Responsibilities

The Litigation Services Division is responsible for advocating, defending, and prosecuting actions on behalf of the City. This includes a wide variety of activities that collectively attempt to protect the City's rights, minimize civil and financial liability, and advance community welfare.

Services

Staff in the Litigation Services Division handle the following matters:

• Workers’ compensation investigations and litigation
• Prosecution of municipal code violations
• Injunctions for general nuisances and gang and drug abatements to promote public safety
• Representation before state, federal, and appellate courts; agencies and boards, and administrative bodies
• General liability claims management
• Lawsuits
• Subrogation actions
• Pursuit of contractual indemnities and appropriate insurance tenders
• Alternative dispute resolution

Cases

Generally the types of cases involve the following issues:

• Civil rights
• Eminent domain
• Inverse condemnation
• Labor and employment
• San José Municipal Code violations
• Torts
• Wrongful death