Tracy Diana Forbath is a partner in the San Diego office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Appellate Practice. Her practice focuses on civil appeals, writs and administrative mandamus matters. Ms. Forbath is admitted to practice before all the courts in California. Ms. Forbath's appellate cases include general liability, professional liability, medical malpractice, employment law, products liability, class actions, toxic tort and environmental law, business law and contracts. Additionally, Ms. Forbath provides strategic advice to clients and trial counsel with respect to significant trial court motions and post-trial matters where an appellate challenge is anticipated. Ms. Forbath has also served as embedded appellate counsel providing advice during high exposure trials.

Ms. Forbath has prevailed on a number of appellate matters throughout California and in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which arose from District Courts throughout the West Coast. Ms. Forbath has penned winning briefs that have preserved favorable trial court judgments as well as achieved reversal of unfavorable trial court orders. Among Ms. Forbath’s victories as counsel for appellants are several reversals of orders denying petitions to compel arbitration that have favorably impacted California precedent for those seeking to enforce arbitration agreements. Ms. Forbath frequently appears before the Fourth District, Second District, First District and Sixth District Courts of Appeal for oral argument. 

Previously, Ms. Forbath was an associate at a civil defense firm with offices in Orange County and San Diego where she litigated professional liability pertaining to architects and engineers, construction defect and employment law matters. 

While attending law school at the University of San Diego, Ms. Forbath was a judicial extern for Presiding Justice Kathleen O'Leary of the Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division Three and served as a law clerk for the United States Attorney General's Office and the Office of the Public Defender. Ms. Forbath was also Professor Roy Brook's research assistant during which time she contributed research and community investigation for a paper on the International Redress Movement. Ms. Forbath also participated in moot court competitions and received the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Law and Literature. 

Ms. Forbath enjoys traveling and attending performances at the Old Globe with her husband in her free time.

Published Appellate Victories

Admissions

• State Bar Admissions
  • California
• United States District Courts
  • United States District Court for the Central District of California
• United States Courts of Appeals
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Admissions

California

USDC for Central District of California

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Associations

• San Diego Appellate Inn of Court 
• San Diego Bar Association, Appellate Group

Awards & Honors

• CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Law and Literature
• Paul A. McLennon, Sr., Honors Moot Court Competition; Alumni Moot Court Competition

