Profile

Representing companies throughout the country and globally, Jeff Hamerling has more than twenty-five years of experience handling business and litigation matters involving franchise, marketing and distribution and environmental issues.

Business and Litigation Counsel to National Petroleum Clients

As a result of his industry acumen, Jeff devotes a significant portion of his practice to petroleum companies, focusing on commercial, franchise, distribution and environmental matters.

He has appeared in over 100 matters involving the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act. Several of these cases established major precedents in the petroleum retail industry.

Advising California Franchise and Distribution Clients

Jeff regularly advises and represents franchisors on commercial, California regulatory and litigation matters.

Trusted on Environmental, Antitrust and Intellectual Property Issues

Jeff also advises and represents a broad range of companies on environmental matters involving federal and state statutes, unfair business practice and antitrust claims, trademark and copyright matters and general litigation matters.

In addition, he has extensive experience representing engineering companies on major professional liabilities matters including construction design litigation throughout the world.

Top Rated Litigation Leader

Prior to joining Archer Norris, Jeff – who is AV Peer Review rated by Martindale-Hubbell - was a partner at DLA Piper in San Francisco. He was a member of DLA Piper’s antitrust practice group, which was recently ranked as having the number one antitrust litigation practice.

Experience

Counseling and Transactional Representative Matters

• Property Sale - Provided advice and drafted documents involving sale of major oil company's gasoline retail properties in Midwest market.
• Facilities Purchase - Provided counseling regarding purchase of downstream petroleum facilities by large independent refiner.
• Environmental - Negotiated and drafted numerous agreements on behalf of clients regarding environmental remediation and cost allocation agreements, including refinery, retail service station facilities, bulk plants and third party properties.
• Business Issues - Providing advice and counseling to several petroleum companies on regulatory, franchise, risk management, pricing and distribution issues.
• Service Stations - Advising petroleum company on commercial, environmental, landlord-tenant and environmental issues in connection with service portfolio.
• Shopping Center - Providing environmental and landlord/tenant advice to major shopping center owner.
• Environmental - Advising television and radio company on environmental issues related to acquisition and disposition of properties.

Litigation Representative Matters

•  BP West Coast Products - Represented BP West Coast Products in five different federal District Court cases in which franchisee/dealers challenged the methodology BP used in offering dealers right of first refusal to purchase gas station properties that were sold under a sealed-bid process involving over 40 facilities. After extensive discovery, we obtained summary judgments in favor of BP, which were recently affirmed by the Ninth Circuit. BP West Coast Products LLC v. May et al., 447 F.3d 658 (9th Cir. 2006).
• Consumer Defense Group v. Shell Oil Company - Represented BP West Coast Products in Proposition 65 case in which plaintiff alleged major oil companies and industrial companies violated Proposition 65 by not adequately remediating landfill and posting Proposition 65 warnings. BP's demurrer was sustained by the Orange County Superior Court and case was affirmed by the California Court of Appeal for the 4th District.
• H-Cap v. Creto Industries, Inc. - Represented US/Hong Kong concrete sealant manufacture in trademark infringement and breach of contract action against US company in United States District Court for Nevada. After extensive briefing and argument, District Court entered a judgment and permanent injunction requested by H-Cap.
• Department of Health Services v. Chevron - Currently defending major oil company in cost recovery action filed by State of California against numerous parties for sending waste oil from 1950 to 1980 to a waste oil recycling facility in Sacramento.
• Franchise - Representing numerous franchisors on litigation involving termination and regulatory matters.

International Matters

•  International Iran-US Claims Tribunal - Prosecuted and negotiated claim for payment by major US engineering company and defended claim of professional negligence.
• Supreme Court of Palau - Defended claim of professional negligence involving bridge collapse in Palau.

News/Publications

Recent News and Articles

News

11.05.09 Archer Norris Strengthens California Presence

Seminars

Jeff appears and speaks regularly at conferences involving the petroleum industry, including:

1. “To Sell or Not to Sell: Selling the Station, But Keeping the Brand,” Petroleum Marketing Attorneys Conference, Washington, D.C., 2004
2. “Defending the Oil Company in State Court and under State Laws,” Petroleum Marketing Attorneys Conference, Washington, D.C., 2004