Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani recently secured a significant litigation victory on behalf of a cell tower operator in a high-stakes unlawful detainer dispute. GRSM Partner Juliana Ferraz led the successful defense strategy, working alongside Partner John Ebken to obtain a complete dismissal of the action.
The matter came to GRSM under urgent circumstances after the landlord locked the client out of its premises pursuant to a judgment for possession entered in an unlawful detainer case, thus immediately eliminating the client’s ability to access one of its critical telecommunications sites. GRSM swiftly intervened, successfully moving to set aside the default judgment, restoring the client’s ability to defend the action and reopening the case.
GRSM then challenged the landlord’s complaint through a demurrer, arguing that the unlawful detainer notice and pleading were legally defective. The court agreed and sustained the demurrer, granting the plaintiff leave to amend. After the plaintiff filed a first amended complaint, GRSM again challenged the pleading, identifying continuing defects in the unlawful detainer notice and complaint. This time, the court sustained the demurrer without leave to amend, delivering a complete victory for the client and bringing the case to a final conclusion.
The result highlights GRSM’s strength in complex real estate and commercial litigation, as well as the firm’s ability to step into a matter after judgment and reverse what initially appeared to be a final outcome. The victory follows another successful unlawful detainer defense by GRSM in which, after extensive pretrial litigation led by Ferraz, ended in the plaintiff’s dismissal of the case against GRSM’s client, underscoring once again the effectiveness of GRSM’s aggressive and strategic defense advocacy.
