Ben Tragish

Ben delivers strategic legal representation to investors, proprietors, and entrepreneurs, with a concentration in handling commercial, business, corporate, real estate, employment, and intellectual property disputes. From entertainment to digital media, real estate, home furnishings, health care, construction, water distribution, and more, clients from an array of industries have entrusted Ben to achieve the results they need.

Ben began his legal career defending health care providers in professional liability disputes, before joining a large national law firm where he represented Fortune 500 companies in product liability and toxic tort litigation.

Eventually Ben's practice expanded to prosecuting and defending companies and high net worth individuals in a wide variety of civil disputes, including, but not limited to, in the areas of corporate governance, breach of fiduciary duty, false advertising and unfair competition, breach of and interference with contract, personal guarantees, franchising, commercial transactions, real estate, insurance coverage, trademark and patent infringement, employment discrimination, and more.

While Ben's practice is based in Southern California, he has litigated cases across California and the country, enjoying success in multiple jurisdictions. 

In addition to his broad litigation experience, Ben has closed a number of business transactions, drafted and reviewed financing, licensing, and purchase and sale agreements, and provided transactional and general counsel services to a select number of clients. 

Ben has been recognized for his legal achievements by Super Lawyers® Magazine, which has rated him a “Rising Star” (an honor reserved for no more than 2.5% of lawyers in California) for the last five years running. 

Ben's professional career has also included a stint as a communications aide in the Governor of California's administration, as well as a clerkship for a political law firm in Northern California, where Ben represented a successful ballot measure campaign during a statewide recount.

Representative Matters

• Insurance Coverage: Settled first-party bad faith insurance claims against insurer in pre-litigation for over a quarter million dollars, resulting in substantial recovery for client. 
• Unfair Competition Defense > Business Transaction: Deterred competitor of client real estate brokerage from bringing frivolous claims of intentional interference with contract; subsequently closed client real estate brokerage's acquisition of competitor's franchised business.
• Civil Harassment: Prevailed on petitions for civil harassment restraining orders against stalkers and harassers of Grammy Award winning musical artist
• Commercial Goods (Uniform Commercial Code): Defeated a motion to dismiss client's claims of breach of implied and express warranties stemming from the sale of multi-million dollar industrial equipment, resulting in a prompt and favorable settlement for the client that salvaged its working relationship with defendant.
• Corporate Governance / Breach of Fiduciary Duty: Defeated attempted corporate takeover of a multi-million dollar digital media company, securing injunctions and contempt findings against adverse party, enabling client to acquire controlling share of the company.

• Corporate Governance / Breach of Fiduciary Duty: Obtained favorable buy-out of founding minority shareholder asserting claims of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty against business partners, resulting in a large return on investment.

• Business Transaction: Closed a six-figure sale of assets on behalf of a retail water business.

• Unfair Competition / False Advertising: Secured dismissal of federal class action lawsuit against client franchisor alleging violations of California's unfair competition and false advertising law.

• Employment Discrimination: Assisted client in obtaining a mid six-figure settlement against former employer in wrongful termination case involving pregnancy discrimination and hostile workplace claims.

• Judgment Collection: Pursued recovery of judgment debtor's assets through foreign deposition subpoenas and writs of garnishment, ultimately resulting in debtor paying six-figure judgment in full.  

• Landlord-Tenant: Defeated a residential tenant's attempt to vacate a judgment for possession, preserving an at-fault, residential eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic for client landlord and subsequently obtaining judgment for hundreds of thousands of dollars in past due rent. 
• Corporate Transaction: Closed a six-figure sale of common stock ownership in an ambulatory surgical center. 
• Intellectual Property: Obtained voluntary turnover of domain name from competitor infringing upon client's registered trademark.
• Bankruptcy: Overcame debtor's objections to unsecured creditor client's claim, recovering close to full value on client's six-figure claim against the bankruptcy estate. 

• Probate: Obtained summary judgment in favor of a Marvin partner awarding entirety of probate estate and administration of the Estate to the client over objections of an estranged heir to the decedent.

• Toxic Tort / Product Liability: Defended at trial a timber company against allegations that it sold defective and toxic ceiling tiles. The case resolved favorably after the jury considered brief opening statements from both sides.

• Toxic Tort / Product Liability: Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a mineral fiber supplier which found that the client did not fail to warn of the dangers of its product.
• Professional Liability: Assisted a group of physicians obtain a dispositive award at arbitration finding they did not commit any negligence in recommending a normal course of labor and delivery to a patient.

Education

• Southwestern Law School, J.D. (2013)
  • Southwestern Journal of International Law, Editor
  • Trial Advocacy Honors Program, Advocate
• University of California, Santa Barbara, B.A. in History and Business-Economics (2009)