Education

University of San Diego, School of Law

Juris Doctor, 2013

University of California, Los Angeles 2010

•  Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Minor in Art History

Representative Matters

• Valero v. Spread Your Wings, LLC (2023) 88 Cal.App.5th 243 (Healthcare)
• Tierney v. Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC, (2023) Case No. 22-35221 [nonpub. opn.] (Foreclosure: summary judgment affirmed in favor of foreclosure corporation on grounds plaintiff’s claims for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Consumer Protection Act as well as general negligence all lacked merit.) 
• Ayala v. Tyler Development Co. (Aug. 16, 2022, B310262) [nonpub. opn.] (Personal Injury: Summary judgment on Privette doctrine grounds affirmed where no exceptions to the doctrine applied to jobsite fatality caused by subcontractor’s negligence.)
• Cardenas v. Horizon Senior Living (2022) 78 Cal.App.5th 1065 (General Liability: Court affirmed the judgment of dismissal following the demurrer entered in favor of defendant because the extended statute of limitations in Code of Civil Procedure section 340.3 in which to bring an action for personal injury or wrongful death against the person convicted of that felony does not apply to the employer of the felon in an action based on the doctrine of respondeat superior.)
• Emily V. v. Team Health, LLC (Apr. 22, 2022, A162455) [nonpub. opn.] (Appellate Procedure: Court dismissed appellant’s late appeal from an order granting defendant’s motion to quash for lack of jurisdiction.)
• Harris v. University Village Thousand Oaks CCRC LLC (Mar. 21, 2022, B311972) [nonpub. opn.] (Appellate Procedure: Court dismissed plaintiff’s appeal because the interlocutory order denying costs and attorney’s fees without prejudice was not appealable.)
• Valente v. Bank of America, NA (Nov. 17, 2021, No. 20-16604) [nonpub. opn.] (Real Property: Court affirmed dismissal of plaintiff’s lawsuit arising out of the purchase of a property and subsequent foreclosure proceedings on the basis of the statute of limitations.)
• Mansour v. Farmers Ins. Exchange (Nov. 16, 2021, B298538) [nonpub. opn.] (Contract: Court affirmed order denying motion to compel satisfaction of judgment despite ambiguous underlying forms and contracts because judgment debtor failed to carry burden of proof that judgment was satisfied in full.)
• Jassim v. Brentwood Cedar Tree HOA (Oct. 20, 2021, B305752) [nonpub. opn.] (Premises Liability: Court affirmed the trial court’s grant of defendant Homeowner’s Association’s motion for summary judgment because the defect in question was a trivial defect as a matter of law and plaintiff’s expert declaration did not support the alleged aggravating factors with admissible evidence.)
• Gordon v. Atria Management Co., LLC (2021) 70 Cal. App.5th 1020 (Arbitration: Court reversed an order denying defendants’ petition to compel arbitration because plaintiff’s son held a valid durable power of attorney that empowered him to sign the arbitration agreement on her behalf and the decision to enter into the arbitration agreement did not constitute a healthcare decision.)
• Caballero v. Premier Care Simi Valley LLC dba Simi Valley Care Center (2021) 69 Cal.App.5th 512 (Arbitration: Court reversed an order denying defendant’s petition to compel arbitration because although plaintiff argued he did not sufficiently understand English, there was no evidence plaintiff communicated his inability to read the arbitration agreement before signing it.)
• Western Bagel Co. v. Superior Court (2021) 66 Cal.App.5th 649 (Arbitration: Court reversed the order denying defendant’s petition for binding arbitration and ordering the parties to nonbinding arbitration as contrary to the Federal Arbitration Act.)
• Arvinites-Crook v. Greg Michaels, LLC (June 25, 2021, B303928) [nonpub. opn.] (General Liability: Court affirmed summary judgment in favor of defendants where alleged sexual assault of spa patron by janitor was outside scope of employee’s employment.)
• Lozano v. Palm Communities (Dec. 17, 2020, E073245) [nonpub. opn.] (General Liability: Court affirmed the judgments of dismissal in favor of defendants where plaintiff’s claims for premises liability and negligence were barred by the doctrine of claim preclusion.)
• Madadian v. Maserati North America, Inc. (May 26, 2020, B293688) [nonpub. opn.] (General Liability: Court held that defendant was not required to pay the purchase price of plaintiff’s car as part of plaintiff’s actual damages.)
• Ducksworth v. Tri-Modal Distribution Services (2020) 47 Cal.App.5th 532 (Employment: Court affirmed summary judgment in favor of staffing companies on discrimination and sexual harassment claims alleging failure to promote because the staffing companies were entirely uninvolved with the promotion decisions.)
• Corlisa Lay v. Spring Valley Post Acute, LLC (E071125, Jan. 10, 2020) [nonpub. opn.] (Employment: Court reversed order denying defendant's petition to compel arbitration concluding trial court's interpretation of the arbitration agreement was incorrect.)
• Susan Rogers v. Ridgecrest Regional Hospital (F076751, Dec. 12, 2019) [nonpub. opn.] (General liability: Court affirmed judgment in favor of defendant after its demurrer was sustained without leave to amend on the basis the litigation privilege applied and was a complete bar to liability under the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act.)
• Elizabeth B. Green et al., v. Life Generations Healthcare, LLC (H044624, Dec. 6, 2019) [nonpub. opn.] (Elder care law: Court affirmed judgment in favor of defendant after its demurrer was sustained without leave to amend on res judicata grounds.)
• Mitchell Anthony Productions, LLC v. Brooklyn Lavin et al. (B284244, Sept. 9, 2019) [nonpub. opn.] (Corporate and breach of contract: Court affirmed judgment in favor of defendants after their demurrer was sustained without leave to amend on res judicata grounds.)
• M.O., JR., a Minor, etc., et al. v. Palomar Health (D074410, April 15, 2019) [nonpub. opn.] (Medical malpractice: Court affirmed judgment in favor of defendant following motion for summary judgment granted due to lack of vicarious liability.)