Lui, Elwood

Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Elwood Lui represents clients in appeals and complex litigation in federal and state appellate and trial courts.

He is a former associate justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 3 and served as an associate justice, pro tempore, California Supreme Court. He also served as a judge of the Los Angeles County Superior and Municipal Courts. He was a California Deputy Attorney General. He is considered an authority on financial and accounting matters, is a CPA, and practiced with Deloitte & Touche.

Representative clients in recent matters include the State of California, Los Angeles County, Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the County of Los Angeles, Sempra Energy, Williams Power Company, Parker Hannifin Corporation, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Verizon Wireless, Federated Department Stores, and Pearle Vision, Inc.

Elwood has a lengthy record of public service. The California Supreme Court appointed him special master of the State Bar Disciplinary System. He was appointed as the settlement referee by a three-judge federal panel to attempt a settlement involving the California prison overcrowding litigation that has been pending for more than a decade. He served as a lawyer representative for the Central District of California to the Ninth Circuit, a past president of the California Judges Association, and was on the faculty for the Continuing Judicial Studies Program and California Judicial College. He was chair of the bipartisan Judicial Advisory Selection Committee for the Central District of California and currently serves on Senator Dianne Feinstein's Judicial Selection Committee for the Central District of California.

Areas of Practice

• Issues & Appeals
• Appellate Advocacy in the U.S. Supreme Court
• Appellate Litigation in Other Federal & State Courts
• Trial Litigation in Federal & State Courts
• Construction

Representative Cases

• Appointed by the Supreme Court as special master of the California State Bar Attorneys Discipline System , (2009)
• Appointed by the three judge federal panel as the Settlement Referee to attempt a negotiated resolution of the California Prison Overcrowding litigation
• Bloomingdale's wins dismissal of wage and hour class action allegations
• CalPERS defends action involving Proposition 162 and portfolio manager salaries
• Cole National challenges California restrictions on business and financial relationships between opticians and optometrist or ophthalmologist , (2009)
• County of L.A. files petition for writ of administrative mandamus
• County of Los Angeles defends against putative wage and hour class action , (2009)
• County of Los Angeles prevails in second round of challenges to local judicial benefits , (2009)
• County of Los Angeles successfully defends against class action involving independent contractors
• Ecolab appeals state law issue in wage and hour class action
• First American wins affirmance by Ninth Circuit of dismissal of RICO complaint , (2009)
• Goodrich prevails in case involving breach of contract and fraud stemming from stock purchase agreement , (2009)
• IBM wins defense verdict in San Jose workers' toxic tort litigation case
• L.A. Unified School Dist. defends against attorneys' fees claim in teacher employment litigation
• LA and other counties prevail against public employee claims for additional benefits
• LA County appeals decision regarding a recalculation of pension benefits
• LA County argues as amicus supporting Department of Rehabilitation challenge of WCAB interpretation of labor code regarding temporary disability benefits
• LA County defends against claims challenging validity of agreement to administer LACERA pension plan
• LA County prevails at trial and on appeal against series of federal suits seeking injunction to take away "local judicial benefits"
• LA County prevails in appeal for indemnification for claims related to accidental oil pipeline puncture , (2009)
• LA County successfully defends judgment in Equal Pay class action
• LA County supports City of Los Angeles in California Supreme Court amicus brief involving the Fair Employment & Housing Act
• LA County wins defense judgment in pension plan class action
• LA County wins summary judgment in Fire District funding case against the state of California
• LA County wins summary judgment in multi-billion dollar False Claims Act case involving Medicaid funds
• LA Unified School District wins new trial after jury verdict on teacher's sexual harassment action , (2009)
• Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority obtains dismissal in meal and rest period class action suit , (2008)
• Los Angeles County MTA wins monumental California Supreme Court decision involving worker's compensation benefits
• Los Angeles MTA achieves favorable settlement in contractor dispute , (2009)
• Los Angeles MTA defeats challenge by unsuccessful bidder to award $65 million construction management contract
• Los Angeles MTA successfully litigates builder's risk insurance claim for partial collapse of subway tunnel and subsidence of Hollywood Boulevard
• Los Angeles MTA successfully litigates through appeal its right to remove appointee to disputes review board for $162 million public works contract
• Macy's West defends against putative wage and hour class action resulting in arbitration
• Mattel settles voluntary toy recall litigation , (2009)
• Meserve, Mumper & Hughes wins dismissal of litigation alleging trustee misconduct
• Parker Hannifin settles during appeal claims filed in wake of SilkAir crash , (2009)
• Partnership Placements obtains jury verdict against insurer that failed to pay cost of defending underlying litigation
• San Bernadino County settles liability trial in inverse condemnation case
• State of California successfully defends arbitration award of $88.5 million in attorneys fees
• Williams Power successfully defends proceedings arising from improperly assessed utility user taxes , (2009)

West Practice Categories

Bankruptcy Litigation, Class Actions, Complex Litigation, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Claims Court, Federal Trial Practice, International Trade Litigation, Litigation & Appeals, Military & Veterans Appeals, Multidistrict Litigation, Patent Litigation, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, Tax Litigation, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Supreme Court

Bar Admissions

• California
• District of Columbia

Education

• U of California - Los Angeles

Published Works

• Everything You Always Wanted to Know About a Public Employer's Ability to Modify Retiree Benefits but Were Too Afraid to Ask, 2008

Address

555 South Flower Street
Fiftieth Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071-2300

Phones

1.213.243.2435 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.213.243.2539 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com