Author: Kristy Werness

Plessman and Libeu Once Again Repeat as Top Women Lawyers

Alison Plessman recently completed a seven-week jury trial in Portland, Oregon representing a Western utility in the litigation fallout from the 2020 Labor Day Fires. The case was the first class action to go to trial among the widespread wildfire litigation over the last three years in California and Oregon. She also noted representations of CA Inc, a Broadcom Inc. subsidiary, in a breach of contract suit against General Motors Holdings and Tom and Chris Vanderhook, the founders of a digital advertising company in a breach of contract matter.

“It’s been fantastic. We’ve been more successful than we’d ever dreamed,” she noted to editors. “We work our hearts out on these matters. The people in this firm truly know how to try cases.”

Allison Libeu focuses her practice on complex civil litigation and was part of the team that recently won two of The Daily Journal’s Top Verdicts of 2022 awards: a $293 million jury verdict and a $197 million arbitration award plus ongoing royalty payments in cases targeting Monster Energy’s energy drink rival. “At both the trial and the arbitration, Libeu was credited with the key cross-examination of Vital Pharmaceutical’s damages expert,” noted the Daily Journal editors. “She obtained critical admissions about his methodology that undercut his opinions and lined up with her disgorgement and royalty theories. Next up for Ms. Libeu is co-lead trial counsel for e-commerce software maker Shopify Inc. in a set of cases over a data breach.

“Everyone at the firm is involved in at least one community organization,” said Ms. Libeu, further adding “it’s an excellent way to get out of the office and stay grounded.”

“Litigation Powerhouse” and One of the “Best Firms in America” Says Chambers of Hueston Hennigan

“They have a strong reputation for being able to take on the toughest cases. They work fast and are able to handle cases where not only the law is at stake, but political and business issues are too. They are one of the best firms in America.”

Describing the firm as boast[ing] “outstanding trial capabilities, drawing from a high-quality bench of litigators,” “Chambers noted “Hueston Hennigan is a different beast with a ridiculous reputation.” Market commentators described Hueston Hennigan as “an extraordinary firm full of incredibly talented practitioners and litigators” who “form excellent client relationships.” “They’re real trial lawyers,” says a client.

Chambers further proclaimed Hueston Hennigan as one of “the market’s strongest firms,” which consistently “punch[es] above their weight.”

Underscoring its culture, commitment to diversity and pledge to train the next generation of lawyers, Chambers also noted: “their commitment to diversity and inclusion initiatives is very strong.” “They pluck the best associates. They take the effort to train their young people effectively. They supervise them throughout and grow them into terrific lawyers.”

In addition to the firm rankings, the Hueston Hennigan lawyers below were also individually recognized.

John Hueston is “consistently recognized as one of the top trial attorneys in the country, with clients regularly turning to him for their most sophisticated commercial disputes.” He is described as “a lawyer of the highest caliber. He illustrates the perfect mix of incredible intelligence, extreme skillfulness and unwavering humbleness.” Chambers notes, “When it comes to trial lawyers, he is as good as it gets.” Mr. Hueston has earned Chambers’ highest recognitions including Band 1 (USA: Litigation – Trial Lawyers), Band 1 (CA: Commercial Litigation) and Star Individuals (CA: White Collar).

Moez Kaba is described as a “superstar and outstanding in his trial capabilities,” “an incredibly strong trial lawyer,” who is “terrific, outstanding and very good strategically,” and a “secret weapon.” Mr. Kaba’s “impressive…and strong reputation” as a “trial specialist,” garners him recognition as one of the best trial lawyers in the country (USA: Litigation – Trial Lawyers) and one of the best litigators in California (CA: Commercial Litigation). As Chambers succinctly put it, “he tries a lot of cases and wins, which is what it’s all about.”

Doug Dixon, ranked among the top Commercial Litigators in California, is described as “extremely smart, zealously meticulous in his preparation, and a fantastic advocate and negotiator for his client.” A client further noted that he is “a phenomenal litigator” with the “ability to distill into simple concepts the essence of a very complex case, and great advocacy skills that have led to an impressive record of trial successes.”

With an “eminent reputation in the marketplace,” Brian Hennigan is ranked among the top White Collar and Government Investigation attorneys in California. He is described as “a fabulous lawyer with phenomenal judgment. He is so effective in interacting with people and in the courtroom, he owns it. Clients trust him and judges love him.” “Talented and pragmatic – a real dean of the white collar bar.”

