Christy Gargalis joined Robie & Matthai in 2006. She specializes in the defense of professional liability actions against attorneys, accountants and other professionals. Her background in defending medical malpractice actions has been instrumental in defending legal malpractice actions arising from medical issues. She has successfully employed the anti-SLAPP statute to terminate several matters at the initial stage, obtaining awards of attorney's fees when the motions are granted. Her careful work in assembling the factual information and legal authority necessary to evaluate a case has enabled her to move many matters to early disposition by motion and to recognize those cases that should be resolved rather than litigated.

Favorite Cases

One month before trial in a highly contentious conservatorship proceeding, Robie & Matthai's client was appointed by the Court to become the lead PVP attorney for the proposed conservatee. An independent conservator was appointed, much to the dismay of the conservatee's spouse. The spouse then sued Robie & Matthai's client, alleging that he had wrongfully concealed medical reports which would have supported the wife's position. The wife attempted to defeat the anti-SLAPP motion, filed by Christy, by asserting that the conduct alleged was "illegal" and not protected by the anti-SLAPP statute. The trial court granted the anti-SLAPP motion and the ruling was upheld on appeal. Because of the obstreperous tactics of the plaintiff and difficulties created by co-defendants, the path to success on the anti-SLAPP motion was more difficult than one would expect. Christy obtained an award of the fees incurred at the trial at appellate levels.

A general practitioner began treating a patient for various illnesses, including insomnia, depression, stress and obesity. A great deal of medication was prescribed for the ailments, and allegations were made that the patient was selling, rather than ingesting, the drugs. The California Medical Board investigated the physician, questioning both the diagnoses and the treatment. The physician settled with the Medical Board, making various payments, agreeing to re-education, and receiving a public letter of reprimand. Thereafter, one of the major medical insurers determined that the physician had shown a "long pattern of poor judgment" and notified the physician that he could not remain in the insurer's network. The physician requested a hearing as allowed by the Business & Professions Code.

When the insurer requested the patient's medical chart, the physician's counsel asserted that since the patient was not an insured of that carrier, the chart could not be produced without violating HIPAA. The insurer terminated the physician, claiming that the failure to produce the patient's records breached the contract. The physician then sued his counsel, arguing that the advice to withhold the records was beneath the standard of care, and asserting the loss of millions as a result of his removal from the network. Christy first succeeded in eliminating the breach of fiduciary duty and punitive damage claims. Her persistence in discovery, her defeat of a motion for a protective order by which the physician sought to prevent disclosure of his financial records, and her forceful presentation demonstrating that the content of the records would have harmed, rather than assisted the physician's position, resulted in an extremely favorable settlement.

A father left the family mansion to his daughter and a commercial building to his son. Unfortunately for the daughter, all of the estate taxes were to be paid from her share of the estate. The bequest was made in an amended trust after a long, sordid series of family disputes. The statutory time limit for filing a Will contest would expire before the amount of estate tax would be determined. Based upon the estimated value of the commercial property, Robie & Matthai's client advised that there was little to lose by pursuing the Will contest, since the anticipated estate tax burden would virtually eliminate the bequest to the daughter. The Will contest was filed; the daughter lost, triggering the forfeiture clause in the trust. Thereafter, the son succeeded in convincing an IRS auditor (from Idaho) that comparables from a distressed area in Los Angeles could be used to set the value of property located in an upper-end neighborhood. That, combined with other sleight-of-hand, reduced the estate tax to an absurdly low figure. Christy's work on an "Early Motion in Limine" to exclude the tax return value and limit the evidence to the actual (or reasonably estimated) value enabled a favorable settlement on the basis that it was not beneath the standard of care to fail to anticipate the brother's success in misleading the IRS.

Memberships

• Los Angeles County Bar Association
• State Bar of California
• Association of Southern California Defense Counsel

Education

• University of San Diego, J.D., 2001
• Boston University, B.A., 1996

Admissions

• California, 2001
• U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 2004