Moez Kaba, a nationally recognized trial lawyer, is the managing partner of Hueston Hennigan LLP.
Praised as “a master in the courtroom,” “outstanding in his trial capabilities,” and a client’s “secret weapon,” Mr. Kaba routinely captures among the country’s highest-profile trial and appellate victories. Recognized as a go-to trial lawyer and trusted advisor, he has been lauded in national rankings as a “powerhouse” lawyer and “trial specialist.” Chambers, for example, has named him as one of the best trial lawyers in the U.S., and Benchmark Litigation listed him as one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America”—he was the youngest lawyer nationally on the list—and among the “Top 20 Trial Lawyers in California.”
Mr. Kaba is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, which is recognized as the preeminent organization of trial lawyers in North America. He is also a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, a group of “truly elite trial lawyers who have achieved a career of excellence through demonstrated skill and ability in jury trials.” This invitation-only organization is limited to 500 active U.S. trial lawyers. Mr. Kaba is one of a select group who are members of both organizations.
Representing a variety of clients from Fortune 500 companies to entrepreneurs and high-profile individuals, Mr. Kaba develops creative and disruptive strategies to solve business’ unique objectives in a broad array of general complex civil litigation, including commercial disputes, securities, trade secrets, entertainment and intellectual property matters.
As touted in Chambers, Mr. Kaba, “one of the best” trial lawyers in the country, “tries a lot of cases and wins, which is what it’s all about” and “there’s nobody quicker or more consistently on the money when complex judgment calls need to be made.” Clients also say Mr. Kaba is “innovative, smart and able to see problems from various perspectives. His oral advocacy skills are second to none,” and “he has a remarkable ability to home in on the most salient issues immediately.” Clients describe him as “an incredibly strong trial lawyer and effective cross-examiner” who is “excellent on his feet” with “outstanding instincts.”
In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Kaba dedicates considerable time to pro bono work focusing on access to justice and social issues. Among his pro bono achievements, he obtained a preliminary injunction for Freedom for Immigrants (FFI) in an important, closely watched First Amendment case, ordering U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement to restore FFI’s National Immigration Detention Hotline (see media highlights here). He also represented the Council for American-Islamic Relations in its efforts to support a San Diego school district regulation that was designed to protect Muslim students who are particularly at risk of being bullied (see media highlights here). Additionally, he represented Equality California in challenging the constitutionality of California’s ban on same-sex marriage in the U.S. Supreme Court. For several years, he represented various women’s rights groups in cases challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and state bans on same-sex marriage.
Experience
Trial
Secured a complete defense verdict for Disney in a high-profile suit brought by an animator who alleged Disney infringed his similar project to develop the blockbuster film, “Moana.” At the end of a closely followed 10-day trial, jurors deliberated less than three hours before siding with Disney (see “Disney didn’t copy ‘Moana’ from a man’s story of a surfer boy, a jury says,” Associated Press; “Disney wins US copyright trial over animated hit ‘Moana’,” Reuters; “Disney Unit Wins Copyright Trial Over ‘Moana’ Film,” Law360; “Disney had no access to animator’s screenplay to copy ‘Moana’, jury finds,” Daily Journal; “Disney prevails in ‘Moana’ copyright trial,” Courthouse News; “Disney’s ‘Moana’ Didn’t Copy Producer’s Film Project, Jury Says,” Bloomberg).
Won a “record-setting” $293 million verdict for Monster Energy Company against rival beverage company Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in a false advertising, tortious interference and trade secret case after a monthlong trial. The jury found Vital Pharmaceuticals and its CEO falsely advertised the “super creatine” ingredient of its billion-dollar Bang energy drink. The verdict is believed to be one of the largest, if not the largest, Lanham Act awards ever (see “Monster Energy wins $293 mln false-advertising verdict against rival Bang,” Reuters; “Monster Wins $293M Verdict Against VPX In False Ad Trial,” Law360; “Monster Energy Wins $293 Million False Ad Award Over Bang,” Bloomberg Law).
Won a “landmark” opioid trial for Endo Pharmaceuticals in a closely watched $50 billion California case alleging public nuisance, unfair competition and false advertising. Obtained a full defense verdict following a four-month trial. The win was hailed as “giv[ing] drug companies their first major victory in the litigation brought by cities and counties across the country over the opioid crisis,” American Lawyer (see “How Hueston Hennigan Notched A Landmark Opioid Trial Win,” Law360; “Opioid Makers Win Major Victory in California Trial,” The New York Times; “Drug Makers Handed First Win Out of Thousands of National Opioid Crisis Lawsuits,” Newsweek).
Won a complete defense judgment for Amazon.com in a suit brought by eBay alleging tortious interference and unfair competition. After the hearing, the panel unanimously found for his client on all claims (see “Amazon wins legal fight against eBay over alleged seller poaching,” CNN).
Won “among the largest-ever U.S. trademark award” (Reuters) for Monster Energy Company against rival beverage company Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Following a two-week trial, the arbitrator held that Vital Pharmaceuticals’ Bang Energy does not contain advertised muscle-building creatine and infringed on “Bang” trademark. In the significant ruling, the arbitrator awarded Monster and Orange Bang $175 million in damages, nearly $10 million in attorney’s fees and costs, and a 5 percent royalty on all future sales of Bang Energy (with over $1.5 billion in annual sales) (see “Monster asks court to enforce $175 mln award against Bang Energy maker,” Reuters; “Monster, Orange Bang Win $175M Against Rival In Arbitration,” Law360).
Secured a complete defense verdict after trial for The Boeing Company in a trade secret, breach of contract, and tortious interference case. In addition to defeating Zunum’s claims, Boeing is entitled to $12 million from Zunum on Boeing’s cross claim (see “Hueston Hennigan persuades US judge to reverse $72M verdict against Boeing,” Daily Journal; “Seattle judge overturns $72M jury verdict, clears Boeing in Zunum lawsuit,” Seattle Times; “Boeing Scraps Electric Jet Co.’s $72M Trade Secrets Trial Win,” Law360; “Boeing convinces US judge to overturn $72 mln trade-secrets verdict,” Reuters; “Boeing Ducks $72 Million Verdict as Judge Finds No Trade Secrets,” Bloomberg Law).
Won a complete defense verdict for PricewaterhouseCoopers in a high-profile lawsuit and closely watched federal trial brought by a former employee and SEC whistleblower, Mauro Botta (see “PwC auditor’s firing wasn’t triggered by SEC complaint: judge,” Reuters).
Won a complete defense verdict for the California Institute of Technology in a four-week whistleblower trial in Los Angeles Superior Court. The jury unanimously sided with Caltech in a wrongful termination suit in which a former researcher sought tens of millions of dollars in damages, claiming the school retaliated against him for allegedly exposing the misuse of government funds. Prior to trial, obtained full dismissal of breach of contract and tortious interference claims (see “Shout-Out: Hueston Hennigan Beats Back Whistleblower Claim Against Caltech,” The American Lawyer).
Won an eight-figure punitive damages verdict and liability findings on all claims of fraud, deceptive business practices and false advertising for William Koch in a three-week jury trial in New York federal court (see “Billionaire Bill Koch wins $12 million from wine maven who sold him bogus Bordeaux,” New York Post).
Won a trial for the State Bar of California in a widely covered action brought by a former state senator and CEO of the State Bar of California concerning whistleblower retaliation, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty claims. Prevailed on all claims after a weeklong trial (see “Ex-Calif. Bar President Sheds Fired Exec’s Contract Claim,” Law360).
Won misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract claims for T-Mobile in a high-stakes three-week federal jury trial in Seattle against Huawei Devices USA (see “The U.S. Just Charged Huawei With Stealing A T-Mobile Robot Idea,” Forbes).
