Matthew W. Argue

back

GENERAL OVERVIEW

Mr. Argue was born in Pasadena, California in 1964.  He graduated cum luade with a bachelor of arts from San Diego State University in 1986.  He earned his Juris Doctorate at the Law Center of the University of Southern California in 1989. 

Mr. Argue was a construction litigation Partner at Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves and Savitch LLP from 1989 to 2001, handling both defense and plaintiff’s cases.  In 1997, Mr. Argue became the head of the construction litigation department for the law firm.

 Mr. Argue has considerable experience in real estate, construction and insurance matters.  As a construction litigation Partner with the prominent San Diego law firm of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves and Savitch LLP, Mr. Argue handled many cases involving litigation of complex, multi-party disputes.  Mr. Argue represented both large developer defendants and plaintiffs in single-family construction defect cases.  Some of his more notable cases are: (1) representation of plaintiffs in the largest verdict in San Diego County for a custom single-family residential construction defect case ($2.5 million), (2) representation of 84 plaintiffs in AAS v. Superior Court which was appealed to the California Supreme Court and changed the recovery of damages in construction defect cases, (3) representation of 300 plaintiffs in Marshall v. The Baldwin Company et al. for construction defect damages totaling over $25 million, and (4) representation of state-wide developer, The Grupe Company, in defense of construction defect cases throughout State of California.  He is licensed in a number of different jurisdictions including California, Nevada, Washington, Colorado and Texas.

During 2004, Mr. Argue participated in a mediation externship with a distinguished Federal District Court Judge J. Lawrence Irving (Ret.).  Judge Irving has handled numerous high profile mediation cases including E Coli litigation with Jack in the Box and Odwalla Juices, City of San Diego v. De La Fuente and World Com.  In December 2004, Mr. Argue completed an intensive 40 hour mediation training program focusing on mediating the litigated case at Pepperdine Law School’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution.  In the summer of 2005, Mr. Argue completed a 36 hour mediation training program focusing on Mediating Complex Construction Cases at Pepperdine Law School’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution.  In May 2005, Mr. Argue earned his Mediator’s Credential at the National Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC) in San Diego. 

Mr. Argue has furthered his mediation training and experience by observing successful mediators including Judge Lawrence J. Irving (Ret.), Judge Herbert Hofman (Ret.), Attorney Ross R. Hart, Attorney Scott Slater Marcus, Attorney Craig Higgs, and Attorney Joseph Stein.  In addition, Mr. Argue spent three days observing Attorney Randall Wulff in Oakland, California mediate a complex, multi-party construction dispute.  Mr. Wulff is the top construction mediator in the United States and currently presiding over the property damage claims for the World Trade Center arising from the tragedy of 9/11.  Mr. Argue continues to expand his experience and skills by taking mediation cases from the San Diego, Riverside and Los Angeles Superior Courts.

EDUCATION

San Diego State University – 1986
San Diego, CA
·        B.A. in Political Science, cum laude
·        Sigma Nu Fraternity, Outstanding Scholar
·        SDSU Varsity Golf Team
          House of Commons – Jan. - June 1986
          London, England
·       Administrative Assistant to Member of Parliament
           
            University of Southern California Law Center – 1989
            Los Angeles, CA
·        Juris Doctorate
·        Top 20% of class
·        Notes and Articles Editor of the Major Tax Planning and Computer Law Journals
           
            Calvary Chapel Bible College – 2001-2003
            Murrieta, CA
           
            Externship - Honorable J. Lawrence Irving – 2004
            San Diego, CA

·        Observation of retired Federal District Court Judge mediation practice

SPEAKING AND TRAINING

Construction Dispute Resolution Services Training Program in the Theory, Practice and Rules of Dispute Review Board, 2006

Construction Dispute Resolution Services Training Program in the Theory, Practice and Rules of Arbitration, 2006

Bar Association of Northern San Diego County, “Effectively Resolving Construction Defect Cases”, Panel Speaker with Judge Stephen Sundvold and Judge Ronald Styn, 2006

International Academy of Mediators Conference, “Meeting of the Minds”, 2005

San Diego County Bar Association, Panel Speaker, Mediation of Construction Defect Cases, 2005

National Conflict Resolution Center, Mediator Credentialing Program, 2005

Pepperdine Law School’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution mediation training program: Negotiation and Conciliation, 2005

Pepperdine Law School’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution mediation training program: The Mediation Program, 2005

Pepperdine Law School’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution mediation training program: Mediating Complex Construction Disputes, 2005

Pepperdine Law School’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution mediation training program: Mediating the Litigated Case, 2004

National Conflict Resolution Center, Introductory Mediators Training, 2004

West Coast Casualty Annual Construction Defect Conference, Panel Speaker, 2000 and 2001

Mealy’s Annual Construction Defect Conference, Panel Speaker, 2000

San Diego County Bar Association, Panel Speaker, Impact of AAS v. Superior Court on Construction Defect Litigation, 2000

Orange County Bar Association, Panel Speaker, Aftermath of AAS v. Superior Court, 2000

Clark County Bar Association, Panel Speaker, Pursuing Construction Defect Cases – Plaintiff’s Perspective, 2000

PUBLICATIONS 

Nevada Lawyer, Recent Developments of “Physical Injury Rule” to Construction Defect Cases, 2000

Condo Management Magazine, Stigma Damages and Construction Defects, 1998

National Law Journal, Real Estate Broker Disclosure Laws, 1995

BAR MEMBERSHIPS

California State Bar, Bar # 145134, 1989
Nevada State Bar, Bar # 6889, 1999
Colorado State Bar, Bar # 031418, 1999
Texas State Bar, Bar # 24029121, 2000
Washington State Bar, Bar # 30386, 2001

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Co-Chairman of Real Estate Section of Bar Association of North San Diego County (2006)

Construction Dispute Resolution Services, LLC, Panel of Construction Mediators

National Arbitration Forum, Panel of Construction Arbitrators 

American Arbitration Association, Complex Construction Panel Arbitrator

San Diego County Bar Association’s Attorney Fee Arbitration Panel

San Diego County Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution and Construction Law Sections

Bar Association of North San Diego County’s Alternative Dispute Resolution and Real Estate Sections

American Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section

Nevada Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Section

Association for Dispute Resolution - San Diego

California Dispute Resolution Council

Association of Business Trial Lawyers

Justice Ted Todd Inn of Court 

COMMUNITY SERVICE

KAIROS – Donovan Prison Ministry, 2005-2006

Boys and Girls Club, San Diego, Board Member, 1999-2001

Family Support Foundation, Mentor for Teenager, 1997-1998

The Wellness Community, San Diego, Club Wellness Board Member, 1993-1994

San Diego League, Board Member, 1990-1994

Counselor – Commonwealth of Massachusetts “Upward Bound” Program, Summer 1987

ADDITIONAL BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.ONEMEDIATOR.NET