R. Bryan Martin
Biographical Information
Mr. Martin is a Partner in Haight Brown & Bonesteel’s Los Angeles office and a member of the Product Liability & Tort, Business Solutions and Employment & Labor Practice Groups. He has extensive experience in all aspects of civil litigation including case management, fact investigation, planning and strategy, discovery, law and motion, mediation, arbitration and trial.
Products in which Mr. Martin has experience include all-terrain vehicles, personal watercraft, railroad cars, plate-heat exchangers, mixers, sporting and camping equipment, automotive parts, construction equipment, farm equipment, ovens, above ground swimming pools and heavy machinery. Mr. Martin also has defended medical device manufacturers.
Mr. Martin's Business Solutions practice includes the handling of partnership disputes, fraud and breach of contract actions, and mortgage fraud claims. He also has represented clients at administrative hearings before the California Departments of Real Estate and Corporations. Mr. Martin is a licensed California mortgage broker.
Mr. Martin’s employment law practice includes both pre-lawsuit advisement and litigation involving the Family and Medical Leave Act, California Family Rights Act, disability, employment discrimination, racial discrimination and harassment, sexual discrimination and harassment, age discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation, whistle blowing, wage and hour, overtime and collective bargaining issues. He also regularly provides preventative employment advice and consultation to clients, and has represented clients at Labor Board, Union, and other administrative hearings. Further, Mr. Martin monitors employee interviews on behalf of clients to ensure compliance with California law.
Representative Experience:
- Represented one of the nation's largest railroad car repair service providers when a runaway covered hopper railcar collided with a tractor trailer being driven by the plaintiff after the handbrake on the railcar failed. Our client provided repair services to the railcar approximately five months before the collision. Summary judgment was granted in our client's favor after establishing that no defects or irregularities existed with the railcar's braking system during the time the railcar was in our client's possession.
- Represented one of the nation's largest railcar repair service providers in a negligence and premises liability action. Plaintiff alleged he sustained serious injuries after falling off a railcar due to oil or a foreign slippery substance spilled by our client. Summary judgment was granted for our client once we established that plaintiff could only speculate that the oil or foreign substance caused his fall and that the substance came from our client or any of its equipment.
- Represented a manufacturer of metal bed frames and parts in a California Labor Code section 4558 action. Plaintiff's arm was amputated after it was crushed in the power press he was operating. Labor Code section 4558 is a statutory exception to workers' compensation exclusivity which permits an injured employee to bring a legal action against the employer to recover tort damages. Summary judgment was granted in our client's favor where Mr. Martin established that our client never received any information from the power press manufacturer regarding the necessity of a point of operation guard on the power press machine which injured the plaintiff. Plaintiff appealed the ruling, but it was affirmed and resulted in the published opinion, Mora v. Hollywood Bed & Spring, et al., 164 Cal.App. 4th 1061 (2008).
- Represented founder/owner of agronomic golf course maintenance company in a breach of contract and quantum meruit action brought by former business partner who claimed a 20% ownership interest in the company, a high yearly salary, and demanded $2 million in settlement. Following Mr. Martin's filing of a motion for summary judgment based upon the parol evidence rule, the case settled for $22,000.
Presentations & Publications
