Month: July 2021

Hueston Hennigan Wins Closely Watched Accounting Industry and Whistleblower Trial for PwC

“We are extremely pleased that the Court rejected Botta’s false allegations and found in favor of PwC,” said co-lead counsel John Hueston. “Our trial team repeatedly demonstrated that Botta was a disgruntled employee who committed serious misconduct requiring his termination.”

Botta sued PwC and seven partners, claiming that he had been terminated and retaliated against for filing a whistleblower complaint with the SEC that accused PwC of engaging in serious misconduct when conducting external audits for public companies. Botta’s complaint asserted claims for whistleblower retaliation under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and California law, wrongful termination, defamation, and breach of contract.

Hueston Hennigan aggressively responded to Botta’s complaint, obtaining dismissal with prejudice of all claims against the seven PwC partners and Botta’s defamation claim against PwC. The case proceeded on Botta’s remaining claims, culminating in a two-week federal bench trial in February 2021 in the Northern District of California.

At trial, the Hueston Hennigan team presented a compelling narrative that Mr. Botta’s allegations are false and PwC demonstrated the upmost integrity during its audits and dealings with Mr. Botta. Far from retaliation, the evidence showed that PwC did everything it could to help Mr. Botta succeed and correct his unprofessional behavior. But Mr. Botta refused to take responsibility for his shortcomings and instead retaliated against those who sought to help him.

Mr. Hueston’s cross-examination of Mr. Botta was prominently featured in Law360.  Mr. Hueston “painted a picture of Botta as a foul-mouthed man unsatisfied with his career, bogged down in conspiracy theories and, at times, out of touch with reality.” Mr. Hueston “presented screen after screen of text and email evidence to the judge in which Botta expressed in writing his feelings of frustration with PwC partners and with not being promoted.”  That testimony “suggested Botta’s unhappiness at the firm had prompted him to declare war on PwC” and file a whistleblower complaint with the SEC making false allegations.

PwC ultimately terminated Mr. Botta because he claimed—during an internal investigation—to have created a non-existent accounting control in violation of his professional duties.  Although Mr. Botta disputed PwC’s reasons for terminating him, Hueston Hennigan presented overwhelming proof supporting PwC’s non-retaliatory decision, including Mr. Botta’s own written statements and the testimony of PwC’s then counsel, Walter Brown, who had interviewed Mr. Botta.

In reaching his decision, the Honorable Alex Tse, found that PwC’s witnesses and explanations for its actions were “more credible than Botta’s.” As Judge Tse concluded, “Botta didn’t prove that PwC retaliated against him, wrongfully terminated him, or breached his employment agreement. Consistent with the findings made in the order, judgment on all claims will be entered for PwC.”

The Hueston Hennigan Team included John Hueston, Moez Kaba, Joseph Reiter, Shannon Coit, Yegor Fursevich, Michael Todisco, and Winston Shi.

Media Coverage
Law360
Bloomberg Law
Accounting Today
Reuters
GoingConcern
Daily Journal

Federal Circuit Victory for ClearOne in Ongoing Patent Litigation Fight

In September 2020, the Honorable Edmond E. Chang of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held Shure in contempt for marketing and selling its redesigned MXA910-A product in violation of a previously issued preliminary injunction order (“Contempt Order”). Shure appealed the Contempt Order. The Federal Circuit dismissed the appeal, stating that Shure’s position on appeal “lacks merit.” The Federal Circuit held that because the Contempt Order “faithfully applied the preliminary injunction,” the Federal Circuit did not have jurisdiction over the appeal. The Federal Circuit awarded to ClearOne certain of its costs incurred responding to Shure’s appeal.

ClearOne has filed a motion for its attorney fees associated with responding to Shure’s appeal. That motion remains pending. In the District Court, proceedings are ongoing as to the scope of Shure’s violation of the Contempt Order, as well as the appropriate relief arising from the violation.

The oral argument before the Federal Circuit was conducted during the first in-person session after an almost 15-month pause. The recording is available here.

ClearOne is a global company that designs and develops conferencing, collaboration, and networked streaming devices. Its customers have included Boeing, Toyota, Netflix, Exxon, and Kaiser Permanente.

The Hueston Hennigan team includes Christy Rayburn, Doug Dixon, Sourabh Mishra, Karen Younkins and Joseph Aronsohn.

Media Coverage
Law360
BusinessWire

Four Partners Named to Benchmark’s 40 and Under Hot List

Benchmark Litigation commemorates the most notable up-and-coming litigation attorneys in the United States. Those named to this exclusive list have proven their eligibility as individuals at the partner level of their respective firms who are of the age of 40 or younger. They have all also had a hand in some of their firms’ most noteworthy recent cases and have earned praise from clients and peers regarding the quality of their work.

Attorneys named to the 2021 publication were chosen through several phases of research: namely, the review of their recent case work, peer review in which we consider how attorneys at peer legal institutions might rank them, and a consideration of client feedback on their performances. These attorneys, though young, have established themselves in their respective fields and are set to enjoy bright futures.

LABJ Names Hueston and Kaba Top Litigators & Trial Lawyers

With an enviable trial record, Mr. Hueston’s “high-profile, bet-the-company trials and representations of iconic business titans attract worldwide focus and are often historic.”

