Mr. Curnutt has been with Rutan & Tucker since graduating from UCLA Law School in 1964. Dick became a partner in 1970, was managing partner from 1980 through 1983 and was the head of the Real Estate Section from 1992 through 1999. His practice experience includes a full range of real estate matters, representing developers in all types of real estate transactions, as well as representing lenders and developers in real estate financing transactions, including tax-exempt financings for apartments and other projects. Currently, his primary clients are real estate developers and financial institutions.

Real Estate Acquisition

Involved in numerous option agreements, purchase and sale agreements and escrow instructions representing and development and disposition agreements, representing both sellers and buyers of real property together with due diligence, review of title, working with escrow companies and closings of the transactions.

Development

Have worked in obtaining governmental approvals, drafting of covenants, conditions and restrictions, easement agreements, agreements with adjoining landowners concerning sharing of infrastructure costs, vesting maps and development agreements.

Shopping Center Development

Represent numerous shopping center developers in connection with acquisition of existing centers and land on which to construct centers, development of centers, covenant, conditions and restrictions, declarations involving major tenants, major tenant leasing, financing and restructure of financing.

Leasing

Involved in many commercial and office leases representing both landlords and tenants; represented restaurant chains, markets and smaller tenants; represented landlords and tenants in shopping centers and office and industrial buildings.

Financing

Involved in many loan transactions representing lenders and residential, commercial and industrial developers including residential loans for offsite improvements, model homes and construction; involved in phased construction loans with complicated cross-default, cross-collateralization and release provisions; involved in tax-exempt financing including, between 1984 and 1986, in excess of $1 billion in tax-exempt multi-family housing bonds; construction and permanent loans on regional shopping centers, large office complexes and industrial parks.

Workouts and Restructuring

Involved in foreclosures, deeds in lieu of foreclosure and related issues.

Construction Contracts

Negotiated and drafted numerous construction contracts, architects agreements, subcontracts including construction contracts relating to the conversion of open-air shopping centers to enclosed malls, construction contracts on major office buildings, construction management agreements and in several instances construction contracts representing the contractor.

Partnerships

Drafted in excess of two hundred partnership agreements as well as amendments to partnership agreements and restatements of partnership agreements, dissolution of partnerships, restructures, enforcement of buy-sell provisions, involved in partnership disputes and conversion of general partnerships to limited partnerships.

Other Areas

Working knowledge of CEQA, environmental issues, bankruptcy as it relates to real estate, tax-exempt financing, Mello-Roos Bonds, partnership taxation and property tax issues.

SPECIFIC PROJECTS

• Orange County Performing Arts Center
• South Coast Executive Center
• Coastline Community College Ancillary Campus in Garden Grove
• Stonewood Shopping Center (a regional shopping center in Downey, California)
• Riverside Plaza Shopping Center
• Atlantic Medical Center (Long Beach)
• Residential projects in the City of Yorba Linda
• Lake Hills residential project in the City of Riverside
• Rancho Cielo residential project (adjoining Coto de Caza)
• Wallace Ranch (numerous residential developments in Anaheim Hills)
• Garden Promenade Shopping Center in Garden Grove
• Carlsbad Plaza Shopping Center in Carlsbad
• Hyundai Building in Fountain Valley, California
• ITT Cannon Building in Irvine, California
• South Pointe Apartment Project in Costa Mesa, California
• Park Place (an ongoing project in Irvine California involving 414 apartment and condominium units and massive infrastructure)
• Seco III & IV (an ongoing 922 single-family residential project near Santa Clarita)
• Rolling Hills Ranch residential project of approximately 3,000 single-family and multi-family units in the City of Chula Vista
• Portola Hills (an ongoing residential project in the unincorporated area of Orange County)
• Ford Road (a residential project in Newport Beach)

