Following the death of Wen Zheng’s wife at age 88, Wen’s son, who had been holding multiple pieces of real property and hundreds of thousands of dollars in trust for his parents, told Wen, “Your house is mine and you will have to go to Court to get it back.” 

Over several weeks in November and December 2022, Patrick M. Maloney and Gregory M. Smith tried the matter on Wen’s behalf to Judge Schwarm of the Orange County Superior Court. 

On June 6, Judge Schwarm finalized a statement of decision that gave Wen a decisive victory. Wen was awarded everything he had asked for – complete ownership of his primary residence, 50% ownership of an investment property, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in back rent.  Further, Judge Schwarm found that Wen’s son had acted with malice and would be subject to punitive damages.  The punitive damages trial is set for July 7. 

Gregory M. Smith delivered the opening and closing statements, conducted the direct examination of Wen, Wen’s experts, and third party witnesses, and cross-examined third party witnesses.  Patrick M. Maloney cross-examined the defendant and third party witnesses and authored the closing brief.

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