Obtained broad injunctions in a confidential arbitration for CoreLogic Solutions, Inc. in a breach of contract and trade secrets case.
Won a trial for the liquidating trustee of a multimillion-dollar investment partnership in an action alleging breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duties. The matter settled favorably on the day set for opening arguments.
Appellate
Argued and prevailed at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for Shopify Inc. in a published decision on a matter of first impression that limited the reach of personal jurisdiction for internet companies (see “In ‘Novel’ Jurisdiction Issue, 9th Circuit Limits Where Consumers Can Sue E-Commerce Payment Platforms,” The Recorder).
Prevailed at the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for the Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com) in an anti-SLAPP suit. Obtained preliminary and permanent injunctions invalidating the constitutionality of a California statute (see “Law barring disclosure of actors’ ages violates 1st Amendment, appeals court rules,” Los Angeles Times).
Prevailed at the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of Bausch Health Companies in a nine-figure, cross-border trade secret and breach of contract case. Adopting our arguments, the Ninth Circuit held that the case could not proceed in the absence of Bausch’s foreign subsidiaries and that the court lacked jurisdiction over those absent entities.
Prevailed in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, holding for the first time that social network applications (Grindr and its owners) are protected by Communications Decency Act Section 230 immunity and cannot be held liable for the acts of users (see “Grindr defeats appeal over harassment on gay dating app,” Reuters).
Prevailed in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for William Koch, upholding a jury verdict and a $1.15 million award against Silicon Valley entrepreneur and fellow oenophile Eric Greenberg over the sale of 24 bottles of fake Bordeaux (see “Billionaire Koch defeats appeal in fake wine case.” Reuters).
Prevailed in the New York Court of Appeals for William Koch related to his California Superior Court action claiming that he was sold 149 bottles of counterfeit rare wine by Rudy Kurniawan through Acker, Merrall & Condit, a New York-based dealer in fine and rare wines. The court clarified the standard for enforcing subpoenas to nonparties in litigation, and The New York Law Journal described the victory as a “game changer” (see “Court Clarifies Rules for Nonparty Subpoenas,” The New York Law Journal).
Complex Civil Litigation
Representing the major record labels, including UMG Recordings, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, in high-profile and high-stakes copyright litigation against two leading generative AI music companies, Suno and Udio. The lawsuits are the first time the record labels have sued AI companies over sound recording copyrights (see “AI Cos. Hit With Copyright Claims From Music Labels,” Law360; “Major record labels sue AI company behind ‘BBL Drizzy,’” The Verge; “Music Labels Take On AI Startups With New Lawsuits,” The Wall Street Journal; “AI’s Most Ambitious Music Generators Accused of ‘Massive’ Infringement In New Lawsuit,” Rolling Stone).
Defending Amazon.com and Twitch against multiple lawsuits arising out of the tragic May 2022 mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, NY. Plaintiffs claim that Amazon.com, Twitch and other social media services incentivized the shooter to commit his horrific crimes by, among other things, providing him with the ability to livestream his attack. Plaintiffs’ claims, which include product liability, negligence and other torts, raise significant issues involving the First Amendment and the scope of immunity for social media services under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (see “Lawsuit by Buffalo supermarket shooting victims pins blame on Facebook, Amazon and other tech giants,” Associated Press; “Loved Ones of the Buffalo Shooting Victims Want Social Media Platforms Held Responsible,” Time Magazine).
Representing Epic Games in cases across multiple jurisdictions claiming that the company intentionally designed its games to addict players (see “The first video game addiction lawsuit got knocked out. Will others follow?” Reuters; “Activision, Epic, Video Game Developers Face Addiction Suit,” Bloomberg Law).
Secured the dismissal with prejudice of a significant trade secret misappropriation suit against Deloitte Consulting LLP in which Zest Labs sought hundreds of millions of dollars in damages related to Deloitte’s work in the fresh food management space.
Obtained a settlement for Union Pacific Railroad, which was sued in a high-stakes wrongful death case that sought $200 million in damages.
