Ms. Claiborne has mediated, arbitrated, and served as a neutral on a variety of business/commercial disputes. A full-time dispute resolution professional since 1998, she specializes in the resolution of complex commercial matters involving contracts, intellectual property, and business partnerships. Ms. Claiborne is well regarded for her ability to help parties formulate creative solutions that sustain long-term business relationships.
Representative Mediations
- Dispute arising out of a contract between a health workers’ union and a firm that gathers signatures to qualify an initiative for the California ballot
- Settled dispute arising out of an Asset Purchase Agreement involving the purchase of IP for high performance computing storage
- Successful dissolution of a partnership involved in the edible cannabis business
- Mediated dispute arising out of an Equity Purchase Agreement involving firms working on government contracts for drone development; the parties disagreed about potential earn-out payments due when various EBITDA targets were reached
- Claims of breach of a Power Purchase Agreement between a power company and a renewable power project developer (wind, solar, geothermal, biomass)
- Dispute between one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies based in Switzerland and a California manufacturer of hard drives arising out of a Master Development Agreement and a series of Product Supply Agreements
- Claim of corporate “freeze out” and demand for ownership of IP and stock by two former officers and directors against a start up company developing cutting edge technology for the purification of water and other liquids
- Government contracts dispute between companies providing IT services to Air Force bases
- Dissolution of business partnership involving companies in the golf course business
- Accounting dispute among patent attorneys regarding payment due to a departing partner
- Claim against accountant and large stock brokerage firm for damages due to alleged erroneous advice regarding the tax consequences of donating stock to a charitable foundation
- Claim by medical clinic in Hawaii against the seller of a multi-million dollar new computer system and related services
- Claim by elderly resident against a non-profit retirement community over the terms of a Continuing Care Agreement
- Advertising industry case involving claimed interest in LLC providing ads on “spectacular” video billboards
- Dispute between medical device company and industrial gas business over storage tanks sold by trustee in bankruptcy
- Dispute between a semiconductor business and a digital video company concerning tax overpayment and the payment of foreign and payroll taxes
- Dispute between a steel manufacturer and a contractor/surety arising out of an environmental remediation project
- Dispute between an international luxury hotel group and a developer concerning the developer’s share of hotel profits
- Mediation among groups of anesthesiologists, surgeons, and hospital administrators regarding disagreements arising out of establishment of specialized surgery center
- Resolution of a contract dispute between a developer of messaging technology and a provider of software development for communications, security, and networking
Representative Arbitrations
- Disputes between general partners of a venture capital firm involving claims of breaches of contract and fiduciary duties and alleged damage to reputation (sole arbitrator)
- Arbitration of claim arising out of an incubator relationship with patent-holders for development of a sensor used in medical and other scientific applications; allegations include failure to prepare prototypes and ready the invention for commercialization (sole arbitrator)
- Arbitration of international dispute arising out of a Stock Purchase Agreement between companies in Spain and the U.S. involved in the electronic tolling industry (tripartite; chair)
- Claims of breach of licensing agreement involving financial services software used by major banks
- Dispute arising out of a Stock Purchase Agreement involving the sale of a business that tests integrated circuits and other electronic components for use in high profile applications such as aircraft navigation and braking systems, nuclear control rod systems, and military equipment; allegations against the seller included a failure to disclose defects in the testing software (sole arbitrator)
- Claims of misappropriation of trade secrets, trademark infringement, and breach of contract arising out of licensing agreement between two non-profits serving the developmentally disabled (sole arbitrator)
- Arbitration of claims by a US designer and manufacturer of high-end bicycles against a distributor in Norway (sole arbitrator)
- Arbitrator for dispute arising out of a licensing agreement between the holder of a patent for a medical device and the manufacturer/distributor
- Arbitrator for fee claim by money manager for handling investments for two partnerships, a foundation, and a trust that were part of a large Silicon Valley fortune. Issues included breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, conversion, and entitlement to punitive damages
- Chair of panel for claim by the developer of an abalone farm against a harbor district over the total loss of the successful mariculture business
- Chair of panel for dispute between dairy farmers and a large bank over financing
- Arbitrator for suit by liberal arts college against a hedge fund manager alleging breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud (sole arbitrator)
- Chair of panel for dispute involving licensing claims to worldwide patents for cardiac stents valued at $4 billion
- Sole arbitrator for claims of breach of contract and confidentiality agreement and misappropriation of trade secrets between a Fortune 500 manufacturer/distributor of commercial building automation systems and a provider of wireless distribution systems allied to sell worldwide
- Sole arbitrator for claims of designer and manufacturer of semiconductors against a Hong Kong distributor for payments due for products ordered for the Chinese market
- Mining dispute between a company dredge mining for gold and another mining aggregates from dredge tailings arising out of contracts setting forth the parties' rights on shared property
- Arbitration venued in New York that involved an accounting malpractice case brought by a Liquidation Trust claiming over $100 million in damages arising out of the allegedly negligent audit of an international company in the business of selling televisions; allegations included the failure to discover millions of dollars in fabricated sales to China (tripartite)
