Cases
Representative Matters: Lead counsel in California Unfair Competition Law class action against client marine mammal park. After plaintiffs were cross-examined in a bifurcated bench trial limited to st
ing to sue, court found neither plaintiff to be credible
dismissed action. Is one of the few UCL in which st
ing to sue was actually tried to the court.
Advised cold-weather clothing manufacturer with respect to defamatory statements about animal welfare contained in shareholder proposal advanced by animal activist organization.
Lead counsel representing largest provider of live family entertainment in defense of Endangered Species Act citizen suit spanning more than ten years of protracted litigation
resulting in judgment for defendant, following a six
one-half week bench trial in federal district court that received international media attention
represented same client in oral argument on appeal
obtained a 3-0 affirmance of the judgment. Following appeal obtained unprecedented ruling that client was entitled to recovery of legal fees as a prevailing defendant under the ESA, ultimately resulting in payment of more than $25 million by the adverse parties which represented a 100 per cent recoupment by the client of its legal fees in defending the case over fourteen years. Legal fee claim was characterized by the opposition as the largest lodestar claim in the history of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Lead counsel in entertainment company's RICO
state tort action against parties to the foregoing ESA case
their counsel
case was resolved with a settlement in which the client recovered $25.4 million.
Lead counsel for major entertainment company in Lanham Act
state law trademark case against renowned rock artist who had used client's trademark to name his concert tour
case was resolved by settlement that included monetary payment
a consent injunction against the artist prohibiting further infringing uses.
Lead counsel in defense of consumer class action litigation in federal court under California Unfair Competition Law
related consumer statutes brought against corporation operating three marine mammal parks in the United States
obtained summary judgment
dismissal of all claims.
Lead counsel in federal court jury trial defending entertainment company
executive against claims by animal rights activists for actual
punitive damages
statutory penalties arising under the California Ralph Act, Bane Act
Unfair Competition Law
common law theories of assault
battery. After a nearly three-week trial, jury returned take-nothing verdict for defense.
Lead counsel in the design, implementation
defense in more than fifty cases in federal
state court of separate pre-dispute arbitration programs for an internationally known medical center
university covering claims arising out of employment
the provision of medical treatment. One of these cases represented the first federal court decision to enforce, under the Federal Arbitration Act, a pre-dispute arbitration provision in a medical malpractice context.
Lead counsel for professional sports players' union in defense of employment discrimination action brought by union's former director of human resources.
Lead counsel representing group of U.S. sugarcane producers in defense of coordinated federal
state court class actions by sugarcane cutters, involving wage claims under the U.S. Department of Labor temporary foreign agricultural worker regulations
state law, resulting, after six years of litigation, in judgment for the defendants in the federal court action
resolution of the state court actions.
Lead counsel on defense team for major university in case alleging gender discrimination in Division I football program, which, after jury trial, resulted in one-dollar actual damage verdict for plaintiff
, on appeal, established for the first time as a matter of law that punitive damages are not an available remedy under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (proscribing gender discrimination in federally funded programs).
Member of team investigating discipline imposed on profession football player by professional sports league commissioner arising out of highly publicized incident of domestic violence.
Lead counsel representing consortium of agricultural businesses
trade associations as interveners with the government defending the validity of U.S. Department of Labor wage regulations in actions brought by farm workers
farm worker advocate organizations
after nearly nine years of litigation
three separate appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the validity of the regulations was sustained.
Lead counsel defending apple growers in a group of individual
class actions in West Virginia state court alleging breach of contract, violation of state company store wage law
violation of contractual work guarantee
following thirteen years of protracted litigation
three appeals to the West Virginia Supreme Court, result was a take-nothing judgment in favor of the defendants. Clients ultimately recovered all legal fees expended through a separate legal malpractice action against prior counsel which was resolved through a state receivership proceeding involving the prior counsel's liability insurer.
Lead counsel defending a treating therapist
major medical institution in a psychiatric malpractice case involving issues of patient stalking
case was tried to a jury in state court twice which resulted in hung juries after two separate, month-long trials
which was ultimately concluded by a 3-0 decision for defendant following an agreed-to arbitration procedure.
Lead counsel representing a major medical research institution in a series of medical malpractice cases over a period of eight years involving the use of an experimental procedure in the cytopathological diagnosis of certain cancers
which also involved h
ling parallel investigations by a federal congressional subcommittee, the Food
Drug Administration
the state board of medical examiners. Cases were concluded through a single
novel arbitration/settlement procedure.
Lead counsel in an internal investigation for a major medical institution regarding a heart transplant procedure that generated an emotionally charged controversy attracting national media attention.
Co-lead counsel for defense in federal jury trial (
on appeal) of a private action under the federal wiretapping statute
state tort law theories brought by an employee against an employer alleging unlawful workplace surveillance
seeking $12 million in actual
punitive damages, which ultimately resulted in judgment for the defendant employer.
Co-lead counsel for defense in federal jury trial of a case alleging assault, battery
false imprisonment against a prominent figure in the entertainment industry in which the plaintiff had claimed $110 million in actual
punitive damages
which resulted in take-nothing verdict for defense that was affirmed unanimously on appeal.
Lead counsel (as an associate) for major integrated oil company in appeal resulting in affirmance of district court judgment for client
represented one of the few judgments against the US government in litigation under the crude oil pricing regulations of the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973.
Member of defense team representing major rental car company in Texas state court in defense of breach of contract
other claims by franchisees seeking more than $400 million in damages, that spanned nearly ten years
that was tried before a jury to a take-nothing judgment for the defendant on the plaintiffs' claims
a $10 million verdict for defendant on its counterclaim. On appeal, h
led the appellate briefs that resulted in affirmance by the intermediate court of appeals
refusal of a writ of error by the Supreme Court of Texas.
Member of defense team in largest civil enforcement action brought against a single major oil company by the United States under the federal petroleum price
allocation regulations, seeking recovery of more than $ 2 billion in alleged overcharges in eight-year long protracted litigation.
