Author: Kristy Werness

Alec Baldwin Settles Art Fraud Case

Mr. Baldwin sued Boone in September 2016 in the New York Supreme Court, after discovering that she had delivered a freshly-painted facsimile of a painting to him instead of the original, authentic work he agreed to purchase. Mr. Baldwin had paid Boone $190,000 for a painting by noted contemporary artist Ross Bleckner, but became suspicious after the piece he received appeared brighter and smelled of fresh paint. Instead of revealing that the painting was a copy by Mr. Bleckner, Boone attempted to deceive him. She alleged she had had the painting cleaned as a courtesy.

The settlement, which also includes additional works of art by Bleckner, was reached after Hueston Hennigan undertook aggressive pre-trial discovery and prepared for trial, which was set for 2018.

Representing Alec Baldwin were John Hueston and Moez Kaba.

News Coverage:

Law360

New York Times

Daily Journal

 

 

Judge Tosses Kmart Trademark Suit

Acting on a motion for summary judgment filed by Hueston Hennigan, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Orrick held that although courts “sparingly grant summary judgment in trademark cases because they are so fact-intensive,” the evidence here tilted so heavily in favor of the defendants as to make summary judgment appropriate.

“There is no evidence that consumers are likely to believe that Risewear was either the source or sponsor of Rise Basketball’s goods, and no plausible reason to think that such evidence exists,” the judge wrote.

Kmart, Sears, and Risewear were represented by Robert N. Klieger and Tristan Favro.

Click here for news coverage in Law360.

 

Two Hueston Hennigan Partners Named to Daily Journal Top 100

Mr. Hueston was recognized for a string of successful trial results. These include work for the California State Bar and T-Mobile USA, as well as for his leadership at the helm of the firm. Mr. Hueston noted that he and the partnership are particularly gratified with the performance of the associates. Every lawyer at the firm participated in a trial in the past year.

The Daily Journal recognized Mr. Kaba’s successful trial work and courtroom advocacy.  Mr Kaba’s work on IMDb’s ongoing free speech suit seeking to block a California law requiring the website to remove actors’ birth dates was noted, as well as his role as trial counsel, with Mr. Hueston, for Valeant Pharmaceuticals, a defendant in a high-profile complex securities suit.

Click here to read the profile of Mr. Hueston.

Click here to read the profile of Mr. Kaba.

Three Partners Named in Best Lawyers 2018

From Best Lawyers: Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. 83,000 industry leading attorneys are eligible to vote (from around the world), and we have received almost 10 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. For the 2018 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, 7.4 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in more than 58,000 leading lawyers being included in the new edition. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.

 

Judge Tosses Class Action Claims in Dietary Supplements Case

On Tuesday, Judge Carney found that the plaintiff, Min Sook Shin, still had not adequately alleged that Umeken was responsible for statements on an unaffiliated website, still had not substantiated her claims of fraud against a Umeken executive, and still had not alleged her own experience with Umeken’s products with adequate particularity. The Court has given Shin 30 days to file a second amended complaint on her remaining claims.

Umeken is represented by John Hueston.

Robert Klieger Elected to CBS Board of Directors

Partner Robert N. Klieger has been elected to the Board of Directors of CBS Corporation, a Fortune 500 mass media company whose operations include CBS Television Network, The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), CBS Films, Showtime Networks, and Simon & Schuster. Mr. Klieger joins a distinguished group of Directors including Chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves, Chairman Emeritus Sumner M. Redstone, and Vice Chair Shari Redstone.

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Vault Names Hueston Hennigan a Best Boutique

According to Vault, they derive the rankings  from its annual Associate Survey of more than 17,000 participants, and calculate using a formula that weighs associate ratings in areas such as overall satisfaction, firm culture, compensation, substantive work, and associate/partner relations.

In response to Vault’s survey questions, associates showed an appreciation of both the work and the environment at Hueston Hennigan. They highlighted their experience working with partners, gaining early, intense amounts of responsibility, and the firm’s culture of camaraderie as the most positive aspects of working at the firm.

About Hueston Hennigan

Our Team: Unmatched Talent at  Every Level

Our attorneys have collectively participated in over 150 trials, and our partners are recognized as among the country’s top trial lawyers. At trial, our diverse teams reflect the profiles of our juries.

We select the most talented attorneys and train them like no other firm, offering clients the strongest teams from top to bottom. Our attorneys hail from the top law schools in the country, including Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Chicago, NYU, Michigan, Georgetown, USC, UVA and UCLA.

More, nearly 70 percent of our incoming attorneys have served as judicial clerks for federal judges, which provides key insights into arguments that resonate with t rial and appellate judges. We have developed a ladder-of-success training approach and, in conjunction with our commitment to public service, guarantee at least one trial in the first two years for each of our incoming associates, with a goal of at least five trials within the first five years. This approach to hiring and training allows us to staff cases leanly and ensure that clients have the benefit of trial experience at all levels.