L. Allan Songstad Jr.

Mr. L. Allan Songstad, Jr. is of counsel with Songstad Randall Coffee & Humphrey LLP, having previously been a founding partner of the Firm.  Mr. Songstad has participated as lead counsel in both bench and jury trials in federal and state courts and has substantial appellate experience.

Mr. Songstad’s practice involves all forms of real estate disputes, including enforcement and defense of contract actions, title and escrow claims, land use and real estate related partnership matters.  Mr. Songstad has handled corporate disputes, including actions by and among shareholders, directors and officers, and the defense and prosecution of derivative and class actions.  He has prosecuted and defended actions involving financial institutions, as well as professional liability actions, general commercial litigation, creditor bankruptcy matters and insurance coverage disputes, transportation law, employment, securities, corporations, partnerships, and oil and gas.

Mr. Songstad also has substantial civic experience.  Mr. Songstad was a council member for the City of Laguna Hills for twenty years and served as the city’s mayor for five terms.  In addition, Mr. Songstad was chairman of the Board of Directors of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority and president of the Orange County Division of the League of California Cities.  He has also served as a lecturer for the California Continuing Education of the Bar, a panelist for the Los Angeles County Bar Association Law and Motion, judge pro tem for the Los Angeles Municipal Court, and an arbitrator for the Los Angeles County Bar Association Attorney Fee Dispute Resolution Program.  Mr. Songstad was also a member of the Board of Directors for the Orangewood Children’s Foundation.

Mr. Songstad obtained his Bachelor of Arts (political science) from the University of Southern California and his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of Law. Mr. Songstad was honored as a “Super Lawyer” by Law & Politics Magazine and the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine, which recognizes the best lawyers in Southern California.

Representative Matters

Mr. Songstad successfully represented a title insurer in a bad faith action arising from the denial of a claim by the title insurer for a missed lien. The insured claimed compensatory damages in excess of $1 million, plus punitive damages. After a three-week of jury trial, the trial court granted the insured defendant’s motion for non-suit.

Mr. Songstad successfully represented a property owner, a high-profile actor, in litigation stemming from a neighboring property owner’s attempt to obtain an ingress and egress easement over the insured’s rural property. The complaint alleged theories of easement by implication, easement by necessity and prescriptive easement.  After a two-week court trial, the trial court entered judgment in favor of the property owner.

Mr. Songstad successfully represented an escrow company at trial against negligence and contract claims brought by property owners in a cash-out refinance transaction who were defrauded by their loan broker who created bogus payoff demands and stole loan proceeds.

Mr. Songstad successfully represented a defendant oil operator in a suit seeking to terminate surface rights and to quiet title. After a one-week of court trial, the court entered judgment on the defendant.  The judgment was affirmed on appeal.

Mr. Songstad successfully represented individual defendants and a company in an appeal from an adverse jury verdict in excess of $16 million in a trade secret and breach of a fiduciary case brought by a manufacturing company against former officers and directors who had left the manufacturer and started a competing company. Mr. Songstad obtained a reversal of the damage award on appeal and negotiated a nominal settlement in favor of the defendants after remand of the case to the trial court.