence. The matter proceeded to trial with judgment entered in favor of the client, awarding full title and ownership of the home.
  • Represented owner of commercial property in dispute over easements with neighbor. The matter settled after discovery with client retaining a significant portion of use of property.
  • Represented owner of foreclosed home sued by holder of second mortgage and obtained dismissal of the action against bank based upon California’s anti-deficiency statutes.
  • Represented defendant builder and seller of custom home against the buyer — a lawyer — claiming fraud and other wrongs in connection with the sale. Following the jury trial, defensed the fraud claims and neutralized the remaining claims by succeeding in client’s cross-claims against the buyer for fraud. The buyer received nothing.
Business

  • Retained by corporate defendant following a multi-million dollar jury verdict against it. Reviewed the entire record and filed post-trial motions for new trial and judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Both motions were granted, and the jury verdict was completely overturned.
  • Represented principals of corporation sued by investor for fraud and other sundry claims. GED attorneys achieved dismissal of some of the claims at the pleading stage and obtained summary judgment for the clients on the remaining claims.
  • Represented Limited Liability Company sued by co-joint venturer for fraud, breach of contract, and other claims. Following a successful petition to compel binding arbitration and award of prevailing party attorney’s fees on that petition, the matter settled for a mere nuisance payment.
  • Represented sellers of existing business to enforce multiple carry-back notes by obtaining, without notice, pre-judgment writs of attachments, successfully levying significant debtor assets before debtor could hide the money. Shortly after the assets were levied, the case settled in favor of the plaintiff clients.
Employment

  • Represented many employers in wage and hour, EDD benefits, and wrongful terminations claims.
  • Successfully appealed grant of unemployment benefits in case where employee was fired for misconduct.
  • Represented retired fireman against local municipality in lawsuit in connection with his broad denial of retirement benefits, including sick pay cash out, medical premium reimbursements, proper calculation of CalPERS benefits, and more. In the end, the municipality settled, providing fireman all of the benefits and more, including significant tort damages.
  • Took over representation of disability discrimination plaintiff’s case against well-known employer after former counsel withdrew from the case when the client thought that a $15k settlement was too low. After vigorous litigation, fighting back employer’s summary judgment motion and more, obtained a $400k settlement for client.
  • Represented a C-level executive working for a foreign privately-held corporation in a reverse discrimination and retaliation wrongful termination lawsuit. The matter was decided in binding arbitration in favor of the plaintiff, awarding client significant damages and entitlement to prevailing party attorney’s fees.
  • Represented an employee suing for retaliation based upon her offering deposition testimony favorable to a discrimination lawsuit plaintiff in an unrelated matter. Successfully opposed employer’s attempts to compel the dispute to binding arbitration, leading to settlement.
  • Represented an employee in a wrongful termination lawsuit based upon breach of an implied employment contract. Employee turned down a $20k severance offer in favor of filing suit, and won a settlement almost ten times that amount.
Landlord-Tenant

  • Represented a class of more than 1,000 tenants in a large privately-held apartment complex for claims of fraud and nuisance based upon the large-scale in-fill construction at the property. Class certification was granted. After a number of failed writ petitions by the landlord and an appeal to the State Supreme Court, the matter settled, providing an average award of $2,500 per apartment unit.
  • Represented one of the landlords in a multi-acre 98-year ground lease entered into in the 1960’s in an action to cancel said ground lease. After a complex trial, the ground lease was ordered canceled.
  • Represented mobile home tenant sued for eviction based upon multiple notices of rule violations. The case was settled, with the defendant agreeing to terms more favorable to the tenant in the mobile home site lease.
  • On many occasions, represented residential tenants in eviction lawsuits, and on multiple occasions, won jury defense verdicts based upon the defense of retaliatory eviction.
  • Represented two tenants in a vigorously-contested retaliation lawsuit. After a jury trial, GED attorneys won the largest retaliatory eviction verdict in Santa Clara County, nearly a half million dollars after prevailing party attorney’s fees and costs.
  • Represented a lessee of a very valuable long term ground lease in an eviction case which was tried before a jury. Before the matter went to verdict, obtained a result in favor of his client based upon renewed motions for judgment.
Appellate Cases

  • Representing the employee, won an affirmance of the trial court’s order denying the employer’s motion to compel arbitration of client’s retaliation claims. The Court of Appeal adopted our trial court arguments that the arbitration provision embedded in the employer’s handbook failed to constitute an enforceable contract, where the handbook’s cover page stated that it is not “intended to confer any rights or privileges,” nor “does it constitute a contract of employment,” and that the handbook is “presented as a matter of information only.” (Tamayo v. CordeValle Golf Club, LLC, 2013, Sixth District Court of Appeal, Case No. H037983)
  • Won reversal of the trial court’s grant of summary adjudication of the employee’s claim of sexual orientation discrimination. In reversing, the Court of Appeal applied the rule that a senior manager’s discriminatory animus may be imputed to her subordinate decision-makers, thus allowing a jury to find that the adverse employment action was motivated by such illegal animus. (Williams v. Sun Microsystems, Inc., 2007, Sixth District Court of Appeal, Case No. H029828)
  • Won affirmance of the trial court’s order granting defendant’s post-trial motion for new trial following a multi-million dollar verdict for the plaintiff. The Court of Appeal agreed that the erroneous jury verdict form gave rise to irreconcilably inconsistent jury answers, thus holding that the verdict was “against the law.” (Wang v. The TDS Group, Inc., 2014, Sixth District Court of Appeal, Case No. H038786)
  • Successfully fought back a challenge to the trial court’s order granting certification in a class action lawsuit against a large privately-held landlord sued for fraud and other claims arising out of a massive in-fill construction project in an existing and fully occupied apartment complex. (Prometheus Real Estate Group, Inc. et al. v. Superior Court (Upadhyay), 2012, Sixth District Court of Appeal, Case No. H037888)
  • Won a published reversal of the trial court’s order striking the tenant plaintiffs’ peremptory disqualification of the judge as untimely. The Court of Appeal held that the tenants’ disqualification of the trial judge was timely, even though that judge had presided over earlier discovery motions, since such motions do not involve the determination of fact issues as to the merits of the case. (Swift v. Superior Court (2009) 172 Cal.App.4th 878)
  • Staved off a rare petition for coram vobis relief, collaterally attacking a nearly half-million dollar judgment in favor of a pair of residential tenants, who won the largest known retaliatory eviction verdict in Santa Clara County. (Crediford v. Oliver, 2000, Sixth District Court of Appeal, Case No. H021709)