Representative Matters

Antitrust & Competition
• • As a Judge, heard antitrust action involving insurance subscribers and health care providers alleging that health insurers manipulated a reimbursement database to artificially lower payments for out-of-network services, filing claims under civil RICO, Sherman Act, UCL and ERISA; the insurance subscribers and health care providers sought relief for the insurers' failure to provide proper reimbursement at promised  sual, customary and reasonable (UCR) rates
  • As a Judge, decided antitrust violation under the Sherman Act alleging that a cable network and major sports league engaged in an anticompetitive scheme by making consumers pay for a sports-watching pass as the sole option for watching league games, which inflated prices through an agreement to restrict individual game streaming and sales
  • Court Reference matter involving a software developer’s antitrust claims against a major tech company for alleged anti-competitive restraints and monopolistic practices in the distribution of digital content and software applications for mobile devices and for processing consumer payments, seeking injunctive relief to allow fair competition.
Business Commercial
• • Arbitrated breach of contract matter involving business consulting and technology company with claims for breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, conversion, unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty and tortious interference with contract
  • Arbitrated claim against solar energy provider alleging breach of contract and warranty for failure to timely repair damaged solar system and requesting performance of repairs and warranty obligations per contract.
Cannabis
• • Arbitrated complex cannabis industry investment dispute involving venture capital partnerships, capital contribution obligations, waiver and default issues, and interpretation of limited partnership agreement.
  • Mediated cannabis-related consumer and business dispute involving alleged mislabeling of hemp-derived products, regulatory compliance under the 2018 Farm Bill, and California unfair competition and false advertising claims.
Civil Rights
• • Bivens action by party claiming an FBI agent caused his wrongful arrest and prosecution in Thailand for crimes he did not commit
  • Section 1983 class action against the counties of Los Angeles and San Bernardino involving mistaken arrests due to a warrant for someone with the same name and birth date, asserting violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments and violations of the Bane Act and common law false imprisonment
  • Action involving alleged First and Fourteenth Amendment violations brought by a lecturer after being warned of disciplinary action for proposing a lesson plan deemed culturally insensitive
  • Dispute involving attorneys, the City of Los Angeles, the California State Bar and two judges for alleged retaliation and conspiracy to violate First Amendment constitutional rights
Class Action & Mass Tort
• • Pharmaceutical purchaser’s action against leading therapeutics company alleging fraudulent promotion of off-label uses of two prescription drugs while concealing risks and side effects
  • Class action alleging UCL and negligence claims, with plaintiffs seeking damages for increased fraud risk and monitoring costs, where hackers accessed defendant’s archived personal data and defendant concealed the breach by paying the hackers’ ransom
  • Multistate false advertising claim alleging that defendant’s marketing practices were inaccurate and deceptive
  • Shareholders class action alleging defendant committed securities fraud by making material misrepresentation and omissions regarding two drugs; plaintiffs claimed that defendants materially downplayed the significance of clinical studies suggesting the drugs had significant harmful side effects
  • Putative civil rights class action brought by unhoused individuals claiming that the City of Los Angeles, through its police department and bureau of street services, confiscated and destroyed their personal possessions without notice or a hearing in violation of, among others, the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments
  • Putative class action alleging that defendants committed securities fraud by making material misrepresentations and omissions, causing defendant’s cannabis company’s share price to rise; plaintiffs alleged material misrepresentations and omissions regarding the defendant’s company’s cultivation properties, the progress of its operations and its plans for the future
  • Class action alleging false advertising along with various state statutory and common law claims against defendant’s line of products, claiming that the products did not actually contain a specific ingredient even though the product’s featured packaging and labeling claimed the ingredient was included
Employment Law
• • Arbitrated numerous discrimination claims claim against medical center for race, age, gender and sexual orientation discrimination, harassment, retaliation in violation of FEHA, failure to prevent discrimination and retaliation, and wrongful termination
  • Mediated wrongful termination dispute against car dealership with claims for retaliation for using sick leave, violation of Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act and CFRA for denying protected leave and failure to pay wages earned.
