Month: April 2019

As noted in ClearOne’s press release, “This is yet another lawsuit we have filed against Shure—a very large ClearOne competitor—in an effort to protect our substantial investment in innovation over the years,” said Zee Hakimoglu, chair and chief executive officer of ClearOne. “U.S. laws encourage innovation by awarding such investments with intellectual property rights. When others fail to respect those rights, we will take action to protect them so that we can continue delivering innovative products and superior customer experiences, as well as ensure fair competition in the marketplace. We are confident that Shure will be held responsible for its brazen actions.”

The Hueston Hennigan team includes Doug Dixon, Christina Von der Ahe Rayburn, Sourabh Mishra, Michael Acquah, Neil Anderson, and Karen Younkins.

To view the full press release, click here.

The Court granted Peloton’s motion in full, finding that Plaintiff’s allegations of a scheme between Peloton and various other alleged employers lacked legal and factual merit.

Peloton is represented in the matter by Sourabh Mishra.

“From fraudulent health claims to touting an invalid patent to outright theft, our complaint provides many documented examples of Bang’s false, misleading, anti-competitive, and improper actions,” said Monster Company spokesperson. “It is time that Bang is finally held accountable for its deception.”

As detailed in the Complaint, “fueled by flagrant consumer deception and systematic anti-competitive business practices, BANG energy drink has experienced significant market growth. Monster brings this suit to halt these practices, and hold Defendants VPX and Owoc accountable.”

As noted in the Los Angeles Times, “Monster alleged that “Bang’s main pitch to consumers” — the drink’s “super creatine” compound — “is a hoax,” and that Vital also has interfered with distribution contracts to gain in-store shelf space at Monster’s expense.”

The Hueston Hennigan team includes John Hueston, Moez Kaba, Jen Hayden, Christy Von der Ahe Rayburn, Joe Reiter, Sourabh Mishra, Michael Todisco, and Eunice Leong.

As alleged in the Complaint, the “catch and kill” operation involved Soon-Shiong’s May 2015 acquisition from Sorrento of a drug called Cynviloq™—a bioequivalent to the blockbuster chemotherapy drug Abraxane, which Soon-Shiong had invented and sold to Celgene Corp. in 2010 for $2.9 billion.  Through that acquisition, Soon-Shiong became Celgene’s single largest individual shareholder.

As further detailed in the Complaint, Sorrento alleges that Soon-Shiong made false representations about his intent to market and develop Cyvniloq when he purchased it from Sorrento in 2015; in fact, the Complaint alleges, Soon-Shiong made the purchase to keep it out of the hands of Celgene’s competitors in order to preserve his financial interests as Celgene’s largest individual shareholder.

Sorrento also filed a related $1 billion arbitration demand against Soon-Shiong and his company, NantPharma LLC, seeking damages and punitive damages for fraud and breach of contract.

As noted in the Wall Street Journal, “Dr. Soon-Shiong promised Sorrento that he would ensure Cynviloq was approved and launched in the U.S. Instead, he and his companies stopped development in what the complaint termed a “catch and kill” scheme because Cynviloq’s success would have hurt sales of the drug he invented, Abraxane.”

“Through this litigation, Sorrento seeks to hold Defendants accountable for executing a scheme that kept a promising cancer drug off the market,” said lead counsel. “As alleged, not only did this cause over $1 billion in damages to Sorrento, it prevented patients from having access to an affordable alternative to a leading chemotherapy drug.”

The Hueston Hennigan team is led by John Hueston.

The story is covered in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, Endpoint News, FierceBiotech, Daily Journal, and Law360.