On May 29, 2020, Juan Gudino, a 62-year-old husband and father of four, was gunned down while working at a renovation property in San Diego owned by South Coast Commercial, LLC.
Just two weeks prior, the perpetrator, Ronnie Kong, had threatened Mr. Gudino with a machete and later a handgun on the same property. Despite these threats and police involvement, no additional security measures were implemented to protect workers at the property.
The property was owned by South Coast Commercial, LLC, managed by South Coast Commercial, Inc., and was being renovated with workers from Rent Ready, Inc. – all three companies controlled by the same individual, Brian Nelson.
Nelson was well aware of ongoing criminal activity at the property, including “crackheads” breaking in repeatedly, and had specific knowledge of Kong’s dangerous behavior and threats before the murder occurred. Today, our Investigative News team sits with Christopher Ardalan, founder and partner at Ardalan & Associates law firm, to discuss the very unique challenges and hurdles this case presented and the strategies he crafted which led to a successful outcome of this case.
His strategy focused on premises liability and third-party criminal conduct theories, but the case presented multiple complex challenges:
(1) Proving that a third-party criminal act was foreseeable and could have been prevented by the defendants.
(2) Unraveling the deliberately convoluted corporate structure designed to shield assets and limit liability.
(3) Demonstrating that the defendants were aware of the danger but chose not to act to save costs.
(4) He also needed to overcome legal defenses related to coverage disputes, statutes of limitations, and attempts to avoid alter ego liability through legal technicalities.
(5) This case exposed the dangers posed when business owners create shell companies and alter ego entities to avoid responsibility.
At its core, this was a story about a hardworking family man who was placed in harm’s way by an employer who knew of the danger but failed to take even minimal steps to protect him.
Christopher has earned a reputation as unyielding trial lawyer who repeatedly represents individuals and families against big companies and the Goliaths of the world. And repeatedly wins.
And his amazing courtroom skills and headline grabbing success rate continue to provide his clients with the results they need……And the results they deserve.
You can contact Chris Ardalan @ Ardalan & Associates https://www.ardalanlaw.com/ and 805 624 3263