Charles H. Abbott

Charles H. Abbott

Pronouns: he, him, his

Charles H. Abbott is an experienced civil litigator and trial lawyer. In his career, he has first or second chaired over ten jury trials. In his most recent trial, Charlie secured a defense verdict for a municipality and its police force in a catastrophic personal-injury action. He has secured dozens of pre-trial victories in claims of dangerous conditions of public property. He is also a thought leader in this area, making frequent presentations on recent appellate decisions to government lawyers and interest groups. Charlie is an effective appellate advocate. In 2021, he drafted and argued an appeal in Martinez v. City of Beverly Hills, which created a new standard for constructive notice under California law.

While his practice focuses on public-entity defense, Charlie has extensive experience in complex civil litigation, class actions, employment, data breach, and insurance defense. He has represented large public businesses in the retail, food and beverage, entertainment, telecommunications, and entertainment industries in bet-the-company litigation and internal investigations. Charlie also has a proven track record of creating compliance programs and leading internal investigations. His compliance background provides context when Charlie advises his clients how to prevent future harm.

  •  Defended a City against allegations that a police officer owed a duty to protect a pedestrian who was seriously injured in a traffic accident. This trial resulted in a defense verdict.
  • Drafted the appellate briefs and argued Martinez v. City of Beverly Hills (2021) 71 Cal.App.5th 508, which created a lower standard of constructive notice for areas of public property not commonly used by pedestrians.
  • Obtained summary judgment for a City after its Council refused to grant a conditional use permit, which allegedly violated the property owner’s constitutional rights.
  • Obtained summary judgments for public entities charged with having a dangerous condition of public property.
  • Led trial team in California federal court in the representation of an immigrant detainee alleging various personal-injury claims while being incarcerated in federal detention facility.

  • J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, cum laude, 2003
  • B.A., University of California, Irvine, 1993
  • State Bar of California
  • State Bar of Nevada
  • 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
  • Selected to Super Lawyers, Personal Injury Defense 2020