Practice Areas
Practice Description
Craig Farrington is a Director and Co-chair of Woodruff & Smart’s eminent domain practice group. He is a trial lawyer with over 35 years of experience in state and federal courts. He has successfully handled mediations, binding arbitrations, bench trials, and jury trials. He has litigated hundreds of cases involving torts, business litigation, and eminent domain. In addition to the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) and the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), he has represented more than 30 public agencies in tort, eminent domain, and contract litigation. For the past 15 years, Mr. Farrington has focused his practice on advising public agencies on the process of acquiring the property necessary to build public infrastructure projects. He has served in that capacity for several agencies including SBCTA and OCTA and assisted in the completion of over 30 major public infrastructure improvement projects.
Mr. Farrington advises public agencies through all phases of the acquisition process, from early planning through litigation. He has represented public agencies on various types of public improvement projects involving rail, freeway expansion, railroad grade separations, roadway expansion, and sewer line improvements. In the last 15 years, he has represented public agencies in the acquisition of property interests thereby allowing over $5 billion in public infrastructure projects to proceed.
Professional Activities
Mr. Farrington is a member of the Orange County Bar Association and a member of the International Right-of-Way Association.
Representative Matters
- Represented SBCTA in the acquisition of property interests for roadway and freeway expansion projects. Involved in the negotiation, litigation, and acquisition of over 150 property interests to allow the construction of four grade separation projects and the I-15/I-215 Devore Junction Goods Movement Improvement Project
- Represents SBCTA in the acquisition of property interests for the $929 million I-10 Corridor Project
- Represents SBCTA in the acquisition of property interests for the I-215 Barton Road Interchange Project
- Represents SBCTA in the acquisition of property interests for the US 395 Widening Project
- Represents SBCTA in the acquisition of property interests for the 210 MFLA/Baseline Project
- Represents SBCTA in the acquisition of property interests for the SR-60 Archibald Interchange Project
- Represents SBCTA in the acquisition of property interests for the SR-60 Central Avenue Interchange Project
- Represented OCTA in condemnation lawsuits to acquire property rights for the construction of railroad improvement projects including the Anaheim Layover Rail Facility and the Fullerton Turnback Rail Facility
- Counsel for OCTA in the acquisition of property interests for a $550 million expansion of the SR-22, a 12-mile design-build project through the Cities of Orange, Garden Grove and Westminster
- Represented OCTA in acquiring property for the OC Bridges Program, a $630 million public project to improve 7 railroad crossings within Orange County. The program timely acquired all property interests necessary to meet deadlines to qualify for funding and allow construction to begin
- Represented the City of Yucaipa to acquire the necessary property interests to allow the I-10 Live Oak Canyon/ Interstate 10 Interchange Project to proceed
- Assisted in the negotiation, litigation and acquisition of 200 property interests for the South Coast Water District to allow for a $90 million sewer tunnel improvement project
- Represented the City of Newport Beach in connection with the Jamboree Road Widening Overcrossing State Route 73 Project
Education
- Pepperdine University School of Law (J.D., 1986)
- University of California, Irvine (B.A., 1983)