Helping To Solve (or Prevent) Legal Problems For Self-Storage Facility Operators

Few litigators have more experience representing the self-storage industry than Jeffrey Cowan. Since 1993, Mr. Cowan has represented self-storage facility operators, including nine years where he handled much of the Southern California litigation of Public Storage, Inc. and its affiliated businesses (and some of its Northern California litigation too).

As a result of the dozens and dozens of lawsuits that he has defended for self-storage facility operators, Mr. Cowan has seen and resolved almost every possible claim that can arise: defective lien sales, thefts by third parties and employees, fraud, battery by employees against tenants, damage to stored property, deceptive advertising, and employee discrimination without litigation, getting lawsuits dismissed on a motion (thereby eliminating the need for trial and its resulting expense), and winning Superior Court trials. To date, no plaintiff’s lawyer has sued one of Mr. Cowan’s clients twice.

Mr. Cowan also has handled multiple appeals for self-storage industry clients. His successes include informally “intervening” in Gonzales v. Personal Storage, 56 Cal. App. 4th 464 (1997), by filing an amicus brief that persuaded the court to modify its published opinion and correct an ambiguity that could have weakened the enforceability of exculpatory clauses in self-storage facility leases.

How can our expertise help you?

Aside from handling any lawsuit that you have to defend (or prosecute), here are a few of the things we can do:

Review your lease to make sure that it will protect you against some of the more common “creative” claims brought by tenants
Help you respond to demand letters by tenants
Help your employees prepare to defend small claims lawsuits when lawyers are not allowed in court
Give advice about terminating tenancies
Help you respond to requests from law enforcement agencies for access to tenant units or information about a tenant
Answer any questions you may have regarding lien sales