James C. Buttery

James C. Buttery is Chairman of the firm's Civil Litigation Practice Group and a member of the firm's Environmental and Land Use Practice Group. The focus of Jim's practice is dispute resolution in a wide range of areas of the law, including real property, construction and business litigation. In addition to trial work, Jim assists his clients in all stages of a dispute, frequently providing counsel to his clients on how to avoid litigation or to develop a strategy that puts his client in the best possible position for litigation. To this end, Jim is available to participate in mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution.

Jim graduated from Occidental College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970 with a major in Political Science and an emphasis in Urban Studies. Jim obtained his J.D. degree from Cornell Law School in 1973. He mentored under Hon. H. Walter Croskey, who currently sits as Associate Justice on the California Court of Appeal, while he was an associate at the Los Angeles law firm of Jackson and Goodstein. As an associate there, he specialized in the defense of securities and real estate fraud matters. Jim joined Andre, Morris & Buttery in 1977.

Jim has tried more than 50 civil cases to conclusion, including 20 civil jury cases. The litigation matters that Jim has handled cover a wide spectrum and include complex toxic tort litigation, boundary disputes, easement questions, judicial foreclosures, partnership disputes, real estate fraud, corporate succession and liquidation matters, mobilehome rent control, unlawful detainers, failure to disclose and failure to maintain disputes.

The following is a representative selection of the significant cases Jim has handled, either alone or with the support of other members of the firm:

Successfully prosecuted a judicial foreclosure in a complex series of cases which resulted in a deficiency judgment for his client in excess of $58 million, and then assisted lawyers from the firm's Business Transactions and Real Estate Practice Group to accomplish the smooth transfer of ownership and sale of the assets acquired from the judgment debtor, including resort property in the Palm Springs area.
Coordinated the successful defense of a class action suit filed by residents alleging health injuries from a state-ordered clean up of an oil pipeline.
Successfully defended a five month jury trial of claims of unfair business practices brought by a large group of tenants against the owner of a mobile home park and obtained a complete defense verdict, recovering over a half million dollars for the client in reimbursement of attorneys fees.
Succeeded in limiting damages in an alleged $5 million oil leak lawsuit to just $50,000 total after a three-week jury trial.
Successfully represented developer in a CEQA action filed by neighbors to a proposed hotel project. Minor deficiencies in the City's process were ordered to be remedied administratively, and the hotel is currently under construction.
Sought review of a County's demand for information in connection with a rent review application that resulted in a published Court of Appeal decision now frequently cited as precedence against government intrusion in personal financial affairs. See King v. Mobile Home Rent Review Board of San Luis Obispo County (1989) 216 Cal. App. 3d 1532.

Jim is admitted to practice in all of the courts of the State of California as well as the Northern, Central and Eastern Districts of California of the United States District Courts as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Jim has been a member of the San Luis Obispo City Personnel Board and its Chairman, Director and Legal Counsel of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, a member of San Luis Obispo County YMCA Board of Directors, a Director of Private Industry Council, a Director of the Workforce Investment Board of the Private Industry Council, a member of the Santa Maria Valley Economic Development Association Board of Directors and an Adjunct Professor of Business Law at California Polytechnic State University. Jim currently is a member of the Santa Barbara County Superior Court ADR Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum.