David C. Farmer, Successor-Trustee vs. Harmon
(Formerly Woo vs. Harmon & Nicholson vs. Harmon)
U.S. District Court For the District of Hawaii
Judges: David A. Ezra; Kevin S. Chang
—
DEFENDANT’S WITNESS
RANDALL W. WULFF
Wulff Quinby Sochynsky
1901 Harrison Street, Suite 1420
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 663-5222 Main Number
(510) 663-5226 Fax
E-mail: rwulff@wqsadr.com
Website: http://www.wqsadr.com/randallwwulff.html
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NEW DISCOVERY (05-04-08): Undisclosed conflicts of interest between Randall Wulff, Larry Silverstein, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Joshua Gotbaum, David C. Farmer, Steven Guttman, Roy Hughes, Colbert Matsumoto, James Watanabe, J. Douglas Ing, Diane Hastert, Bert Kobayashi, Warren Price III, James Duca, Chubb Group, Marsh & McLennan, AIG, and others:
October 25, 2005
Oakland Neutral a Favorite
In Handling 9/11 Claims
The Recorder – By Pam Smith
It used to be that Oakland neutral Randall Wulff wouldn't accept a case outside of his own time zone. But some assignments are too good to pass up.
These days, the former trial lawyer spends about half his time in New York. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a federal district court picked him to preside over an appraisal proceeding to determine insurers' liability for property damage at the World Trade Center.
"It's a lot of lawyers, and it's a lot of [monetary] zeroes, and it's a lot of issues," said Wulff, who expects the proceedings to run at least through 2006. "It was a long way from home. But it was also flattering to be chosen."
Wulff has been putting himself in the middle of conflicts since the nascent days of mediation, said William Eliopoulos, a partner at Rutan & Tucker in Palo Alto, "so he's just slowly built up the reputation."
Wulff was a partner at Farella Braun & Martel when he began mediating part-time in the late 1980s, but it wasn't until 1994 that he left trial work behind to become a full-time neutral. He remained with Farella Braun for several years, until he and two friends opened their own outfit in 2001 near Oakland's Lake Merritt.
Michael Mukasey, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, said he picked Wulff to be chief umpire on the three-member panel handling the World Trade Center claims because he was "very well-qualified by background," adding that his experience in construction law certainly helped.
Alot of Wulff's work as a neutral has arisen from disputes over commercial construction for large projects such as the Arizona Diamondbacks'ballpark and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
"When he started doing mediations, the word in our community was positive," said Nomi Castle, whose Los Angeles firm specializes in the construction industry. "We didn't have many mediators that had experience in construction litigation."
But, as when he was a trial lawyer, Wulff's work at Wulff, Quinby & Sochynsky covers all stripes of commercial disputes, from real estate and intellectual property to contracts and securities law.
San Francisco Thelen Reid & Priest partner John Ralls said Wulff offers a "complete package" of analytical talents and people skills. "He's just a full-court player."
At the outset, Wulff puts people "in a settling frame of mind," said Peter Harvey, of San Francisco's Harvey Siskind Jacobs, who has brought trademark disputes before Wulff.
When the parties in California consumers' antitrust class action against Microsoft Corp. turned to Wulff for mediation about three years ago, Townsend and Townsend and Crew partner Eugene Crew described himself as "a reluctant trial lawyer who was getting ready for trial. And I wanted to go to trial."
Wulff "wanted me to sheath my sword," said Crew, who represented the class in mediation alongside Townsend partner Richard Grossman. Crew says he remembers Wulff telling him with a smile, "Gene, you're going to let go of this case, and I'm going to help you."
"We laughed," Crew said, "And I thought to myself, `from my cold, dead hands you will.'" In the end, Wulff got both sides to reach the basic terms of a settlement worth $1.1 billion.
Crew credits Wulff's trial skills, saying the mediator was effective at articulating each position persuasively. "He pounded on us, but we felt confident that he was pounding on the other side."
