Reiter and Behl Promoted to Counsel

“Joe and Varun are exceptional lawyers who deliver outstanding service to our clients,” said managing partner, Brian Hennigan. “They are among the very best associates, who have a string of victories for our clients both before and after trial.”

Mr. Reiter is a trial and appellate lawyer with broad experience and success litigating high-stakes disputes. He has had a key role in a number of significant trials, including obtaining a complete defense verdict for the California Institute of Technology in a tortious interference and whistleblower retaliation case and a victory for the State Bar of California in a breach of contract and wrongful termination suit. Mr. Reiter was also part of the team that prevailed 9-0 before the United States Supreme Court in a class action appeal, and he recently secured the dismissal of all claims against Deloitte in a False Claims Act dispute.

Mr. Reiter clerked for the Honorable Andrew J. Kleinfeld of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He earned his J.D. from University of Michigan Law School.

Mr. Behl has extensive experience handling complex disputes. He has succeeded in jury and bench trials including on behalf of the California Institute of Technology after a month-long jury trial, and on behalf of the State Bar of California in a high-profile arbitration. He recently obtained a preliminary injunction on behalf of our client in a case impacting the pharmaceutical industry.

Mr. Behl clerked for the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He earned his J.D. from University of Michigan Law.

Deloitte Consulting Dismissed From False Claims Act Dispute

“We strongly believed that the Plaintiff’s allegations were wrong on the facts and law,” said John Hueston. “We are pleased that the court accepted our arguments and thrilled to obtain this early dismissal for Deloitte Consulting.”

The case arose out of a project the City of San Diego began in 2014 to overhaul its enterprise asset management system. The City hired Deloitte Consulting to provide professional consulting services, including the implementation and integration of software designed by SAP America, Inc.

Plaintiff Thomas Rocco, a former SAP employee, brought this qui tam lawsuit in 2017, alleging that Deloitte Consulting and SAP had violated numerous conflicts of interest laws and conspired to defraud the City out of public funds. Rocco claimed, among other things, that Deloitte Consulting had billed the City for work it did not perform, exchanged illegal kickbacks with SAP, intentionally concealed conflicts of interest, and rigged the City’s bidding system. Rocco sought to invalidate the entire contract between Deloitte Consulting and the City and treble damages and fines in excess of $75 million.

Hueston Hennigan aggressively and strategically moved to obtain early dismissal of Rocco’s 118-page complaint. After several rounds of demurrers, an Orange County Superior Court judge granted Hueston Hennigan’s third demurrer with prejudice on all remaining claims against Deloitte Consulting.

Deloitte Consulting is represented by John Hueston and Joseph Reiter of Hueston Hennigan LLP.

Freedom for Immigrants Seeks to Declare ICE’s Actions Unconstitutional and Reinstate Its National Immigration Detention Hotline

“ICE’s shutdown of the Hotline violates FFI’s First Amendment rights to speak freely and the rights of detained immigrants to speak with FFI,” explained lead counsel Moez M. Kaba, a partner at Hueston Hennigan. “We filed this lawsuit on behalf of FFI in order to protect these core First Amendment rights, and to reinstate an important lifeline for persons held in immigrant detention.”

Freedom for Immigrants is represented pro bono by Moez M. Kaba, Rajan Trehan, and Ashley Artmann of Hueston Hennigan LLP.

Media coverage includes the Houston Chronicle, Washington Post, The New York Times, US News,  The Hollywood Reporter, The Recorder, and others.

Click here to read the full press release.

Southern California Edison Settles Wildfire Lawsuits with Public Entities

Under the settlement, $360 million will be paid to settle the public entities’ claims, with $150 million allocated to the 2017 fires and 2018 debris flow events and the remaining $210 million allocated to the 2018 Woolsey Fire.

“These settlements represent a significant result for our client,” said partner Doug Dixon.

The story was covered in the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Business Journal, and Law360 to name a few.

Hueston Hennigan Welcomes 2019 Associate Class

Ashley Artmann
UCLA School of Law (J.D. 2017)
Stanford University (B.A., 2012)
Clerkships: Hon. Kim McLane Wardlaw, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Hon. Cormac J. Carney, U.S. District Court for Central District of California

Sara Banco
UC Irvine School of Law (J.D., 2017)
California State University, Monterey Bay (B.A., 2013)
Clerkships: Hon. Carolyn McHugh, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Haoxiaohan Cai
Harvard Law School (J.D., 2017)
Duke University (B.A., 2014)
Clerkships: Hon. Gonzalo Curiel, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California and Hon. Jerome Holmes, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Shannon Coit
University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D., 2014)
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (M.A., 2014)
University of Michigan (B.A., 2006)
Clerkships: Hon. M. Margaret McKeown, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Hon. Cynthia Bashant, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

