Hon. Ronald S. Prager (Ret.)
Mediator | Arbitrator | Special Master | Civil Judge & Appellate Consultant
“I’m excited to do the work I love at Signature Resolution. I’m ready to take on challenges but most importantly work one-on-one with people to resolve disputes.”
Case Administrator
Practice Areas
- Admiralty
- Business and Commercial Contracts
- Catastrophic Injury
- Class Action
- Construction
- Employment
- Environmental and CEQA
- Insurance
- Intellectual Property
- Mass Tort
- Personal Injury
- Premises Liability
- Product Liability
- Professional Liability
- Professional Malpractice
- Real Estate
Education
- J.D., University of Southern California School of Law (1969)
- B.A., Pomona College, Claremont, California
- Association of Business Trial Lawyers, executive committee, three multi-year terms.
- Advisor Judge to State Bar of California Litigation section, 2004–2014
- Master and member of the executive committee, Wallace Inn of Court, 2005–present
Biography
After serving 29 years as a judge for the Superior Court of San Diego and five years at Judicate West, Hon. Ronald S. Prager (Ret.) has joined Signature Resolution in San Diego. In his impressive tenure he sat as the Assigned Judge, Court of Appeal, Judge in the Superior Court of San Diego, and Judge in the El Cajon Municipal Court.
Widely known as one of the finest judges in California, Judge Prager still prides himself on building genuine connections. As he showed in his five years as a mediator at Judicate West, he is nuanced and pragmatic when handling complex matters, deciphering the key issues to settle high stakes cases. Judge Prager is especially successful at finding a middle ground, relying on his abilities to read the room and fairly assess the key points of both the plaintiff and defendant.
Prior to working in alternative dispute resolution, Judge Prager served as the assigned judge on the Court of Appeal in San Diego and authored seven published opinions in civil cases. He is known for handling complex cases such as the statewide coordinated tobacco class actions and the natural gas antitrust while also managing the calendars of more than 1,000 cases, including all law motion matters and case management conferences.
Judge Prager presided over dozens of California JCCP tobacco class actions for many years, including a trial against Philip Morris for claims based on health risks associated with smoking light cigarettes. He also handled a highly publicized case against RJ Reynolds involving targeting youth in its tobacco advertising.
Additionally, Judge Prager served as statewide coordination judge in natural gas anti-trust cases, including a lengthy jury trial against El Paso Natural Gas for price-fixing, which resulted in a multi-billion-dollar settlement during trial.
Judge Prager was 2016’s Consumer Attorneys of San Diego, Judge of the Year. He is the co-author of Matthew Bender Practice Guide: California Trial and Post Trial Civil Procedure, Consultant to CEB publication: California Summary Judgement, 2013, 2014, 2105. And he has been the Presenter on trial procedure and practice at numerous seminars for lawyers sponsored by the American Bar Association, Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and various Inns of Court.
Experience
- Mediator/Arbitrator Judicate West (2016-2021)
- Assigned Judge, Court of Appeal (2015-2016)
- Judge, Superior Court of San Diego (1989-2015)
- Judge, El Cajon Municipal Court (1988-89)
- California Deputy Attorney General, including last two years as Chief Attorney, Attorney General’s Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Patient Abuse (1981-1988)
- Enforcement Attorney, State of California Fair Political Practices Commission (1980-1981)
- Legal Counsel, California Fair Political Practices Commission (1979-1980)
- San Diego Deputy District Attorney (1970-1979)
Professional Achievements and Memberships
- Judge of the Year, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego (2016)
- Presenter on trial procedure and practice at numerous seminars for lawyers sponsored by the American Bar Association, Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and various Inns of Court.
- Co-author of Matthew Bender Practice Guide: California Trial and Post Trial Civil Procedure, Consultant to CEB publication: California Summary Judgment, 2013, 2014, 2015.