On the proactive scale, Wulff pegs himself a "9.5" on a scale of 1 to 10. But lawyers say he's adaptable, and skilled at reading his audience.
"I would classify him as friendly, but not overly obsequious, where he tries only to use persuasion," Castle said. "He uses all parts of his personality."
"Most mediators tend to be a facilitator," said D. Michael Schoenfeld, a partner with Sacramento's Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld. "The other type of mediator is a head-knocker. . [There are] very few mediators that can transition between the two, and Randy has that capacity."
There are still two occasions, though, when at least a few of his fans say they'd pass on using Wulff's services - due either to his fees of $10,000 to $12,500 a day or his availability.
"It's very expensive to have a Randy Wulff mediation," Castle said. "So if you have a $100,000 case, it just wouldn't seem to pay."
For more significant cases, though, he's a sound investment, said Daniel Miller, a partner with Miller, Starr & Regalia. "The first time I had a mediation with him, two thoughts came to mind: One, how could anybody be worth $10,000 a day. And two, I need to get into the mediation business," said Miller, who estimates that most mediators charge $250 to $600 an hour. "But I was amazed at the end of the mediation that I walked away actually thinking to myself that he was a bargain."
If you make it into his office, the neutral, who also handles occasional arbitrations, might chat you up about his other passion.
"I have my next career firmly in mind," he said: Grape grower.
"I love farming," he said. "Though I admit farming wine grapes is probably different than asparagus."
He's already got a toe in the business; he and his wife, Krys, have a home and two vineyards in Napa.
From somewhere in his office suite, he fetches a bottle of chardonnay made by a winery that buys their grapes and shows off the label, designed by the younger of their two grown sons. He and his wife want to trademark a name for the wine - "Lobo," which is Spanish for "wolf."
"One day, that's what I want to be doing full time," Wulff said. "We're just over the moon about our chardonnays."
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April 21, 2004
Wulff Chosen to Head 9/11 Panel
on WTC Loss
Attorney was picked by judge in New York to help
on panel determining value of damages
By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER, The Oakland Tribune
An East Bay attorney and mediator will play a pivotal role in determining the amount of loss resulting from the World Trade Center's destruction at the hands of terrorists Sept. 11, 2001.
Randall W. Wulff of Piedmont was selected Tuesday by U.S. District Chief Judge Michael B. Mukasey of New York to be chief umpire on a three-person appraisal panel that will address reconstruction costs as well as rental value and business interruption damages. Hearings are expected to begin later this year.
The battle over the monetary costs of the World Trade Center's destruction, and who will be paid how much for those costs, has become almost as twisted as the wreckage of the towers. And the battle has turned somewhat political, with New York officials touting the rebuilding of Ground Zero as crucial to the region's economic recovery.
World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein claims his insurers owe him almost twice their policy limits -- as much as $6.8 billion -- based on a switch in insurance forms that he believes recognizes the two impacts by two hijacked jet airliners as two separate losses. His claim went to a six-man, six-woman federal jury Monday after a 10-week trial.
After the jury -- and those in future proceedings involving other members of Silverstein's jury pool -- has determined the extent of the insurers' liability, it'll be up to Wolff's panel to determine what the actual losses are.
Wulff was with San Francisco's Farella, Braun and Martel from 1974 -- first as a trial lawyer, and from 1994 on as a "neutral" mediator -- until 2000, when he cofounded Oakland's Wulff Quinby Sochynsky, which exclusively provides mediation, arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution services.
He has helped settle almost 2,000 cases in the past 15 years, including the recent $1.1 billion settlement of the California class action against Microsoft. He also has helped resolve monetary disputes related to renovation of the Oakland Arena and construction of other high-profile projects from ballparks to Las Vegas casinos. And he has authored, edited or co-edited books on alternative dispute resolution.
His firm's Web site says his daily fee is $9,500 for cases in the Bay Area or Sacramento, $11,000 for cases elsewhere.