Secured a settlement for Amazon.com in a patent infringement suit brought by LightGuide, Inc. in the Eastern District of Texas alleging over a billion in damages for use of robotic technology in Amazon’s fulfillment centers (see “Amazon Settles IP Suit Over Warehouse Robotics,” Law360).
Representing Amazon.com and Starbucks Corporation in novel litigation alleging the failure to warn customers that they were being monitored by “biometric technology” without providing notice (see “Amazon, Starbucks Win Motion to Dismiss Most Claims in Biometric Data Privacy Case,” Law.com; “Amazon, Starbucks face WA class-action lawsuit over customer data,” The Seattle Times; “NYC Starbucks, Amazon Patrons File Suit Over Biometric Scans,” Bloomberg Law).
Secured the dismissal of a patent suit against Amazon.com brought by DataQuill, which alleged infringement of Amazon’s fire phones and tablets.
Representing Amazon.com in a suit brought by Select Research, Ltd., which accuses Amazon’s discontinued Halo project of infringing two patents related to health indicator calculations.
Representing Kelly Toys, maker of Squishmallows —the top-selling toy in the U.S. in 2023—in a copyright infringement lawsuit against Build-A-Bear Workshop for its copycat Skoosherz product (see “Squishmallows and Skoosherz Plush Toys Face Off in Court,” The New York Times; “Plush wars? Squishmallows toy maker and Build-A-Bear sue each other over ‘copycat’ accusations,” Associated Press).
Representing Amazon.com against a historic FTC lawsuit targeting its Prime Membership (see “F.T.C. Accuses Amazon of Tricking Users Into Subscribing to Prime,” The New York Times; “Amazon Says FTC Prime Subscription Suit Gets Ahead Of Law,” Law360).
Representing TotalEnergies Renewables USA in a lawsuit against a solar module manufacturer involving fraud and breach of contract claims.
Representing McDonald’s USA in multiple tort and statutory lawsuits concerning marketing and advertising.
Representing Shopify Inc. in several class action data breach lawsuits.
Represented Medtronic in a nine-figure patent infringement lawsuit concerning medical device technology. The case resolved on the eve of trial.
Represented Chapman University in a high-profile breach of contract action brought by a university donor. The case resolved shortly before trial.
Secured a complete victory for McDonald’s USA against Byron Allen in a $100 million fraud suit over ad spend on black-owned media, through a motion brought under California’s “anti-SLAPP” statute (see “McDonald’s Gets Anti-SLAPP Win In Allen’s $100M Fraud Suit,” Law360; Byron Allen Loses $100M Fraud Lawsuit Against McDonald’s Over Ad Spend on Black-Owned Media,” The Hollywood Reporter).
Won dismissal with prejudice for Amazon.com on Section 230 and other grounds in a case involving false advertising, unfair competition, and negligence and in which plaintiff demanded at least $500 million in damages.
Obtained a favorable settlement for CoreLogic Credco, LLC in a consumer class action alleging violations of federal and state credit reporting laws.
Representing the Navajo Nation in all aspects of its claims arising out of the unprecedented environmental disaster caused by the Gold King Mine spill near Silverton, Colorado. The Navajo Nation won an important victory in its fight for fair compensation for the harms caused by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its contractors when the court refused to dismiss the suit against the EPA’s subcontractor. Mr. Kaba also continues to work with various members of Congress to secure a legislative solution for the Navajo Nation.
After two weeks of trial, favorably settled a lawsuit for the country’s largest integrated health care system brought by a group of California hospitals seeking hundreds of millions of dollars for emergency medical services provided to its members.
Successfully resolved a suit brought by Palantir Technologies against a former early investor alleging breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets.
Prevailed on motion to dismiss Lanham Act and tortious interference claims in a closely watched technology case brought against online software and filtering company Malwarebytes (see “Oft-Cited Case Involving Anti-Malware Cos. Tossed For Good,” Law360).