A former Assistant US Attorney in California’s Central District, Vicki Chou is “absolutely fantastic,” which garners her recognition as one of the best White Collar and Government Investigation attorneys in California. As a client proclaims, “Vicki is phenomenal. She is incredibly smart and a real people person – she is going to do great things.” “She is tenacious, engaging and hard charging,” said another.

Chambers ranks Rob Klieger as one of the top Media and Entertainment attorneys in California describing him as a “brilliant” lawyer whose “level of sophistication is very strong.”

Chou Recognized on List of Top 100 Lawyers

“A recognized rising star,” Ms. Chou is a partner and a key member of the White Collar and Investigations team. She is a seasoned trial and appellate attorney and served as a Deputy Chief in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California. Since joining Hueston Hennigan, Ms. Chou has been involved with developing strategies related to many of the firm’s complex and high-profile cases.

Ms. Chou has been recognized as a rising star by multiple publications: Top White Collar Attorneys by the Daily Journal, 40 & Under Hot List by Benchmark Litigation, Women of Influence and Minority Leaders of Influence lists by the Los Angeles Business Journal, and one of only 20 recipients of National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s (NAPABA) 2020 Best Under 40, a significant accomplishment as the field includes those in all areas of the law, including the judiciary, academia, and politics.

Rayburn and Woodin Named Top IP Lawyers

Ms. Rayburn – on the list for the second consecutive year – litigates high-stakes technology disputes for companies of all sizes, and “has fun doing it.” She recently secured a $55 million settlement for an audio-conferencing client after the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a finding of contempt against a much larger microphone maker for continuing to infringe her client’s patents. She also recently won an important summary judgment motion for Amazon.com that ended claims by a serial patent plaintiff and continues to represent Amazon.com on three other patent infringement cases.

From medical devices to cellular technology and patents on machines, Ms. Woodin enjoys working on cases involving patents in different areas. “The fact that you’re interested in the technology and can understand it and work with the experts on it comes across to juries, and that ends up being persuasive,” said Ms. Woodin. Recently, she was instrumental in settling a six-year-old breach of contract action on the eve of trial between Beyond Meat and Don Lee Farms and she also helped bring in a mid-trial settlement of a patent infringement lawsuit for Ericsson against Apple. She is currently representing Match in its multidistrict litigation over Google’s dominance of Android app sales.

 

Click here to read Ms. Rayburn’s full profile.

Click here to read Ms. Woodin’s full profile.

Summary Judgment Win for Deloitte Consulting in False Claims Act Litigation

“From the moment this case was filed more than five years ago, we’ve always maintained that it has absolutely no merit. Discovery has proven that. As the Court found, there is no evidence that Deloitte billed the City of San Diego for work it did not do,” said counsel for Deloitte Consulting, Joseph Reiter.

This case arose out of a large, multi-year project the City of San Diego began in 2014 to overhaul its enterprise asset management system. The City hired Deloitte to provide professional consulting services, including the implementation and integration of software designed by co-defendant SAP America, Inc. Plaintiff Thomas Rocco, a former SAP employee, alleged that Deloitte and SAP had violated numerous conflicts of interest laws and conspired to defraud the City of San Diego out of public funds. Rocco claimed, among other things, that Deloitte had billed the City for work it did not perform, exchanged illegal kickbacks with SAP, intentionally concealed conflicts of interest, and rigged the City’s bidding system in violation of California’s False Claims Act and Government Code 1090. Rocco sought to invalidate the contract between Deloitte Consulting and the City and obtain treble damages and fines in excess of $75 million.

We obtained early dismissal of Rocco’s sprawling complaint, winning three successive demurrers and obtaining dismissal with prejudice of all of Rocco’s claims against Deloitte in December 2019. On appeal, the California Court of Appeal affirmed dismissal with prejudice on all but one of Rocco’s theories against Deloitte – that Deloitte had billed the City of San Diego for GIS (geographic information systems) work that Deloitte did not perform. After remittitur, the case proceeded to discovery in the trial court where Hueston Hennigan defeated Rocco’s repeated attempts to revive allegations and theories that had been dismissed with prejudice.