Maxwell Coll
UC Berkeley School of Law (J.D., 2016)
Tulane University (B.A., 2011)
Clerkship: Hon. David O. Carter, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Joseph Crusham
UC Berkeley School of Law (J.D., 2018)
Ohio State University (B.A., 2015)
Clerkship: Hon. Josephine L. Staton, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Sara Haji
UC Berkeley School of Law (J.D., 2014)
University of Texas at Austin (B.A., 2010)
Clerkships: Hon. Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar for the Supreme Court of California, Hon. Raymond C. Fisher, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Hon. Margo K. Brodie, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Abigail Majane
University of Chicago Law School (J.D., 2018)
University of Pittsburgh (B.S., 2015; B.A., 2015)
Clerkship: Hon. Michael Brennan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Amber Munoz
UCLA School of Law (J.D., 2019)
University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A., 2015)

Hueston Hennigan Recognized by U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” Rankings

Our Criminal Defense: White Collar and our Commercial Litigation practices both received National and Metropolitan (Los Angeles and Orange County) top-tier rankings.

In addition, five partners were listed in 26th edition of Best Lawyers in America ranking released earlier this year. They were recognized for excellence in Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense: White Collar, Intellectual Property, Securities and Bet-the-Company litigation.

The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.

Hueston Honored as Litigation Attorney of the Year

The LABJ noted that Mr. Hueston has been on an unprecedented string of high profile trial, appellate and court hearing victories within the last year, from a 9-0 U.S. Supreme Court victory, to defeating the SEC’s motion for contempt against client Elon Musk over his tweeting, to a complete defense victory for Caltech after a four-week jury trial in Los Angeles.

As “the best lawyer of his generation” with a “commanding reputation for his trial advocacy,” Mr. Hueston is selected as lead counsel for many of the nation’s most profile cases.

Brian Hennigan was also honored to be included as a finalist. The LABJ noted his successful representations of individuals facing allegations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission Act, the Internal Revenue Code, and the Sherman Act. He has also represented Fortune 500 corporations in a variety of civil disputes, including antitrust, trade secret, and unfair competition litigation.

Mr. Hueston was honored alongside a number of leading general counsel and firm-based attorneys in the Los Angeles area.

Click here to read the Los Angeles Business Journal Supplement.

Hueston Hennigan Recognized by U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” Rankings

Our Criminal Defense: White Collar and our Commercial Litigation practices both received National and Metropolitan (Los Angeles and Orange County) top-tier rankings.

In addition, five partners were listed in 26th edition of Best Lawyers in America ranking released earlier this year. They were recognized for excellence in Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense: White Collar, Intellectual Property, Securities and Bet-the-Company litigation.

The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.

Judge Rejects Patrick Soon-Shiong’s Attempt to Avoid Sorrento Litigation

Sorrento’s claims relate the “catch and kill” scheme that Soon-Shiong allegedly orchestrated to keep Sorrento’s promising cancer drug Cynviloq off the market in order to preserve Soon-Shiong’s personal financial interest in another competing drug.

In his ruling, Judge Terry Green denied Soon-Shiong’s and NantPharma’s motion to stay or dismiss Sorrento’s arbitration against them, allowing that case to proceed in full. Judge Green also granted Sorrento’s motions to compel Soon-Shiong entity NantCell’s counterclaims to arbitration, rejecting NantCell’s attempts to avoid the arbitration agreement it had previously entered into with Sorrento.

The Hueston Hennigan team includes John Hueston, Padraic Foran, Karen Younkins, Annie Banks, Dan Sheehan, Marjorie Menza and Selena Galaviz.

The story was covered in the Daily Journal.

Peloton Sues Competitor Echelon for Infringement and False Advertising

The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that Echelon’s bike product, and its related app, infringes Peloton’s patented leaderboard technology, and that Echelon is intentionally misleading consumers with false comparisons between the Echelon and Peloton bikes.

Similar claims are at issue in Peloton’s lawsuit against Flywheel; just last month, a federal judge rejected Flywheel’s attempt to dismiss that case. (Click here to read more).

“We filed this suit to protect Peloton’s rights and to stop Echelon’s misappropriation, false advertising and unfair competition,” said Peloton lead counsel.

The Hueston Hennigan team representing Peloton in this action includes Christina V. Rayburn, Karen Younkins, Kevin X. Wang and Maxwell K. Coll.

The story was covered in the Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg Law, Reuters and Law360.