Charles E. Slyngstad

Charles E. Slyngstad

Pronouns: he, him, his

Charlie Slyngstad focuses his public law and private client law practice relationships between employers and employees, businesses and contracting parties, and lawyers and clients.  He has experience as lead trial counsel in cases that included allegations of fraud, real estate fraud, employee whistleblowing and retaliation, race discrimination, the False Claims Act, conflicts of interest, employee pension and welfare benefits, wrongful termination, legal malpractice, malicious prosecution, alter ego, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and breach of joint venture and purchase agreements.  He also has handled many appeals, for both public and private clients.

Labor and Employment Law

Charlie has represented private and public employers in employment matters, providing preventive counseling and litigation defense against various legal theories.  His representation has involved different industries, including health care, transportation, travel, entertainment, employee benefits, apparel, real estate, and housing.  He has advised the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles since 2006, for which he has successfully prosecuted former employees and others who misused federal funds provided to the agency.

In several lengthy employment jury trials in Los Angeles Superior Court, Charlie was lead counsel for his client in reaching verdicts on whistleblower retaliation claims.  He served as the primary attorney for a national employee benefits firm in a Department of Labor lead enforcement case in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.  His class action experience has included serving as appointed class counsel on behalf of Plaintiff and Defendant classes.

Litigation

Charlie is certified as a specialist in Legal Malpractice Law by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California, a subject area that includes the prosecution and defense of lawyers in professional liability disputes, conflicts of interest, ethics, malicious prosecution, and anti-SLAPP motions.  In addition to matters involving lawyers and clients, he also has handled many complex business litigation cases for private companies, and claims for and against qui tam plaintiffs and others under the federal and state False Claims Acts in the healthcare, defense, entertainment, and housing industries.  Additional cases have included a wide variety of other torts, including accounting malpractice, securities fraud and multiple fraudulent Ponzi schemes, violations of Business & Professions Code section 17200, creditors’ claims, false advertising, real estate transactions, bank fraud, and trademarks and trade names.  He has taken to trial more than 35 such cases in California courts, including federal courts.

Real Estate and Business Law

Charlie, in association with bankruptcy counsel, advised Victor Valley Community Hospital as special corporate and litigation counsel in connection with obtaining the consent of the California Attorney General to sell all of its assets and thereafter confirming its Chapter 11 Plan of Liquidation.  He has acted as outside counsel and provided advice to a number of businesses, including other health care enterprises, closely-held companies, and sole proprietorships.  Charlie currently acts as outside general counsel for the Odd Fellows Home of California, which owns and operates two large retirement communities in Napa and Saratoga, a role he also performed for Victor Valley Community Hospital from 1995-2011.  He has assisted court-appointed receivers in workouts and liquidations of businesses under court supervision.  Charlie has also worked on multiple legal issues and litigation matters for the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles since 2006 and for the Housing Authority of the City of Glendale.

  • Represented the County of San Bernardino in litigation involving six consolidated lawsuits alleging First Amendment retaliation claims, supervisorial liability claims, and conspiracy claims against the County, its District Attorney, criminal trial prosecutors and investigators; a Monell claim against the County; and breach of contract claims against the County and its Flood Control District. Damages sought exceeded $125 million, including substantial, actual out-of-pocket costs. After summary judgment was granted for the defendants on a variety of claims at issue, including all contractual and indemnity claims against the Flood Control District, the parties in four of the six cases in November 2020 mutually agreed to settle their dispute. The other two cases were dismissed after appeals in the Ninth Circuit.
  • Successfully concluded representing the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission in the civil prosecution of former employees, promoters of events and others for conflicts of interest under Government Code section 1090, and other claims, after the parallel criminal prosecution ended.
  • Completed a long-term project assisting the City of Glendale and the Housing Authority of the City of Glendale in the resolution of issues raised by the misapplication of affordable housing funds by a developer, general contractor, and subcontractors on developments in the City.  The receivership resulting from the City’s civil case returned more than $5 million to it in 2017.
  • Assisted the City of Pasadena in false claims and Government Code section 1090 conflicts arising from a former employee’s abuse of the municipality’s underground utility fund; previously resolved related accounting malpractice actions against prior auditors.
  • Successfully resolved litigation against a large Orange County law firm involving claims of malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty arising out of an underlying employment harassment case.
  • In 2010, obtained judgment for $1.9 million against former consultant to the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles for fraud, and, in a separate case, a judgment for $605,000 against a former employee of the Authority and his brothers for violations of the False Claims Act and fraud.
  • Obtained a judgment for individual client for $9.6 million for libel, including special damages of $6.176 million and general damages for loss of reputation of $3 million.
  • Settled multiple lawsuits against a professional firm that was alleged to have committed negligence and breach of fiduciary duty in failing to oversee employee and prevent his sales of investment contracts in Ponzi scheme to clients of the firm.
Reported Cases
  • S.E.C. v. American Capital Investments, Inc., 98 F.3d 1133 (9th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 1185 (1997) (involving receivership and multistate, commercial real estate sale)
  • Metropolitan Water District v. Superior Court, 32 Cal.4th 491 (2004) (involving CalPERS coverage of temporary workers)
  • Tidewater Marine Western, Inc. v. Bradshaw, 14 Cal.4th 557 (1996) (involving application of wage order and Administrative Procedure Act)
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission v. Insomniac, Inc., 233 Cal.App.4th 803 (2015) (involving conflicts of interest under Government Code sections 1090-1092)
  • Cordero-Sacks v. Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, 200 Cal.App.4th 1267 (2011) (involving California False Claims Act)
  • Williams v. Russ, 167 Cal.App.4th 1215 (2008) (involving spoliation of evidence in legal malpractice action)
  • Kunert v. Mission Financial Services Corp., 110 Cal.App.4th 242 (2003) (involving financing of motor vehicle sales)

  • J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law
  • B.A., University of California, Berkeley
  • State Bar of California
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Central District of California
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of California
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of California
  • American Bar Association
  • ABA Center for Professional Responsibility
  • Theatre Forty, Beverly Hills, Board of Directors, 2003-2007
  • State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization, Certified Legal Specialist, Subject: Legal Malpractice Law
  • AV®Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell Ratings
  • Associate Managing Editor, Hastings Law Journal
  • California State Fair Press and Broadcasting Award