Tamzarian brings trial judge's eye for fairness to 2nd District

Justice Armen Tamzarian had a published Court of Appeal opinion to his name more than two years before he joined the court.

While still a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge sitting by assignment in the 2nd District's Division 5, he wrote in Tufeld Corp. v. Beverly Hills Gateway, L.P. (2022) that a Beverly Hills ground lease extending beyond the 99-year limit in Civil Code Section 718 was void to that extent, not merely voidable.

"Perpetuities are problematic because it is very difficult for the current generation to predict conditions future generations will face," he wrote.

Voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to retain Tamzarian for a full 12-year term.

Before he joined the appellate court in June 2025, Tamzarian spent more than 11 years on the Superior Court, where his dealings with self-represented litigants and jurors were among his most fulfilling experiences, he wrote in an email.

As a family law judge, he once granted a domestic violence restraining order against a man who then thanked him. "Well, you really listened to me. You gave me a fair hearing," the man said, Tamzarian recalled in a Daily Journal profile.

"That was one of the best days I had as a judge because I thought, 'OK, I did my job,'" he said. "Having somebody have faith in the system matters."

Parents who had fought for years over custody and support wept in relief after he brokered a resolution. "The key was my discussion of the impact their fighting was having on their children," he recalled.

"I know that as a trial court judge, I could have done better in every aspect of judging," he wrote. "But when I got it right with self-represented litigants and jurors, it was very fulfilling."

Tamzarian's published opinions since joining Division 4 include his most recent, Doe v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (2026), issued Oct. 5.

A wealth adviser alleged a colleague sexually assaulted her on a business trip. The colleague said the encounter was consensual, and a bank investigation found her claims unsubstantiated.

She argued the bank was strictly liable under the Fair Employment and Housing Act because he supervised support staff, though not her. Her reading would impose strict liability "based on irrelevant facts," Tamzarian wrote. An employer is strictly liable only when the harasser is "the plaintiff's supervisor acting in the capacity of a supervisor when the harassment occurs," he wrote.

In Microsoft Corp. v. Superior Court (2026), he upheld an order barring Microsoft from telling the University of Southern California, even through a trusted contact, about a warrant for a graduate student's university email account in a rape investigation. "The stakes are too high--even if the risk is low," he wrote.

As a trial judge in 2024, he let the rock band KISS's longtime hairstylist pursue a wrongful termination suit, rejecting the argument that he was an independent contractor. "Unlike most bands, KISS's usual course of business involved maintaining each member's distinctive appearance," Tamzarian wrote.

Gov. Jerry Brown appointed him to the Superior Court in 2013. He spent nearly five years in family law, then handled civil trials and an independent calendar docket of about 800 cases.

Previously, he worked five years for 2nd District Justice Patti S. Kitching, drafting opinions in more than 200 appeals and writs.

"When I left my law firm and started here at the Court of Appeal, the clouds parted for me," he said at his confirmation hearing. "I learned something about myself: I love the law. I don't necessarily like being an advocate. I'm much better suited to be a neutral."

Earlier, he was a partner at Case, Knowlson, Jordan & Wright LLP, handling business litigation and constitutional challenges to government regulations.

Born in Kuwait, Tamzarian came to the United States from Lebanon as a boy. He worked as an insurance claims adjuster before graduating from Southwestern Law School in 1995.