Smith Dollar PC

Smith Dollar PC is a premier real estate and financial services law firm providing legal services to individuals and businesses in California.  Our clients include financial institutions, mortgage lenders, loan servicers, secondary market investors, investment bankers, home builders and contractors. The firm accepts transactional and litigation matters arising anywhere in California and handles mortgage fraud cases for lenders and secondary market investors on a nationwide basis.

Smith Dollar PC's in-depth industry knowledge and broad legal experience allows its attorneys to offer legal counsel grounded in business reality.  Our attorneys understand that litigation, though often a necessity, is not the focus of our clients. 

Located in California Wine Country, Smith Dollar PC is one of the only firms north of San Francisco providing litigation and transactional representation to the mortgage banking and financial services industry.

Smith Dollar PC is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association and its attorneys participate in industry events and share industry concerns.

In The News

Smith Dollar Obtains Defense Verdict Following Six Week Jury Trial

On Thursday, April 30, 2009, after two days of deliberations, the jury in the trial of Bonfigli v. Strachan, Sonoma County Superior Court Case No. SCV-239528, returned a verdict in favor of the defense.

Defendant Michael D. Smith was represented by lead counsel Rachel Dollar of Smith Dollar PC.  Heather Bussing second chaired the majority of the trial and was assisted by Allison Tussey, both of Smith Dollar PC. Defendant Alan Strachan was represented by Gordon Strachan of Strachan, Strachan & Simon, Park City, Utah.  The plaintiffs, Joseph and Helen Bonfigli, were represented by lead counsel Michael G. Watters of O'Brien, Watters & Davis LLC.  The trial was second chaired by Andrew G. Watters and Deirdre Taber Kingsbury.

The complaint was filed on October 16, 2006 and alleged that Alan Strachan and Michael D. Smith were the fiduciaries of the plaintiffs by virtue of a power of attorney executed in connection with an option agreement that the plaintiffs granted to Courtside Village LLC, a company of which Mssrs. Strachan and Smith were managers.  It further alleged that Mr. Strachan had made misrepresentations to the Bonfiglis in connection with the sale and optioning of their property and sought to assign responsibility to Mr. Smith based on theories of agency and conspiracy.  The complaint sought compensatory and punitive damages for intentional misrepresentation, concealment, false promise, breach of fiduciary duty, trespass and elder abuse.

Courtside Village LLC was one of the developers of Courtside Village, a 68-acre residential and multi-use development in Southwest Santa Rosa.  In 1996, the plaintiffs sold 4.2 acres of undeveloped rural property to Courtside Village LLC and granted Courtside Village LLC an option to purchase their remaining 1.38 acre parcel.  Along with the option, the plaintiffs granted Courtside Village LLC a power of attorney which allowed Courtside Village LLC to obtain development approvals, use the plaintiff's property as security for financing and otherwise develop the property.  In 2002, a lot line adjustment was obtained which changed the size of the plaintiffs' property from 1.38 acres to .52 acres, leaving them with title to a tentative mapped building pad for a 33-unit condominium complex.  Courtside Village LLC ultimately declared bankruptcy and the option to purchase the plaintiffs' property was never exercised.

Trial commenced on January 9, 2009 but was suspended on January 12 due to a health issue of one of the parties.  Motions were argued on four separate days between the suspension on January 12, 2009 and the resumption of trial on March 27, 2009.  On April 23, 2009, after the close of evidence, Judge Robert Boyd directed verdict in favor of the defense on the causes of action for trespass and elder abuse. The claims for intentional misrepresentation, concealment, false promise and breach of fiduciary duty were submitted to the jury on April 29, 2009 and, on April 30, 2009, the jury rendered a verdict finding no liability on the part of either defendant.  

Plaintiffs' appraisal expert witness was Robin Erdmann.  The defense expert witnesses were appraiser Howard Levy and developer Michael Ryan.


Smith Dollar Hires Two New Attorneys

Heather Bussing and Austin Garner joined the Smith Dollar team.

Heather has been working with the firm as an independent contractor and will join Smith Dollar as a full-time attorney on March 1, 2009.  Ms. Bussing has been a litigator for 20 years and practices in the areas of real estate, construction, commercial litigation, employment and banking.  She also has significant experience in transactional matters including corporate, mergers and acquisitions and employment law.  Read more about Heather Bussing

Austin Garner is a trial attorney with a strong background in mortgage banking, real estate and finance.  Austin will handle mortgage litigation defense and fraud recovery matters for lenders and investors.  Read more about Austin Garner


Mortgage Fraud Blog Conference 2008

Mortgage Fraud is the fastest growing white collar crime in the United States. Unfortunately, it's not just hardened criminals that commit mortgage fraud. Despite increased lender attention to fraud prevention, statistics show an increase in lenders filing mortgage fraud suspicious activities reports. The changing real estate market has resulted in a plethora of new fraud schemes and new twists on old techniques.

For information on the conference, visit the Mortgage Fraud Blog Conference Website.


Mortgage Fraud News

For up-to-date information on Mortgage Fraud, check out Ms. Dollar's nationally recognized web site Mortgage Fraud Blog.