Piccuta Law Group Celebrates Ten Year Anniversary
Piccuta Law Group Celebrates Ten Year Anniversary
This month marks the ten year anniversary of the Piccuta Law Group, LLP. The firm was first founded in 2013 by Charles Tony Piccuta. Tony decided to start the firm after he left a managing attorney position with a nationwide commercial litigation defense firm. Tony teamed up with his father, Chuck Piccuta, who had just retired from his career as a public servant. Chuck worked for the superior court system for the State of California for over twenty years prior to his retirement.
The two founded the firm with the idea that they could provide superior legal services and help people who needed it most. Initially, the firm would take on a variety of matters including business disputes, probate contests, water rights and foreclosure litigation. However, as time went on, the firm began specializing in serious personal injury cases and civil rights lawsuits. Tony had previously worked at a personal injury firm in Chicago, Illinois where he gained extensive experience handling serious personal injury cases.
The Firm’s First Civil Rights Case Involving Police Brutality
On November 11, 2013, the Piccuta Law Group filed its first civil rights lawsuit. The case was filed in the Eastern District of California and entitled Macias v. City of Clovis, Et Al. The lawsuit involved a young man who was arrested and later beaten by several police officers from the City of Clovis, California while handcuffed. The young man was also tased. The officers claimed that the young man was resisting arrest at the time.
The firm was defended by a well-established civil rights defense law firm. Prior to this case, neither Tony nor Chuck had ever handled, much less litigated, a civil rights case. However, the case was filed in federal court where Tony regularly practiced for years as a defense attorney.
Pulling upon Tony’s experience in federal court and his ability to aggressively litigate and handle complex matters, the firm would reach a landmark result. After years of highly-contested litigation, the case settled for $650,000 in 2016. This was without the client suffering serious injuries or needing any meaningful medical treatment.
Piccuta Law Group Became a Premiere Civil Rights Boutique Law Firm
Other lawyers learned about the success the firm had in the Macias v. City of Clovis case. Not long after, other civil rights cases were referred to the firm. In addition, potential clients found the firm due to that result. Since that time, the Piccuta Law Group has handled more than 50 civil rights cases involving excessive force, police brutality, prisoner rights or other civil rights cases due to police or law enforcement misconduct.
During that same period of time, the firm has considered or evaluated over 600 civil rights cases involving law enforcement misconduct. This includes cases throughout both Arizona and California. Some of the notable results from the firm or its attorneys include the following:
- $11,750,000 – Settlement for Inmate Against Maricopa County Jail (largest settlement ever for a single individual from Maricopa County Jail)
- $1,422,500 – Police Excessive Force Jury verdict (with fee award) against City of Stockton
- $720,000 – Police Brutality Settlement against City of Clovis (different from Macias case mentioned above)
- $600,000 – Police Brutality Settlement against Monterey County Sheriff’s Office
- $420,000 – Settlement for CDCR Inmate Alleging 8th Amendment Claims
- $235,000 – Settlement against City of Stockton for police excessive force
- $225,000 – Settlement for federal inmate against BOP for deliberate indifference to medical needs
- $220,000 – Settlement for pre-trial detainee beaten by Monterey County Sheriff Deputies
- $130,000 – Jury Verdict for inmate for violations of the 8Th Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
The Firm’s Personal Injury Practice Achieves Remarkable Results
During this same ten year period, the firm’s personal injury practice grew dramatically. Initially, our firm would take any injury case that walked in the door. This was true even if there was no physical injury to the client.
One of the firm’s first cases was one where we represented a family who owned a pet cockatoo. The bird was killed by a neighbor’s dog. We filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family. The lawsuit settled for $1,500 in 2016—which was basically the cost of a replacement bird. The firm earned nothing after costs. However, we did earn the respect of our clients who were thankful we went to bat for them.
Within the next two years we would take several personal injury cases to trial and achieve fantastic results. In 2017, we tried a car accident case and obtained a $240,000 verdict. Later that year, we tried another case and obtained a $130,000 verdict. In 2018, we tried a motorcycle accident case in Monterey County Superior Court and obtained a $1.925 million dollar verdict. It was one of the highest personal injury verdicts for Monterey County that year. Earlier this year, we tried a dental malpractice case and obtained a $500,000 verdict. Needless to say, in a short amount of time, our firm went from handling low value personal injury cases to high stakes matters and winning those cases at trial.
