Arthur B. Mark, III

Statement of Practice

Arthur B. Mark is an attorney in the Litigation Department of Trainor Fairbrook. His primary area of practice is commercial real estate litigation, including land use litigation.

Prior to joining Trainor Fairbrook, Mr. Mark practiced constitutional law for four years with the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a national non-profit public interest law organization headquartered in Sacramento, California. Mr. Mark’s work with the PLF included constitutional litigation, with a focus on individual rights and limits on the federal government’s power. Among the cases Mr. Mark litigated at PLF was Smith v. Novato Unified School District, (2007) 150 Cal.App.4th 1439 in which Mr. Mark served as trial counsel and authored the principal brief on appeal. The Smith case set new precedent for high school students’ free speech rights under the California Constitution.

Mr. Mark focuses his practice on real property litigation and most specifically on cases involving commercial purchase and sale agreements, commercial lease disputes, partnership disputes, quiet title and partition matters, as well as entitlement and land use issues. As a member of the firm’s complex case litigation team, Mr. Mark has brought to bear the appellate experience he gained at the Pacific Legal Foundation. To date, he has principally authored several briefs on appeals in litigation that Trainor Fairbrook handled at the trial level. Among these cases, two stand-out for setting precedent:

Sixells, LLC v. Cannery Business Park, et. al., (2008) 170 Cal.App.4th 648
Mr. Mark’s efforts on the appeal defended a trial court victory for the client, culminating in a published decision setting new precedent interpreting the Subdivision Map Act.

Muzzi v. Bel Air Mart, (2009) 171 Cal.App.4th 456
Mr. Mark handled the appeal that resulted in reversing a judgment unfavorable to the client, turning what had been a partial victory in the trial court into a complete victory. This case also resulted in a published opinion interpreting common area use provisions in commercial shopping center leases.

Mr. Mark is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of California.