federal litigation

The lawyers at Mennemeier, Glassman & Stroud have extensive experience litigating cases in federal trial and appellate courts.  We have handled a diverse array of cases in federal court including constitutional law, copyright, trademark, employment, environmental, energy and securities.  

The lawyers at Mennemeier, Glassman & Stroud know the federal courts not only as practitioners but also as active participants.  Stephen Lau and Eric Glassman served as law clerks with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.  Ken Mennemeier and Peg Carew Toledo served as law clerks with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

The firm maintains a high level of involvement and service to the federal courts. From 2003 to 2006, Ken served as Chair of the Judicial Advisory Committee for the District Court for the Eastern District of California.  Currently, Peg is the Chair of the Judicial Advisory Committee for the Eastern District.  Stephen serves as an officer of the Federal Bar Association Sacramento Chapter.  In addition, all of the firm’s lawyers are members of the national and Sacramento Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. 

Andy Stroud, Ken, and Peg all have served three-year appointments as Eastern District lawyer representatives to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.  In 2006, Peg was the Chair of the Lawyer Representatives Coordinating Committee for the Ninth Circuit.  Peg also served a three-year term on the Ninth Circuit Conference Executive Committee.  In 2008, Chief Judge Alex Kozinski appointed Peg to the Ninth Circuit Advisory Board. 

• Langianese v. Schwarzenegger (appeal pending) representing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in numerous state and federal court actions challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 83 (also known as the Sexual Predators Punishment and Control Act: Jessica’s Law), which prohibits certain sex offenders from living near schools or parks where children regularly gather.
• Mkrtchyan v. Gonzales, 215 Fed. App. 624 (9th Cir. 2006), obtained a reversal in an asylum case of an adverse credibility determination by the immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals. 
• Women’s Resource Network v. Gourley, 305 F. Supp. 2d 1145 (E.D. Cal. 2004), prevailed on summary judgment on behalf of the Yosemite Fund in a lawsuit alleging that California’s specialty license plate program violated the First Amendment.  The court held that the Legislature did not infringe on free speech rights when it approved a specialty license plate for the Yosemite Foundation to raise funds for Yosemite National Park. 
• Diaz v. INS, 648 F.Supp. 638 (E.D. Cal. 1986), obtained preliminary injunction for several asylum applicants that enabled them to obtain work permits pending the INS’s determination of their asylum applications.
• Yeager v. AT&T, defending cellular company in trademark infringement and right of publicity action brought by General Chuck Yeager as a result of use of General Yeager’s name in company press release.
• Grossman v. West Publishing Co., representing joint author in action against publishing company for breach of contract and accounting. 
• Ash v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., 806 F.Supp. 1474 (E.D. Cal. 1992), defended Dean Witter against customer claims arising from customers’ investment in tax shelters purchased away from the firm.
• Russo v. Mason-McDuffie Investment Co., Case No. 89-16268 (9th Cir. 1991),  cert. denied (1991), won summary judgment for defendant in Northern District of California on statute of limitations grounds, won affirmance on appeal, and won denial of plaintiff’s petition for writ of certiorari.
• Fru-Con Construction Corporation v. SMUD, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64017 (E.D. Cal 2007), obtained a dismissal of SMUD's counterclaims against Fru-Con Holding Company on the grounds that the company is not an alter ego of its subsidiary.
  

Primary Contact:

Kenneth C. Mennemeier

kcm@mgslaw.com

Tel: (916) 551-2580