Secured a victory for BlackBerry Corp. and BlackBerry Ltd. in civil extortion and unfair competition claims leveled against it by MobileIron, forcing it to pay Blackberry’s legal fees and drop its lawsuit.
Obtained summary judgment of non-infringement in favor of Amazon.com against claims for patent infringement brought by serial patent litigant MasterObjects, Inc. (see “Amazon Beats Patent Claims After Alsup ‘Misstated’ Its Motion,” Law360).
Representing Southern California Edison and Edison International in litigation arising out of the 2017 Thomas Fire and 2018 Montecito mudslides. Mr. Kaba is leading Southern California Edison’s legal challenges to the inverse condemnation claim, which is the central focus of wildfire litigation brought against investor-owned utilities including SCE and PG&E.
Successfully resolved a class action lawsuit filed against Ring LLC (an Amazon.com subsidiary) arising out of alleged hacking of Ring devices.
Prevailed in dismissing a novel false claims act lawsuit against Bausch Health Companies arising out of claims of alleged inequitable conduct and fraud on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Obtained summary judgment for the California Institute of Technology in a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging that the Institute defrauded the Department of Energy out of millions of dollars in government funds associated with a renewable energy research program.
Secured a substantial settlement, reflecting a larger recovery than that obtained by similarly populous states, for the Navajo Nation against Wells Fargo in its lawsuit detailing the bank’s long campaign of predatory and fraudulent practices (see “Wells Fargo Pays Navajo Nation $6.5 Million In ‘Predatory’ Lawsuit Settlement,” Forbes).
Defeated an SEC contempt action against Tesla CEO Elon Musk for alleged improper tweeting (see “How Hueston Hennigan Steered Tesla’s Musk to Safety,” The American Lawyer).
Defended Valeant Pharmaceuticals in multibillion-dollar securities class actions, alleging violations of insider trading and control person liability statutes. After argument on summary judgment motions, obtained favorable settlements on all matters.
Obtained a preliminary injunction on behalf of Amgen holding that information related to potential price changes submitted to the state pursuant to California Senate Bill 17 can be classified as protectable trade secrets and may not be disclosed in response to a California Public Records Act request. This was a highly watched case with huge implications for the pharmaceutical industry.
Obtained a seven-figure settlement for actor Alec Baldwin—an amount equal to a complete full-trial victory—in a high-profile art fraud case (see “Alec Baldwin’s Legal Tussel Over a Painting,” The New Yorker).
Obtained the dismissal with prejudice of a Title IX, breach of contract and UCL case (among other claims) brought against the California Institute of Technology by a student.
Recognitions
- BTI Client Service All-Star (2024)
- Litigation: General Commercial, Chambers USA (2019-present)
- Litigation: Trial Lawyers, Chambers USA (2023-present)
- Leading Commercial Litigators, Daily Journal (2024-2025)
- Who’s Who in Law, Los Angeles Business Journal (2023)
- Trials MVP, Law360 (2022)
- Top 100 Lawyers in America and Top 20 Trial Lawyers in California, Benchmark Litigation (2021-present)
- Top 100 Lawyers in California, Daily Journal (2017-present)
- Minority Leaders of Influence: Attorneys, Los Angeles Business Journal (2019-2022)
- Leaders of Influence: Top Litigators & Trial Lawyers, Los Angeles Business Journal (2019-2021)
- Key Lawyer for General Commercial Disputes, Legal 500 (2020-present)
- The Best Lawyers in America (2020-2025); Lawyer of the Year (2025)
- 40 & Under Hot List, Benchmark Litigation (2015-2022)
- Top 40 Under 40, Daily Journal (2017)
- Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation (2019-present)
- Legal Visionary, Los Angeles Times (2021)
- Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
- Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers
Activities
Board of Directors, Bet Tzedek
Board Member and Secretary, Social Justice Legal Foundation
Former Secretary of the Board of Directors, Equality California