Admissions Honors
Sunny Soltani is a partner in the Firm and has handled a wide variety of civil actions in both state and federal courts and in front of the California Court of Appeals. Ms. Soltani specializes in eminent domain, inverse condemnation/takings claims, environmental law (brownfields and CEQA) and land use litigation. She also provides legal analysis and opinions on issues involving rent control, the Map Act, redevelopment and constitutional rights. Ms. Soltani’s expertise in condemnation and environmental law issues combined make her a valuable part of the Firm's land use team.
Ms. Soltani was honored by the “Southern California Super Lawyers” magazine two years in a row as among its Southern California Rising Stars in 2006 and 2007. Fewer than 2.5% of lawyers are ever nominated or selected for this honor.
Ms. Soltani successfully finished a 4 week long federal jury trial in the Los Angeles Central District Court where a developer had sued the Carson Redevelopment Agency for $25,000,000 for a failed exclusive right to negotiate.
In 2006 Ms. Soltani won, on a Motion for Summary Judgment, a Government Code § 1090 matter on behalf of City of Carson where a developer had paid a bribe to receive an $850,000 loan from the City for a 30 year low-income housing project. The developer disgorged the entire $850,000 benefit he received to the City and the City keeps the benefits of the 30 year low-income housing. The Court of Appeals affirmed, in its entirety, the lower court’s decision and the California Supreme Court denied the developer’s cert for review.
In a one year time frame, Ms. Soltani successfully defended five challenges to the City of Carson’s Rental Review Board’s decisions on rent control applications. One case was appealed all the way to the California Supreme Court by the park owner. One decision was reversed after Ms. Soltani appealed to the California Court of Appeals, saving the Park residents a 48.14% rent increase.
One eminent domain trial resulted in a jury verdict approximately $1,000,000 less than the defendants’ claims against the Agency and approximately $400,000 less than the agency’s final offer to the defendants. Another trial resulted in a settlement of $300,000 less than the final demand made during the course of trial.
Ms. Soltani represented a Water District in Sacramento, where the County of Sacramento was challenging the Water District’s authority to issue bonds and certificates of participating in the amount of $25,000,000. Ms. Soltani obtained a favorable ruling for the Water District in the very early stages of the proceedings. She obtained a ruling dismissing, with prejudice, thirteen of the County’s fourteen causes of action against the Water District, thereby enabling the District to proceed with the issuance of bonds.
Ms. Soltani has negotiated various Remedial Action Plans with DTSC and the Regional Water Board. She has also successfully represented Cities of Palm Springs and Carson in various CEQA challenges to development plans and/or general plan amendments on issues involving the Endangered Species Act and/or contamination.
Ms. Soltani received two B.A.'s (English literature and foreign languages) with honors and great distinction from University of California Los Angeles in 1997. She then attended Loyola Law School, where she received her J.D., cum laude, in 2000 and was inducted into the Order of the Coif.
At Loyola, Ms. Soltani served as a staff writer and subsequently as an articles editor in Loyola's Entertainment Law Review. She was further a member of the St. Thomas Moore Law Honor Society and served as Lt. Governor for the American Bar Association, student division. In 1999, Ms. Soltani clerked for the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt in United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Public Offices
Assistant City Attorney
Signal Hill (2010 - present)
Admissions
State Bar of California
US District Court, Central District of CA
US Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Honors
Super Lawyer “Rising Star” 2006 & 2007
Foreign Language
Farsi
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