On April 14, 2023, Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly A. Knill granted Hueston Hennigan’s motion for summary judgment on Rocco’s sole remaining claim, finding there is no evidence that Deloitte submitted false claims for payment to the City of San Diego. In addition, the court found that Rocco’s claim is barred by the False Claims Act’s public disclosure bar because he relied on documents obtained from public record act requests. The court’s order reflects a complete victory for Deloitte and maintains the integrity of its work on an important project for the City of San Diego.

The Hueston Hennigan team included John Hueston, Joseph Reiter, Ashley Artmann, and Zach Murray.

Chou and Haji Named “Women of Influence”

“A recognized rising star,” Ms. Chou is a partner and a key member of the White Collar and Investigations team. She is a seasoned trial and appellate attorney and served as a Deputy Chief in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California. Since joining Hueston Hennigan, Ms. Chou has been involved with developing strategies related to many of the firm’s complex and high-profile cases. She has been recognized as a rising star by multiple publications: Top White Collar Attorneys by the Daily Journal, 40 & Under Hot List by Benchmark Litigation, Women of Influence and Minority Leaders of Influence lists by the Los Angeles Business Journal, and one of only 20 recipients of National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s (NAPABA) 2020 Best Under 40, a significant accomplishment as the field includes those in all areas of the law, including the judiciary, academia, and politics.

The Los Angeles Business Journal’s “Women of Influence: Attorneys” list recognizes women for their “exceptional legal skill and achievement across the full spectrum of responsibility, exemplary leadership as evidenced by the highest professional and ethical standards, and for contributions to the Los Angeles community at large.”

Click here to view full profile.

Monster’s Injunction Drops Bomb On Bang’s ‘Super Creatine’

Aside from requiring Vital — which does business as VPX — and its former CEO Jack Owoc to stop selling cans, packages or labels of Bang featuring the words “creatine,” the judge also ordered the company to remove or cause to be removed any Bang product that features the word “creatine” from store shelves within 60 days.

The permanent injunction requires the company for 30 days to post on any website or social media account it uses to promote Bang a corrective statement about the jury’s false advertising verdict and cease claiming in advertising and marketing that Bang contains creatine or “super creatine,” or provides any of the physical or mental health benefits associated with creatine.

“Defendants argue that VPX must continue to sell Super Creatine labeled cans because the destruction of its existing cans ‘would cause millions of dollars in losses, severely disrupt VPX’s supply lines and business relationships, and leave VPX unable to fill existing customer orders or meet consumer demands,” U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal wrote in an order issuing the permanent injunction. “But defendants have brought on themselves these unfortunate consequences through their false advertising.”

John C. Hueston of Hueston Hennigan LLP, who represents Monster, said in a statement that the injunction “is another important victory for our client Monster in an effort to prevent further harm from Bang’s and its founder’s campaign of false statements that we brought to light during our hard-fought trial. Defendants are enjoined and must issue corrective statements to, as the court put it, ‘remedy lingering confusion caused by defendants’ past and ongoing deception.’”

Click here to read the entire article.

Litigation Leaders: Moez Kaba on Hueston Hennigan’s ‘Trial Lawyers Above All Else’ Approach and New York Expansion

Meet Moez Kaba, who earlier this year became just the second managing partner of Los Angeles-based litigation boutique Hueston Hennigan, while also helping launch the firm’s second office in New York City. Kaba, a co-founding partner of the firm, succeeded Brian Hennigan, who led the firm from its founding after a spinoff from Irell & Manella in 2015.

Litigation Leaders – Moez Kaba Q&A

With “High-Impact Heavy Trial Wins” and a “Deep Bench of Stars,” Hueston Hennigan Wins US Trial Firm of the Year and US Boutique of the Year

At the awards ceremony, Benchmark Litigation awarded Hueston Hennigan with three awards, commending the firm’s “deep bench of stars and broadly admired trial skills:”

US Trial Firm of the Year
US Boutique Firm of the Year
California Firm of the Year

Benchmark commended Hueston Hennigan’s multi-year record of “high-impact heavy trial wins,” and noted that “to amplify its already national presence,” the firm has “recently launch a New York office to further is trial-forward agenda.”

After months of peer-and-client-review-based research and hundreds of submissions to review, Benchmark Litigation arrived at this year’s USA Awards. The awards recognize “the country’s most distinguished litigators and their firms for their exemplary work over the past twelve months. After months of peer review-based research and submission reviews, the Benchmark team set out to uncover the most impactful cases, the lawyers and law firms behind them, and the litigators who have paved the way.”