REPRESENTATIVE EXISTING CLIENTS

• Arnel Development and George Argyros - Major apartment owner and developer, office building developer, shopping center developer, equity partner, land developer and real estate investor. Drafted numerous partnership agreements; involved in a restructuring of multilevel entries including two partnerships with one partner being bought out with issues relating to income taxes, employment contract, bonus agreement based on future performance of the projects and covenants not to compete; Arnel became a partner with Woodcrest Development in the acquisition of the Southern California holdings of Campeau; negotiated the partnership agreements on behalf of Arnel with Woodcrest Development for the Campeau project and became involved in the processing, development and sale of portions of the acreage to merchant builders.
• Hughes Investments - Major shopping center developer including the owner of a regional shopping center in Downey and numerous other shopping centers throughout California. Involved in major tenant leasing, financing, covenants, conditions and restrictions; addition of major department stores to existing regional centers, conversion of two "open-air" shopping centers to enclosed malls, drafted construction contracts in connection with the enclosure of the malls along with architects' agreements and agreements with other consultants; involved in disputes arising from those contracts.
• Western National Investments (formerly Western National Properties) - Western National Investments is a long-time apartment developer. Involved in several smaller residential projects; involved in financing and restructuring of financing; construction contracts, development management agreements, construction management agreements and property management agreements with The Irvine Company, drafting partnership agreements including a partnership agreement with the Irvine Ranch Water District as equity partner; and sales of projects.
• QB Properties and QBM Companies - Developer of office buildings (including South Coast Executive Center), power centers, shopping centers and industrial parks. Worked on partnership agreement with financial partner relating to South Coast Executive Center and subsequently a restructure of the partnership including a conversion from a general partnership to a limited partnership; involved in financing and a restructure of that financing.
• Moran and Co. - Syndicator based in Chicago with approximately eight projects in California. Involved in formation of partnerships where the syndications are equity partners; involved in the financing of projects and some entitlement issues including disputes with governmental agencies over the payment of fees and restrictions on development; many projects on "affordable housing" financed through tax exempt bonds.
• Spiers Enterprises - Land developer who acquires real estate and obtains entitlements and sells to merchant builders. Provided legal services for three projects in the City of Carlsbad (one ongoing) and one project in the City of Danville with work including such things as negotiating and drafting options, purchase and sale agreements and escrow instructions, due diligence, negotiating with governmental agencies over entitlements, agreements with adjoining landowners over sharing of expenses for infrastructure, disputes involving payment of governmental fees, drafting partnership agreements with equity partners, liquidation of partnerships, tax-deferred exchanges upon sales.
• Coast Community College District - General real estate work including negotiation of a Development and Disposition Agreement with the Garden Grove Development Agency for a satellite campus in Garden Grove and with the City of Westminster for a satellite campus in Westminster; leases of office space; licensing of cellular phone antennae and restaurant facilities.
• Pacific Bay Properties (formerly JM Development and FN Development) - Second tier subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and formerly a sister company to First Nationwide Savings Bank; this entity was formed to take over the management and development of numerous properties in California and other states in which First Nationwide Savings Bank is the owner, many of which are being developed by outside developers under development management agreements; the work involves all aspects of development including property acquisition and sales, construction contracts, government processing, compliance with California Department of Real Estate regulations, negotiations with the developers under the development management agreements, condemnation and a wide variety of real property and public law issues.
• Orange County Performing Arts Center - Act as general counsel; performed all legal services in connection with the development and construction of the Center itself, which was completed in 1987, including gift of the land, construction contracts, construction disputes, contracts with consultants such as acoustical experts and a parking agreement and is presently working on the development of a new concert hall.
• Shaw Industrial - Developer of industrial and office buildings in Orange and other Southern California counties.
• California National Bank - Has assisted a lender's counsel on a variety of construction loans, mini-perms, loan extensions and participations.
• The Ezralow Company - Major real estate owner and developer. Worked on numerous financing transactions, formation of entities, dissolution of entities and structuring of tax deferred exchanges.

PRACTICE GROUPS

• Affordable Housing/Economic Development
• Bankruptcy/Financial Practices
• Real Estate

EDUCATION

• UCLA School of Law (L.L.B 1964 Phi Delta Phi, Order of the Coif)
• Pomona College (B.A 1961)

MEMBERSHIPS/ADMISSIONS

• State Bar of California (Real Estate)
• Orange County Bar Association (Real Estate)
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

COMMUNITY/AFFILIATIONS

• Big Canyon Country Club, Board of Directors 1975-1978; President, 1976-1977;Member of Long Range Planning Committee 1989-1995
• Pacific Club, Founder; Member of Board of Directors 1982-1986; Secretary-Treasurer 1987-1993;Chairman of the Finance Committee, 1987-1989;President 1990-1992; Director Emeritus Member of Long Range Planning Committee, 1993-1998

AWARDS & HONORS

• Southern California “Super Lawyer” 2006-2010
• Southern California "Super Lawyer" Corporate Counsel Edition, 2010

FIRM ACTIVITIES

• Department Head of the Real Estate Department, 1992-2000
• Managing Partner, 1980-1983
• Member of the Executive Committee, 1992-2000