Similarly, editors noted Mr. Kaba’s “trial record in trying six cases to verdict or judgment making him a trusted advisor to his clients.”

The Los Angeles Business Journal recognizes the region’s most outstanding litigators as “Leaders of Influence: Litigators & Trial Lawyers in Los Angeles.” These are the lawyers you want in your corner in court.

Click here to view full profile.

Settlement Reached in Fight to Protect National Immigrant Hotline

“This settlement is a victory for the First Amendment rights of Freedom for Immigrants and immigrants in detention,” Moez M. Kaba, a partner at Hueston Hennigan and the lead counsel of the group in the lawsuit, along with Rajan Trehan and Ashley Artmann, said in a statement. “The government cannot simply silence expressions of dissent or critique from people speaking out against the conditions of confinement.”

Under the settlement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agreed to provide uninterrupted access to FFI’s National Immigration Detention Hotline for people in the immigration detention system across more than 150 detention centers and jails across the country.

In 2019, FFI partnered with the popular Netflix show Orange is the New Black (“OITNB”) to help portray the plight of persons detained in ICE facilities and increase public knowledge of the work that organizations like FFI do. Season 7 of OITNB prominently featured the Hotline, and press surrounding the July 2019 season premiere focused on the immigrant-centric storylines and FFI’s work. After first restricting the national Hotline to only certain facilities in Florida, ICE completely shut down the Hotline within two weeks of the premiere of OITNB Season 7.

Hueston Hennigan filed a lawsuit on behalf of FFI in December 2019 seeking to reinstate the national hotline. In February 2021, we won a preliminary injunction affirming FFI’s First Amendment and Constitutional rights and ordering the government to immediately reinstate the Hotline.

The Hueston Hennigan team includes Moez Kaba, Rajan Trehan, and Ashley Artmann.

Media Coverage
The Washington Post
NBC News

Rayburn and Foran Elevated to Partner

“Christy and Pad are trial lawyers who are already trusted by many clients for their sage advice,” said managing partner Brian Hennigan. “We are extremely excited to have them join the partnership, and we look forward to the continued contributions of our colleagues and friends.”

Christina Von der Ahe Rayburn
Ms. Rayburn litigates high-profile, high-stakes technology disputes for companies of all sizes, including Monster Energy, Amazon.com, BlackBerry, ClearOne, and Acorn Technologies. Described by clients as “a fierce advocate” and “intensely brilliant at understanding the detail and complexity of the subject matter, while retaining a clear view of the big issues and its impact on strategy,” she has a depth of experience in patent, copyright, and trade secret litigation at every stage. As a member of the patent bar and as a Stanford-trained mechanical engineer, Ms. Rayburn is quick to understand the technology at issue in her clients’ matters.

Ms. Rayburn is a force in the courtroom, as evidenced by her recent performance at a patent trial that resulted in a $25 million verdict for Acorn Technologies against Samsung. In addition, as co-lead counsel for ClearOne, she won a finding of contempt against a large multinational competitor’s marketing of a competing product against the terms of a preliminary injunction and defended that contempt finding in the Federal Circuit’s first live argument after the pandemic. Also on behalf of ClearOne, and against the same large competitor, she has defeated requests for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction based on alleged patent infringement.

Ms. Rayburn is a founding member of the Howard T. Markey Intellectual Property Inn of Court in Orange County, and has served that organization as its secretary, membership chair, and programs chair and as a member of the board. Ms. Rayburn serves as a member of the Steering Committee for the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project.

Ms. Rayburn clerked for the Honorable Andrew J. Guilford for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. She earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School, cum laude. She earned her undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering and political science from Stanford University with distinction.

Ms. Rayburn has been recognized as a rising star on the “40 & Under Hot List” by Benchmark Litigation and has repeatedly been named to the Southern California Rising Stars list.

Padraic Foran
Mr. Foran is a creative and forceful litigator focusing on complex civil litigation and trials—primarily fraud, trade secret, and professional liability matters—in California and across the country.

Mr. Foran has guided a wide variety of clients—from Qualcomm to SpaceX, Tesla, Willis Towers Watson, and GlaxoSmithKline—through sensitive, high-stakes litigation. He also advises corporate officers and directors in a broad range of industries, such as telecommunications, real estate, and financial services, on their most important and urgent matters.

With experience managing the litigation process from pleadings to verdict to appeal, Mr. Foran brings an abundance of courtroom experience and insight to every case. Working closely with clients, he develops innovative approaches and case strategies designed to achieve clearly articulated goals. He streamlines complex fact and expert discovery, avoids unnecessary disputes, and focuses on what matters: favorable resolution.

Mr. Foran is currently in trial representing Endo Pharmaceuticals in the most significant litigation in its history: lawsuits brought by various California jurisdictions related to the sale of opioid pharmaceutical products. Four plaintiff jurisdictions (Orange County, Los Angeles County, Santa Clara County, and Oakland City) brought claims on behalf of the people of the state of California for public nuisance, unfair competition, and false advertising.

Mr. Foran served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jerome Farris, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He earned his J.D. from USC Gould School of Law, Order of the Coif, and his undergraduate degree in English from the University of Southern California, magna cum laude.

Mr. Foran has been repeatedly named to the Southern California Rising Stars list and most recently to the Southern California Super Lawyers list.