Practice Areas
Practice Description
Mark Monachino’s practice focuses on real property matters, particularly preparation of transactional documents and litigation relating to commercial leases, purchase and sale agreements, land use, development agreements, quiet title, landlord-tenant disputes, commercial business transactions, eminent domain, and inverse condemnation.
Mr. Monachino is a member of the firm’s eminent domain practice group. He routinely advises clients concerning all facets of property acquisitions from single-family residences to large industrial business parks. Mr. Monachino is adept at negotiating and implementing real property transactions and deals, including interacting with financial institutions, business owners, utility companies, and other government entities; analyzing and developing goodwill and real property appraisals; reviewing title reports, grant deeds, right-of-way interests, Conditions, Covenants & Restrictions, and other property interests.
Professional Activities
Mr. Monachino was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1989 and is a member of the Orange County Bar Association. Admitted to United States District Court, Central District of California.
Representative Matters
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- Handled on behalf of a public agency in excess of 40 eminent domain matters on grade separation and freeway widening projects, which involved many complex real property acquisitions, valuation and mitigation issues, and loss of goodwill claims by business owners
- Represented public entity as real property counsel for purchase of $22 million office building
- Represented private client in sale of condominium sale in Century City, Los Angeles
- Represented private client in negotiation of lease for pizza restaurant and sale of restaurant
- Successfully defended public agency from claim seeking to impose equitable easement and injunctive relief for use of public property
- Successfully defended city in action brought by shareholders of mutual water company seeking to rescind purchase of water company shares and re-acquire real property assets
- Drafted numerous licenses, deeds, and easements for public agency regarding railroad right of way
- Prepared legal analysis for private client on legal rights for 27-acre landlocked parcel to access public road for potential development opportunities
- Drafted and prepared loan agreement, promissory, note and deed of trust for multi-million-dollar office building owned by private client
- Draft and prepare Development Agreement, Disposition and Development Agreement, and Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions for development of 7-unit short term family housing
- Advise transit agency on various aspects regarding development of transportation hub, including survey review, draft of purchase agreements and easements, and examination of other title issues
- Represented a city over several years of litigation against nationally recognized developers regarding a dispute over $60 million infrastructure agreements relating to the former Tustin Marine Corps base
- Successfully litigated on behalf of a city, including drafting all the court of appeal briefs, a $7.5 million claim filed by a hotel developer against a city for fraud, lender liability, breach of contract, indemnity, and inverse condemnation
- Represented a city against a large community developer seeking to prevent the sale and seeking reversion of several acres of undeveloped land previously dedicated to the city by the developer
- Negotiated and drafted all documents for a public company’s purchase of a $4.5 million commercial building
- Negotiated and drafted lease on behalf of the largest restaurant tenant at a new $150 million shopping center in Huntington Beach
- Negotiated and drafted a lease on behalf of a public agency for a new space of approximately 39,000 square feet, including an extensive work letter agreement
Drafted all documentation, including grant deeds, bill of sale, right-of-way easements, traffic signal maintenance agreement, real property purchase agreement, for development of an In-N-Out restaurant site
Education
- Loyola Law School, Los Angeles (J.D., cum laude, 1989)
- University of Notre Dame (B.A., Philosophy, 1986)
- University of Notre Dame (B.S., Electrical Engineering, 1985)