D. Keith B. Dunnagan

Keith is the Managing Shareholder at BPE and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the firm.

Keith’s clients largely consist of investors, developers, businesses and professional services providers with business interests in California and Washington including commercial and residential real estate, financing, and corporate entities. As the managing transactional attorney for BPE, his practice focuses on the routine business transactions of his clients involving business formations, corporate governance, financing, and real estate transactions. The key to Keith’s success is his understanding of available financing models and business structures necessary to finance a transaction.

As a leading authority on real estate and finance matters, Keith is regularly retained as a consultant or expert when property and financing issues overlap in litigation matters.

Keith also maintains a specialized practice in dental law, where he represents dentists in California on issues ranging from corporate formation, leasing, practice sales, succession planning, financing and equipment purchases. Because of the regulatory compliance required of dental professional under the Dental Practices Act, this is a highly specialized area of Keith’s corporate practice. The key to Keith’s success is his understanding of the complex set of laws impacting dentists and their practices and working closely with other parties to a transaction to reach practical solutions to any transactional problem that may arise.

Representative Matters

Recent Transactional Matters include:

  • Represent developer in the acquisition of real property for $2.1M for development purposes
  • Represent and advise business owner on purchasing a minority stake of a company out of receivership
  • Represent commercial landlord in negotiation of lease with a national tenant
  • Represent minority business owner in the sale of business interest for $490K
  • Represent minority business owner in the sale of an interest in a wine production business for 3x the amount offered by purchaser
  • Represent Real Estate investor in negotiating a loan workout obtaining a discounted payoff ~45% less than the balance owed
  • Represent Real Estate investor in the sale of a medical office facility for $1.725M
  • Represent local church in the merger with another local church and acquisition of real property and assumption of existing loan
  • Represent Seller in a $2.4M land sale for development purposes
  • Represent Buyers in a property purchase of $800k for development purposes
  • Represent Seller/Lender in sale of $1M property with cross-collateralized securitization
  • Represent business owner in sale of carrier business interest
  • Represent developer in an $16M construction financing loan
  • Represent developer in $8M joint venture capital raise
  • Representation of multiple business owners related to SBA financing
  • Represent land owner in a lot line agreement related to development property impacting over 300 acres
  • Represent Seller’s in a Bay area development transaction in excess of $3M
  • Represent owners, developers and operators of RCFEs
  • Representation of investors in $2.5M refinance of a multi-family residential building

Recent Dental Matters include:

  • Represent multiple Dentists in practice transitions on both the buy side and sale side
  • Represent Dentists in negotiating contracts for tenant improvements
  • Represent Dental Group in $4M construction financing transaction for a dental office building
  • Represent Dentists in formation of partnerships and professional corporations
  • Advise Dentists regarding equipment purchases and sales
  • Advise Dentists on leasing issues and preparation of practice for sale
  • Represent Dentist in SBA loan resolution

Litigation Matters

  • Represent business owner in successfully negotiating a reduction of a labor board award down by 50%
  • Co-Counsel representing buyer in a specific performance case involving the purchase of commercial warehouse space for agricultural purposes and negotiating a settlement involving the transfer of the property to the client
  • Defense of investors in a civil RICO case in federal court, obtaining complete dismissal
  • Represent investment group in purchase of commercial loan and judicial foreclosure of loan including appointment of receiver
  • Represent investor/borrower in commercial collection cases, successfully negotiating a settlement for less than 5% of the debt alleged by lender
  • Represent Defendant in multi-national estate litigation involving estate settlement, fraudulent transfer of assets, complex business transactions and integration with ancillary proceedings arising in seven countries successfully negotiating a beneficial resolution to the matter
  • Real estate litigation including eminent domain matters and defense of a County issued conditional use permit

Prior to relocating to California and joining BPE in 2008, Keith a was a partner at the Ellensburg, Washington, law firm of Lathrop, Winbauer, Harrel, Slothower and Denison, where he maintained a general practice. During his time in Washington, he also served as a pro tem judge for the Kittitas County District Court.

Keith was a double major at Central Washington University, in Ellensburg, Washington earning Bachelor of Arts in both History and Political Science in 2001. He then completed his legal studies at Willamette University, in Salem, Oregon earning in Juris Doctorate in 2004.

Keith is a member of Washington State Bar, the California State Bar and is admitted to practice in all the state courts of California and Washington, along with the Federal Courts for the Eastern District of California, the Northern District of California, the Western District of Washington, and the Eastern District of Washington.


Recently, Keith was bestowed the ‘Rising Star’ rating and award by Superlawyers.com.

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The patented selection process includes independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations. The selection process for the Rising Stars list is the same as the Super Lawyers selection process, with one exception: to be eligible for inclusion in Rising Stars, a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger or in practice for 10 years or less. Each attorney participating in Ask Super Lawyers has been selected to a Super Lawyers list and has undergone our patented multiphase selection process. Across the United States, only the top five percent of each state’s attorneys are selected. So when you see a lawyer on the Super Lawyers list, you know they’ve earned it.

D. Keith Dunnagan

Rated by Super Lawyers

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In addition to his legal practice, Keith regularly presents seminars and publishes articles for trade associations on the topics of dental transition and real estate law. Some of Keith’s recent seminars and publications are:

Seminars:

  • Co-Presenter, for California Real Estate Brokers, Inc. 2017 and 2018 legal update
  • Presenter, Placer County Association of Realtors (PCAR) 2018 Legal Update
  • Presenter, Sacramento County Association of Realtors (SAR) BTI – Overview of Corporations (2016, 2017, 2018)
  • Presenter, Sacramento Realtist Association on Tax reform under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 2018
  • Panelist, Latino Professionals Development Project, Cannabis, Legalization, Regulations and Laws, 2018
  • Presenter, SAR, Tax reform under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 2018

Articles:

  • Co-Author, Are You Planning for Your Retirement?, the Nugget, A Publication of the Sacramento District Dental Society, 2017
  • Co-Author, A Primer on After Tax Profits Related to Practice Sales, the Nugget, A Publication of the Sacramento District Dental Society, 2016
  • Author, Impact of Fed Actions on Cannabis and Real Property, Sacramento Association of Realtors Magazine, 2018
  • Author, Leadership is in the Actions Not Words, Sacramento Association of Realtors Magazine, 2018
  • Author, Rent Control is Not a Solution to a Housing Shortage, Sacramento Association of Realtors Magazine, 2018
  • Co-Author, Implications of the Recent Tax Reform, Sacramento Association of Realtors Magazine, 2018

In his spare time, Keith enjoys traveling with his family, which frequently lands him at a Disney park, is a self-proclaimed Disney enthusiast, volunteering at church, and chasing the elusive wild rainbow and brown trout in the rivers of the western United States.