The Firm’s Current Personal Injury Practice Has Several High-Profile Cases
Now, our firm focuses on serious personal injury cases. Several of those are high-profile matters that are in the news. One such case is a wrongful death case against Pajaro Valley Unified School District.
We currently represent, and are litigating a case for, the family of a Santa Cruz County high school student who was stabbed to death on campus. The student was attacked by another student who was gang affiliated. That student had brandished a knife on campus and attacked another student a few days before the incident. However, the school administrators failed to take appropriate action.
They did not notify law enforcement. They merely suspended the student for a few days for the previous attack. Upon his return to campus, he fatally attacked our clients’ son. We are seeking to hold the administrators and school district accountable for their failures which allowed this to happen. The case has been reported on by the national media.
Often times, we are the last resort for a client after they have been turned down several times by other attorneys.
Another case we recently undertook involves a client who lost her eye. The client lost her eye when metallic-backed rhinestone stickers, placed on her steering wheel, were propelled into her eye after her airbag deployed. The client bought the stickers from Amazon and placing them on the steering wheel were the intended purpose.
We are pursuing Amazon for product liability claims. The responsibility of Amazon for such cases is frequently contested and reported on nationally. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has since issued an announcement warning about placement of such stickers on steering wheels.
The Firm Still Handles Routines Car Accident Cases
Our law firm still handles standard car accident cases. We believe that the more individuals we touch in our community, the more people we can help. Often times, we are the last resort for a client after they have been turned down several times by other attorneys. We believe, that by taking on smaller cases and delivering on what we promise, we will be rewarded down the line when those clients refer us friends and family members who require our services. Our promise to clients is:
- that we will always be available to discuss their case;
- that we will always be honest and straightforward about their case; and
- that we will do whatever is required to obtain the best result possible once we commit to taking their case on.
Most of Our Business is From Referrals or Word of Mouth
When we first started our law firm, we advertised on television. That was during the first one to two years we were in practice. However, since that time, we have been blessed with not needing to advertise.
We do not advertise on television, radio or in print. We do not run online ads such as Facebook or Google pay per click or sponsored listings. We can proudly say that all our clients find us by referral, word of mouth, or by doing their own research as to whom is best suited to represent them.
Smaller Cases We Take Lead to Big Ones
Our success has not marred our vision to serve those who need help. As mentioned above, we believe smaller cases lead to big ones. As such, we strive to make long-lasting connections with the clients we serve and represent. We are not a mill, looking for the next case or client, that needs to constantly advertise for new business. The below experience illustrates this well.
We previously handled a case for an older woman. The older woman was injured when another driver failed to yield the right of way. The other driver pulled out in front of her and there was a moderate impact. The client had bruising and soft tissue injuries.
Although not a high-value or serious injury case, we handled it for her. We were diligent in our representation of her and always kept her apprised. She appreciated it. Her case settled for $26,000.
Less than one year later, she referred her granddaughter to our law firm. Her granddaughter was in a serious motor vehicle crash where she suffered a fractured arm. The injury required surgery with hardware. We represented her granddaughter and obtained a $215,000 settlement on her behalf.
We Are Excited for the Next Ten Years
We did not know what to expect when we started the Piccuta Law Group. We did not know exactly what cases we would handle or if we would be successful. However, ten years later, we are still serving the community and handling cases of importance. More so now, than ever before.
Those cases are very important matters for the clients we represent and are very high stakes. The outcomes will be life-changing. We are blessed that we have achieved results that show our clients that we have what it takes to handle their cases. We are thankful for all the referrals that other attorneys and former clients provide to us. We look forward to the next ten years after looking back at the past ten years. We are excited for what is to come and the individuals and clients we will be able to help.
About the author: The content on this page was written by California personal injury attorney and civil rights lawyer Charles “Tony” Piccuta. Piccuta graduated with honors from Indiana University-Maurer School of Law in Bloomington, Indiana (Previously ranked Top 35 US News & World Report). Piccuta took and passed the State bars of Arizona, California, Illinois and Nevada (all on the first try). He actively practices throughout California and Arizona. He is a winning trial attorney that regularly handles serious personal injury cases and civil rights lawsuits. He has obtained six and seven figure verdicts in both state and federal court. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers for six years straight. He is AV Rated by Martindale Hubble. He is a member of the Consumer Attorneys of California, American Association for Justice, National Police Accountability Project, Arizona Association of Justice, and many local county and City bar associations.
Disclaimer: The information on this web site is attorney advertising and is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice. Reading and relying upon the content on this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, you should contact our law firm for a free consultation and to discuss your specific case and issues.
