Scott Ditfurth is a civil litigator with an emphasis on public entity defense litigation and real property-related disputes for both private and public clients. A partner in Best Best & Krieger LLP’s Riverside office, his practice broadly encompasses all aspects and stages of litigation for  clients in a variety of settings. Scott practices in both state and federal court. Specifically, Scott’s litigation practice encompasses public entity defense, real property disputes, land use claims and writs, inverse condemnation, easement disputes, eminent domain, contract claims and construction claims.

Scott has worked with a number of public clients, including the cities of Arcadia, Goleta, Hillsborough, Lafayette, Ontario, Palm Springs, Pomona, Redlands, Santa Ana and San Buenaventura, the Riverside County Transportation Commission, the Western Municipal Water District, the San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency, the Western Riverside Council of Governments, the Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority,  the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority and the Western Riverside Counsel of Governments.

At BB&K, Scott is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, and is involved with associate development and training. He is very active in local professional and community organizations, including the Riverside County Bar Association, Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful, the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce and the Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center.

Scott is admitted to various Districts of the U.S. District Court in California and the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Representative Matters

• Inverse Condemnation: Successfully defend public entities against claims of inverse condemnation related to regulatory takings and physical takings claims.
• Writs: Experience and success in defending public entities regarding writs of mandate related to land use decisions, development decisions and code enforcement decisions.
• Brown Act: Experience and success in defending public entities in alleged violations of the Brown Act.
• Real Property Litigation (Property Development): Successfully represented interests of a developer in obtaining mineral rights judgment to develop property for commercial use.
• Transient Occupancy: Successful defense of public agency against class action lawsuit related to the use and implementation of transient occupancy taxes. Obtained summary judgment verdict.
• Eminent Domain: Represented public agencies in claim for property acquisition, resulting in a jury verdict that represented the appraisal amount set forth by the public agency.
• Transportation: Successfully defended lawsuits related to violations of Street & Highways Code and Tolling Services.
• Construction Litigation: Successfully represented a contractor at jury trial for breach of contract as a result of a developer’s failure to provide payment for the construction of a multi-million dollar retail shopping center. Obtained a jury verdict of $2.7 million, as well as successfully defended against the developer’s cross-complaint for claims of construction defect. Both judgments were successfully upheld on appeal.

Education

• Whittier Law School, J.D., magna cum laude
• California State University, Fullerton, B.A.

Admissions

• California

Memberships

• Riverside County Bar Association
• Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful, member
• Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Committee, member
• Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce, Executive Committee
• Riverside Downtown Business Council

Awards

• Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars, Business Litigation, 2013-2015