Family Law, Employment Litigation, Discrimination & Other Recent Cases

Sondra S. Sutherland has experience in a number of different areas of law. Having spent years as a legal secretary, paralegal and attorney, Sutherland was exposed to a wide range of different legal practices, including family law, employment litigation, bankruptcy, corporate, and securities. Before attending law school, she worked as a paralegal, a job in which she distinguished herself by going above and beyond. Whether serving as a consumer fraud lawyer or working in family law, it is a work ethic that she still holds to this day. Sutherland received her law degree from Whittier Law School and passed her bar exam on the first attempt. Before starting her private practice serving as a California personal injury attorney among other areas, she spent a year as a clerk for the LA Superior Court, working for the Family Law Department. She typically worked six to seven days a week, 10 to 16 hour days, earning the respect of the judicial officers in the department. Since 1999, she has worked in private practice in San Diego, making her name as a discrimination lawyer and in other areas of litigation. The majority of her practice involves work in Family Law, in which she has significant experience. Other areas in which she frequently works include personal injury/plaintiff, civil rights, divorce litigation, appellate work, and personal injury. On this page, you'll find information about some of her more interesting cases:

6.6 Million+ Judgment against Orange County Social Services

Employment Litigation

• Successfully litigated disability and age discrimination claim to $325,000 settlement under California Fair Employment & Housing Act on behalf of 58-year-old man fired from his job the day after he told his employer his doctor wanted to do a biopsy in two days because they thought he might have cancer, where co-owner of business had intercepted a call from client's nurse day before firing and posed as client to obtain confidential information regarding client's medical status; client turned out to have malignant lymphoma.

Family Law

• Worked up approximately 1,000 motions while working for six (6) judicial officers at Los Angeles Superior Court, Family Law Department: researched law, summarized evidence and recommended ruling based upon analysis of same.
• Represented woman who carried child in her womb and gave birth to son, where both egg and sperm donated and husband denied fatherhood after divorce action filed and request for child support made.
• Represented young mother in multi-jurisdictional, hotly-contested custody dispute where father lived in Los Angeles and mother in Canada.
• Negotiated and drafted numerous post-judgment stipulations and stipulated judgments on behalf of television producers and other businessmen and women.
• Successfully defended woman served with Petition for Injunction Prohibiting Harassment where injunction sought on the ground that Petitioner had self-control problem and abused alcohol only when in client's presence.
• Pressed Constitutional challenge to local rule in San Diego by which trial court in family law motion and order to show cause proceedings are refusing to prepare for hearings or to read papers timely filed with court as violating family law litigants' due process right to a meaningful hearing, resulting in a published decision instructing trial courts they may no longer refuse to read papers and must make decisions based on the evidence rather than arguments of counsel (see Lammers v. Superior Court (2000) 83 Cal.App.4th 1309).
• Collected $127,000 in child support arrears and other sums due wife against quintessential "deadbeat dad" in a 16-year-old family case and assisted client in purchasing $155,000 parcel of real property for $1,000. Also obtained order for former in-laws to pay more than $44,000 in damages for damages to that parcel of property, plus sanctions against former spouse and his parents for their repeated delays and failure to settle wife's claims.
• Successfully fended off numerous claims against spouse made in retaliation for his having filed criminal complaint against former wife for credit card forgeries and fraud.

Entertainment Litigation

• Successfully defended Los Angeles film producers in action filed by former sales agent for commissions on sales of films where commissions were, in fact, overpaid and agent had diverted funds owed to producers and was guilty of self-dealing and other misconduct.
• Successfully defended Los Angeles film producers in action filed by talent agent for breach of production contract, breach of fiduciary duty and accounting where the contract had expired and created no partnership or other right to an equitable accounting.
• Defended Hollywood film distributors/sales agents in action for breach of contract and accounting by producers of film to favorable settlement.
• Quashed service of action filed in Los Angeles against German film distributors where contract entered into at Cannes Film Festival in France and involved German film distribution rights.
• In an attempt to avoid paying final installment of financing due to film producers under contract, film financiers filed frivolous action and served mounds of discovery on producers; Ms. Sutherland successfully compelled arbitration and stayed discovery.
• Prosecuted defamation and invasion of privacy action on behalf of entertainment executive against major film studio.

General Civil Litigation

• Successfully prosecuted insurance bad faith action on behalf of Beverly Hills orthopedic surgeon against major disability carrier when carrier wrongfully halted $16,000 monthly payments due doctor.
• Successfully prosecuted action for rescission and fraud on sale of classic Chevy against Orange County dealer (located on "Lemon Street").
• Prosecuted action for breach of contract, slander and unfair competition on behalf of telecommunications company against competitor and sub-tenant attempting to destroy client's business.
• Successfully prosecuted own action against $72 billion mortgage company (see background page).
• Settled personal injury matter on behalf of 89-year-old woman who was bumped by a grocery worker in produce department at Ralphs Grocery Store, fell and broke femur, for $150,000.
• Successfully prosecuted action against Two Orange County social workers who violated client’s right to custody of her children and won $4.9 million in compensatory damages.

Collection of Judgments

• Liens on real property (abstract of judgment).
• Liens on business personal property (Notice of Judgment Lien).
• Writs of Execution and Possession.
• Bank account levies.
• Keepers and till taps (officer cleans out cash register of going business).
• Wage garnishments.
• Debtors' examinations.
• Collected large portion of a multi-million judgment on behalf of Los Angeles film producer by joining alter-ego as judgment debtor and selling off parcel of commercial property in San Diego.