John S. Moot is Senior Counsel at Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP and is located in the San Diego office. He has four decades of experience in the practice of law. He is part of FMG’s Commercial Litigation/D&O, Construction & Design Law, Government Law, Insurance Coverage and Tort & Catastrophic Loss practice sections. Mr. Moot is ranked by The Best Lawyers in America®.

Mr. Moot defends and prosecutes civil cases in state and federal court in a variety of different practice areas, including directors’ and officers’ liability, personal injury, construction and real estate, land use, HOA disputes, breach of contract, trade secret, and tort and fraud claims in all types of business litigation. He represents governmental agencies as well as private parties doing business with the government.

Mr. Moot has successfully argued cases in the California Supreme Court, the Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal and the State Appellate Courts. They include a California Supreme Court case, Sweetwater v. Gilbane, decided by a unanimous 7-0 decision.

Mr. Moot is very involved in the community where he lives. He served six years on the Chula Vista City Council and two years as Deputy Mayor. He is currently the Chairman and serves on the Executive Committee for the South County Economic Development Council and sits on the Board of Directors for I Love A Clean San Diego. Mr. Moot is a fourth-generation attorney. His father, grandfather and great grandfather all practiced law in Buffalo, NY.

California

Federal District Court, Central District of California

Federal District Court, Southern District of California

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Southern, Central and District of California

• “Chula Vista Has Opportunity to Transform the West Side,” The San Diego Union Tribune, South County, Opinion, December 9, 2004
• “Reflections on a Decade of Public Service,” The Star News, January 12, 2001
• “Construction Defects, Condo Resurgence Should Benefit All,” The San Diego Union Tribune, Opinion, December 22, 2000
• “Power in the Hands of Local Governments,” The San Diego Union Tribune, Opinion, May 7, 1999

• Sweetwater Union High School Dist. v. Gilbane Building Co. (2019) 6 Cal 5th 931. Represented the District and recovered over $8 million dollars in a civil anti-corruption lawsuit
• Grand Central West v the Metropolitan Transit District. Land use trial involving access to a governmental Facility. Phase one decided access favorable to client. Multi-million damage award obtained in mediation after phase 1 trial: Kashat v Wabash and University. Real estate dispute over sale of commercial property
• Casey v. Overhead Door Corp. (1999) 74 Cal. App.4th 112. Construction defect lawsuit decided in favor of Overhead Door based on economic loss doctrine

• 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America^®
• UCAN's Public Interest Attorney Award (2019)
• UCAN's Top attorneys in San Diego selected by The San Diego Daily Transcript in the area of real estate/construction litigation (2009, 2010)
• University of San Diego’s Center for Public Interest Law Wall of Fame (2006)