Bruce Cleeland
Biographical Information
Mr. Cleeland is the Managing Partner of Haight Brown & Bonesteel’s Orange County office. He is a member of the Product Liability & Tort Litigation, Professional Liability and Business Solutions Practice Groups. He has had significant trial experience in State and Federal Courts having answered ready for trial on more than 225 occasions. Mr. Cleeland’s trials have ranged from fine art to haute couture, from commercial disputes to product liability, from micro electronics to industrial energy transmission. His emphasis is upon problem resolution which may occur at any stage from pre-litigation through verdict.
Mr. Cleeland has prosecuted and defended claims of:
- software ownership
- copyright infringement
- trade secrets
- breach of contract
- sales of businesses
- employment claims
- professional liability
- mobile home residency law claims
- personal injury and cataclysmic events
- product liability
Representative Experience:
- Successfully defended the designer and manufacturer of light rail train systems and equipment in trials involving train collisions and general patron usage
- Obtained defense verdicts in trials involving fires and explosions with claims for personal injury and property damage against manufacturer of electrical transmission equipment
- Obtained defense verdict for fine art dealer in trial alleging violation of statutes and fraud in sale of Rembrandt etchings
- Successfully defended professionals, including doctors and lawyers
- Obtained a defense verdict for Italian design house, Salvatore Ferragamo, in design defect trial
- Successfully defended general contractors and trades in construction defect claims for personal and property damage matters
- Successfully defended businesses in breach of contract claims relating to the sale of businesses
- Defense verdicts for multiple parties in defamation trials
- Obtained defense verdict for product manufacturer in trial arising out of oil field explosion
- Successfully defended owners in trials arising out of the California Mobile Home Residency Act
- Defense verdict in trial against manufacturer of engine seals alleging breach of warranty
- Successfully defended sellers of real estate in trial alleging fraud
- Successfully defended employers in wrongful termination matters
- Successfully prosecuted cases for fraud and violation of trade secrets in the sale of commercial software
Community Involvement
Past Member, Board of Directors for the Orange County Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Honors
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Associate
Presentations & Publications
