Month: August 2021

“We are pleased with the Court’s thorough order, which recognized that enforcing Apple’s subpoena would chill Match’s protected advocacy for robust antitrust enforcement and fairness in the online app marketplace,” said partner Doug Dixon. “Apple improperly sought to use the discovery process to peek behind the curtain of its political opponents.”

We represent Match Group, which operates Tinder, OKCupid, and PlentyofFish, among other widely-popular dating apps. Match is a founding member of the Coalition for App Fairness, a nonprofit advocacy group opposed to anticompetitive practices in the online app marketplace. This dispute arose after Apple served a third-party subpoena on Match in connection with the Epic Games v. Apple litigation and related class actions concerning Apple’s app store policies. Apple’s subpoena sought discovery of Match’s internal communications with the Coalition and other app developers. The dispute was closely-watched for its First Amendment implications.

In denying Apple’s motion to compel, Judge Hixson ruled for Match on every point in dispute. Judge Hixson found that Apple’s requests were improper, explaining that he “[could] not understand how” documents about the Coalition could be “relevant and proportional to the needs of” the underlying cases seeking to hold Apple liable for antitrust violations. Judge Hixson further found that enforcing the subpoena would chill Match’s and the Coalition’s First Amendment-protected advocacy, asking “[w]ho in their right mind would want to participate in a public advocacy organization, knowing that all their internal communications about strategy, lobbying, planning, and so on, would be turned over to their principal opponent?”

The Hueston Hennigan team included Doug Dixon, Joseph Reiter, and William Larsen.

“We are pleased that the investigation resulted in the just decision not to pursue criminal charges,” said partner Andrew Walsh. “We worked with Southern California Edison closely in cooperation with the California Department of Justice’s careful and thorough investigation. And we remain committed to working closely with Southern California Edison to compensate fire victims through the civil process.”

According to the Department of Justice and Cal Fire, the Woolsey Fire burned 96,949 acres of land, destroyed 1,643 structures, damaged 341 structures, prompted the evacuation of more than 295,000 people, and resulted in three fatalities. The Department of Justice’s decision not to charge follows their prior decision not to bring criminal charges in connection with the 2017 Thomas Fire that burned in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. We also worked closely with Southern California Edison in cooperation with the California Department of Justice to achieve that declination.

Read more here.

The Hueston Hennigan team includes John Hueston, Doug Dixon, Andrew Walsh, Vicki Chou, Mike Behrens, Derek Flores, Ellen Kenney, Samantha Schnier, David Sarfati, Dan Vinson, Joseph Crusham, and Winston Shi.

Media Coverage
Los Angeles Times
U.S. News & World Report
NY Daily News
CNN
Daily Journal

“This is an important victory not just for Malwarebytes but for other software and internet security companies as well. The Court’s sound and well-reasoned ruling makes clear that Enigma’s allegations are insufficient as a matter of law.” said Moez Kaba.

The action has a lengthy history. Enigma first sued Malwarebytes in New York, alleging that Malwarebytes identification of certain Enigma programs as “potentially unwanted” and “threats” violated various laws, including the Lanham Act. In 2017, the action was transferred to the Northern District of California and the Court dismissed Enigma’s claims under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The Ninth Circuit reversed and the Supreme Court denied cert. Hueston Hennigan took over the action on remand to the District Court, where it successfully moved to dismiss all the claims.

The Hueston Hennigan team includes Moez Kaba, John Hueston, Michael Acquah, and Spencer Schmider.

Media Coverage
Law360
Daily Journal