Skye Daley is a Shareholder at Buchalter. His practice is focused on representing clients in high stakes, complex business and commercial litigation and arbitration

Skye represents clients ranging from small businesses and start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, semi-governmental agencies and banking institutions. He has experience representing his clients in both state and federal court, as well as in arbitration and in administrative proceedings. In addition to business and commercial litigation, Skye has extensive experience representing employers in a variety of employment matters, advising his clients on questions of labor and employment compliance, and forcefully and successfully asserting his client’s rights in trade secret disputes.

Recently, Skye obtained a full defense award on behalf of a San Diego-based financial institution following a four-day arbitration. A cross-complaint had been filed against Skye’s client by one of its borrowers alleging, inter alia, negligent misrepresentation and fraud in the inducement of the borrower’s loan agreements claiming Skye’s client made representations inconsistent with the express terms of the loan agreements. The Arbitrator rejected borrower’s claims and found that Skye’s client’s representations and conduct were consistent with the express terms of the loan agreements and within customary industry standards for banking institutions, resulting in no exposure to borrower’s multi-million dollar claim.

In addition to his work in litigation, Skye has recently had scholarly work published in Bloomberg Law discussing the origins and basics of the Common Interest Doctrine and its application as a tool in litigation. He is the Chair of the Cathedral City Planning Commission, a member of the Riverside County Superior Court’s Subcommittee to Eliminate Bias and Promote Equal Justice and the Bench-Bar Subcommittee, a past member of the Board of Governors of the LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles, and is a coach of the La Quinta High School mock trial team.

In 2023 and again in 2024, Skye was recognized as a “Rising Star” in San Diego by Super Lawyers Magazine.

Bar Admissions

• California

Education

• Pepperdine University School of Law
• Northeastern University

Significant Accomplishments
<ul><li>(ADR Services, Inc., Los Angeles) Trial Counsel- Obtained a full defense award on behalf Mr. Daley’s San Diego based financial institution client. A cross-complaint was filed against Mr. Daley’s client by one of its borrowers alleging, <em>inter alia</em>, negligent misrepresentation and fraud in the inducement of the borrower’s loan agreements claiming Mr. Daley’s client made representations inconsistent with the express terms of the loan agreements. The Court rejected borrower’s claims and found that Mr. Daley’s client’s representations and conduct were consistent with the express terms of the loan agreements and within customary industry standards for banking institutions, resulting in no exposure to borrower’s multi-million dollar claim.</li><li>(Riverside County Superior Court) – Represented homeowners in the Coachella Valley who filed suit against their general contractor at the conclusion of a $3.6 million renovation project that ended with a fire that burned Mr. Daley’s client’s home down. Following an evidentiary hearing, the Court found that the general contractor was unlicensed at the time of the project and had not “substantially complied” with California’s contractor licensing laws (the sole defense to an unlicensed contractor claim), leaving the contractor potentially liable for the return of all monies paid.</li><li>(San Bernardino County Superior Court) – Negotiated a nuisance value settlement on behalf of a banking institution client that was sued for more than $7,000,000.00 in damages while our client’s motion to dismiss was pending.</li><li>(Riverside County Superior Court) – In a defamation case, obtained an early, complete dismissal at the pleading stage of the litigation, on behalf of client vis-à-vis an anti-SLAPP motion.</li><li>(San Joaquin County Superior Court) – In a trade secrets litigation involving customer lists and data, obtained a Temporary Restraining Order and then a Preliminary Injunction preventing Mr. Daley’s client’s competitor from targeting his client’s customers.</li></ul>

• Buchalter COVID-19 Client Alert: San Francisco Moves to Lowest COVID Tier in California, Begins Process of Reopening Non-Essential Offices; Other Bay Area Counties Slower to Follow

  By Skye Daley |November 2020

Additional Articles

• Are You My Employer?
• Common Interest Doctrine as Litigation Tool
• The Gray Zone in the Power of Local Municipalities: Where Zoning Authority Clashes with State and Federal Law