  • Arbitrated numerous wage and hour disputes alleging failure to pay wages and overtime, failure to provide meal and rest breaks, failure to provide accurate itemized wage statements, violations of business and professions code
Entertainment
• • Action by Mexican broadcaster against American broadcaster for breach of program license agreement alleging breach of exclusivity, unauthorized editing of programing and nonpayment of royalties
  • Breach of contract claim for alleged royalties owed from consumer downloads of an artist’s songs and ringtones
  • Action for defamation, sexual harassment and other claims, alleging that defendant made false statements about plaintiff to filmmakers after she rejected his sexual advances
Environmental Law
• • Class action for damages and loss of business and employment resulting from a major oil spill
  • Operator of hazardous waste site brought action challenging the EPA’s issuance of unilateral administrative orders under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) following allegations of owning and operating businesses that contaminated the surrounding groundwater
  • Action by city against multiple entities for damages claiming that industrial activities caused hazardous chemicals to enter into soil and groundwater tracts of land used for the city’s water supply
  • Claims for violations of the Clean Water Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Endangered Species Act for unauthorized discharges of materials into a local river from the development of a new housing development project
  • California Environmental Quality Act challenge against hotel developers during entitlements process for potential harmful environmental issues
Health Care
• • As Judge, oversaw pharmaceutical multidistrict litigation alleging fraudulent off-label marketing and sales practices relating to widely prescribed biologic drugs
  • Presided over healthcare insurance MDL involving nationwide claims concerning reimbursement methodologies for out-of-network medical services
  • Conducted jury trials and sentencing proceedings in matters involving healthcare fraud, including fraudulent billing to federally funded treatment programs and misconduct implicating medical and transplant oversight systems.
  • Mediated consolidated action by multiple healthcare providers against insurance entities for wrongful denial and under-reimbursement of claims for substance use disorder treatment, asserting causes of action under ERISA and CA state law
  • Arbitrated dispute between a pharmacy and benefits manager alleging breach of contract, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing for improper reimbursement and suspension of payment.
  • Health care action against a global medical device company alleging that the company engaged in Medicare fraud by paying kickbacks to physicians for using its cardiac devices, resulting in false claims submitted to Medicare and Medicaid in violation of the False Claims Act and state law
  • Real estate action against the City of Los Angeles and the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles alleging false representations in administering federal funds to the Department of Housing and Urban Development in compliance with disability and antidiscrimination laws, in violation of the False Claims Act
Intellectual Property
• • Copyright infringement claim alleging the illegal use of original compositional elements added to a remixed song without permission; the dispute centered on whether “the underlying musical composition(s)” referred to the unremixed song or the entire remix
  • Trademark infringement claim against a DVD company engaged in the business of producing content with names and titles similar to major studio releases and distributing them with the stated purpose of profiting from consumer confusion
  • Copyright infringement and breach of implied-in-fact contract claim alleging that a film studio used certain character concepts in its development of a feature film after the character concept was pitched to film studio
  • Patent infringement claim against manufacturing and distribution companies regarding alleged infringement on method of generating chlorine dioxide gas
  • Action alleging violations of Copyright Act, Lanham Act, and state law for the use of an image in a music video backdrop; the dispute centered on whether the image constituted fair use
  • Action for copyright infringement and breach of implied contract brought by screenwriters against film studio for producing and distributing a feature film based on their screenplay’s subject matter
  • Copyright infringement claim under California law by owners of a pre-1972 sound recording against a streaming company alleging unauthorized reproduction and public performance of recordings, which were not covered by federal copyright law but were protected under California Civil Code § 980
Patent
• • As Judge, conducted patent trials and presided over claim construction proceedings involving a range of technologies, including video surveillance equipment, consumer products, pool designs and recreational products.
Privacy
• • As Judge, managed multidistrict litigation arising from a large-scale data security breach involving consumer and employee personal information at a global technology company.
  • Arbitrated claim alleging violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act and intrusion upon seclusion for intercepting, recording and sharing electronic communications and allowing third party websites to do so.
Professional Liability
• • Arbitrated professional liability dispute involving alleged immigration consultant fraud in connection with an investment-for-visa program, including claims under the California Immigration Consultant Act and requests for restitution and attorneys’ fees.
Securities
• • Arbitrated business and securities dispute involving alleged breach of grant agreement for transfer of 20 million shares and $2 million advisory fee, with claims for contract breach, negligent misrepresentation, and requests for damages and specific performance.