Ross R. Hart

Practice Areas

National experience mediating complex, high-stakes, multi-party construction and construction-related disputes. These include private and public works construction claims (e.g., delay, loss of productivity, unforeseen conditions, extra work, and payment disputes), construction and design defect claims, soils and landslide claims, insurance coverage disputes, product liability class actions, architectural and engineering malpractice claims, real estate agent/broker liability claims, real estate sales, leasing and secured transactions, construction site accident bodily injury claims and other types of business litigation.

Professional Memberships

Los Angeles County Bar Association, Member Arbitration and ADR Committee; American Bar Association, Member committee on Manufacturer's Liability Litigation; Southern California Mediation Association; AAA Center for Mediation, Judicial Task Force; Recipient, Distinguished Service Award 1991 - American Arbitration Association; Testified before Senate and Assembly Judiciary Committees regarding Senate Bill 1001 (Arbitral Immunity) at request of California State Bar (1984); Testified before Assembly Judiciary Committee regarding Civil Code § 1375 and ADR models (2001); Arbitration Panel Member: AAA Large Complex Case Panel; Certified Arbitrator, California Public Works Contract Arbitration Panel; Panel Member, Cal Trans Dispute Review Board; Trained by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a Partnering Facilitator; Member, ICBO; Profiled in article on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Fall 1994 Loyola Lawyer; Profiled in Los Angeles Daily Journal October of 1996, January 1999, November of 2002 and November of 2007; Selected one of California’s top 20 neutrals by Daily Journal November 2002; Contributing Editor Shepard's California Construction Law Reporter; Recipient: West Coast Casualty's Jerrold S. Oliver Award of Excellence (1996); Member CAMCA (Commercial Arbitration and Mediation Center for the Americas) Multi-National Panel of Arbitrators for resolution of NAFTA disputes; AAA Law Practice Panel; AAA National Mass Torts Panel; AAA President's Panel of Mediators; Member CDRC (California Dispute Resolution Council); Panel Member: International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR); AAA Panel for USA Track & Field Doping Grievances; Panel Mediator/ Arbitrator, Tribunal Arbitral du Sport, Lausanne, Switzerland. Recipient: Legend of an Era Award (West Coast Casualty 2013). Recipient: Silver Star Award for the Best Mediator (West Coast Casualty 2018, 50th Anniversary); Recipient Best Mediator Award 2024 (West Coast Casualty)

Languages Spoken

English

Spanish (resident of Mexico for two years)

Experience

Mediation Experience: Extensive experience in mediation of disputes, both as advocate and as Mediator over past forty years. Mediation experience includes construction, commercial, real estate, insurance coverage, environmental and personal injury. Certified Mediator, AAA. Voluntary Settlement Officer, Los Angeles Superior Court. Mediator (CRC 1632), Los Angeles Superior Court. Significant experience in resolving complex, multi-party disputes. List of representative cases available upon request.

Arbitration Experience: Extensive experience serving as arbitrator of construction and commercial disputes including many complex multi-party disputes involving multi-million dollar claims over last forty years. Arbitrator in disputes involving Olympic athletes and Amateur Athletic Federations (1988 and 1992 Olympics). Panel member: AAA Large Complex Case Program (LCCP). Extensive experience as an advocate representing parties in commercial and construction arbitrations. Service as Umpire in fire and earthquake first party casualty claim appraisal disputes. List of representative cases available upon request.

Reference Experience: Regularly appointed by Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura County Superior Courts and U.S. District Court as Referee/Special Master in complex, multi-party construction disputes. Formulation and implementation of case management orders and resolution of discovery disputes. Parallel management and execution of mediation and settlement efforts.

Litigation Experience: All phases of civil litigation, including tactical/ strategic planning, discovery, court trials, jury trials, arbitrations, mediations and appeals in construction, commercial, product liability and real estate actions. Clients included developers, merchant builders, contractors, sub-contractors, material suppliers, engineers, architects, homeowners associations, homeowners, manufacturers of heavy equipment (cranes, construction equipment, logging trucks, rubber mills, etc.) and automotive products, domestic airline association, judicial and quasi-judicial officers.

Career

2016 - Present: Full-time Mediator

1995 - 2015: Full-time Neutral; Mediator, Settlement Referee, Discovery Referee, Special Master, Umpire and Arbitrator.

1980 - 1994: Partner. Irsfeld, Irsfeld & Younger, Glendale, California.

1976 - 1979: Associate. Irsfeld, Irsfeld & Younger, Hollywood, California.

Education