Wulff holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon, attended the Netherlands Institute of International Business and holds a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.
http://www.wqsadr.com/articles.html
REFERENCES
A sample of names follows here. A lengthier list of specific references from counsel and parties in cases where Mr. Wulff has acted as mediator is also available upon request....
Hawaii
Diane D. Hastert, Esq.
Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
1600 Pauahi Tower, 1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-531-8031
Bert T. Kobayashi, Esq.
Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda
First Hawaiian Center, Suite 2600
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-529-8700
Andrew Winer, Esq.
Winer Heheula & Devens
Pali Palms Plaza
970 North Kalaheo Ave, Suite A-300
Kailua, HI 96734
Telephone: 808-254-5855
David Schulmeister, Esq.
Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright
1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1000
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-521-9200
John T. Hoshibata, Esq.
Crabtree & Hoshibata
2300 Pauahi Tower
1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-524-5644
Elton John Bain
Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga
19th Floor, Central Pacific Plaza
229 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Warren Price III, Esq.
Price Okamoto Himeno & Lum
Ocean View Center
707 Richards Street, Suite 728
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-538-1113
Roy F. Hughes
Hughes & Taosaka
900 Pauahi Tower
1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-526-9744
Brad S. Petrus
Tom Teetrus & Miller
The Arcade Building
212 Merchant Street, Suite 200
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-522-0800
Milton M. Yasunaga
Cades Schutte Law Firm
1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1200
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-521-9200
John T. Komeiji
Watanabe Ing & Komeiji
999 Bishop Street, 23rd Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-544-8300
Roger Moseley
Moseley Biehl Tsugawa Lau & Muzzi
1100 Alakea Street, 23rd Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-531-0490
James T. Paul, Esq.
Paul Johnson Park & Niles
Pacific Tower, 1001 Bishop St., Suite 1300
P.O.Box 4438
Honolulu, HI 96812
Telephone: 808-524-1212
James Lawhn
Oliver, Lau, Lawhn, Ogawa & Nakamura
707 Richards Street, Suite 600
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-533-3999
http://www.wqsadr.com/randallwwulff.html
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Randall W. Wulff is expected to testify regarding his business, professional, personal and political relationships with Larry Silverstein, AIPAC, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Judge Michael Mukasey, Alberto Gonzales, Jack Abramoff, Gale Norton, Joshua Gotbaum, Judge Alan Kay, Governor Linda Lingle, Carl Icahn, Henry Kravis, Conrad Black, Henry Kissinger, Norm Brownstein, Steve Case, Karl Rove, Marsh & McLennan, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, Chubb Group, AIG, Ace, Ltd., XL Capital, Henry Paulson, Robert Rubin, Goldman Sachs, Richard Grove, Craig Stapleton, Faye Kurren, David C. Farmer, James Nicholson, Jim Nicholson, Steven Guttman, Judith Neustadter Fuqua, Colbert Matsumoto, Roy F. Hughes, Bert Kobayashi, Diane Hastert, Warren Price, Jeff Watanabe, James Douglas Ing, and others to be named upon discovery.
Internet References:
Documents, Letters, News Articles and Related Links
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/cutter.html
http://www.globalfire.tv/nj/03en/jews/wtc-silverstein.htm
http://www.pbwt.com/mukasey_michael_bio/
http://www.silversteinproperties.com/inner_page.aspx?id=26
www.kycbs.net/911-COVERUP-2.htm
www.kycbs.net/911-COVERUP-3.htm
www.kycbs.net/ArbitrateThis.htm
www.kycbs.net/Dots-White-House.htm
www.kycbs.net/Freedom-To-Sing.htm
www.kycbs.net/HarmonArbitration.htm
www.kycbs.net/NatureConservancy.htm
www.kycbs.net/Peregrine-Fund.htm
www.kycbs.net/Peregrine-Gallery.htm
TO GO TO THE WOO VS. HARMON WITNESS INDEX
www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Index.htm
Originally posted: May 4, 2008, by The Catbird
Last updated: May 5, 2008