Hon. Elizabeth D. Laporte (Ret.) joined JAMS in 2019 as a mediator, arbitrator and court-appointed neutral (special master/referee) after more than two decades as a United States magistrate judge for the Northern District of California. Judge Laporte served as chief United States magistrate judge for the Northern District of California from 2013 to 2015. During her tenure as a magistrate judge, she presided—by consent of the parties—over a wide array of civil matters, managing a robust docket that encompassed patent, trademark, copyright, business, class action, employment, insurance, environmental, antitrust and civil rights litigation.

Since joining JAMS, Judge Laporte has resolved numerous disputes across a wide range of practice areas, including complex, high-stakes disputes in technology, software and pharmaceuticals, drawing on her deep knowledge to navigate technically sophisticated and legally challenging matters.

As an arbitrator, Judge Laporte is committed to fostering a fair and efficient process, providing counsel the opportunity to fully present their cases and arguments. As a mediator, she is known for her meticulous preparation, sharp legal insight and exceptional ability to bring even the most challenging matters to resolution. Her deep command of the law, combined with a practical, solutions-oriented approach, enables her to guide parties toward resolution in the most demanding disputes.

Those who have observed Judge Laporte in settlement discussions have shared the following comments: 

• “She is the sort who will stay at the table until the deal is concluded.”
• “She is very detail oriented. She takes a hands-on approach.”
• “She had tough questions for both sides and yet let both sides say what they needed to…. The issues were fully aired.”
• “The things that stands out are her open-mindedness, thoughtfulness and thoroughness.”

ADR Experience and Qualifications

Representative Matters

• Antitrust & Competition
• Mediated antitrust price collusion dispute involving auto parts 
• As a judge, presided over antitrust dispute alleging conspiracy to fix prices 
• Datel v. Microsoft
• Presided over case involving allegations of antitrust, patent infringement and copyright violations related to video game technology; the plaintiff manufactured accessories for the defendant’s gaming system and brought antitrust allegations after the defendant altered its software, disabling the plaintiff’s product; the defendant then brought claims for patent infringement against the plaintiff 
• Business Commercial
• Mediated and arbitrated numerous breach of contract disputes 
• Mediated dispute regarding bank’s alleged mismanagement of foreclosure surplus funds, including allegations of racketeering under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL)
• Mediated dispute between online business and reputation management company involving unfair competition, trademark infringement and dilution, contract breach and false advertising law violations 
• Mediated dispute between cryptocurrency company and token and cryptocurrency exchange, alleging trademark infringement 
• Mediated breach-of-contract dispute alleging failure to remit an extraordinary cash distribution related to stock sold under an option contract for restricted stock units (RSUs)
• Discovery referee for alleged breach of distribution contract
• Mediated breach of fiduciary duty involving alleged inadequate insurance coverage for a property with multiple buildings destroyed in a large fire
• Mediated breach of contract dispute involving software development
• Mediated breach of contract, conversion, declaratory relief and copyright infringement dispute between two businesses, both financial technology services companies, focused on payments processing and card issuance
• Mediated dispute involving alleged advertising fraud involving hard drives
• Mediated securities dispute: derivative actions
• Mediated breach of contract, fraud and related claims by assignee of cosmetics company arising from the recall of a cosmetic product due to alleged contamination 
• Early neutral evaluator and mediator for software licensing dispute involving consumer electronic accessory
• Civil Rights
• Mediated dispute involving alleged disability discrimination and use of force claims against a public university and county in California
• Discovery master for case involving minor child against a school district
• Mediated racial discrimination case against school 
• Mediated alleged unlawful detention and excessive force by patrol at Golden Gate Bridge.
• As a judge, presided over excessive force and other section 1983 cases 
• Class Action & Mass Tort
• Mediated two federal putative class actions in two states involving consumers and a motor vehicle manufacturer concerning alleged defect in vehicles not properly remedied by manufacturer, claiming breach of warranty and various related state and federal statutes
• Mediated class action against a bank for charging excessive fees, which were allegedly not properly disclosed, in violation of contract for certain uses of other entities’ ATMs
• Neutral analysis for class action alleging website’s advertising practices violated California’s UCL
• Mediated class action involving form mortgage agreements, alleging violations of multiple state statutes regulating the amount of interest charged on escrow accounts  
• Mediated class action regarding alleged overcharging of bank fees to U.S. service members
• Mediated putative class action alleging improper overdraft fees based on misleading/ambiguous contract
• Mediated numerous wage and hour class actions
• Mediated securities class action involving the purchase of shares of common stock
• Mediated consumer class actions, including ones alleging false advertising
• Mediated class actions of both exempt and nonexempt employees against two retail store chains for non-reimbursement of personal cell phones that employees were required to use
• Served as special master to review and report on cy pres applications for distribution of settlement funds 
• Mediated consumer class action against a major food manufacturer accused of falsely labeling products as having no preservatives
• Employment Law
• Arbitrated consumer employer wage and hour case
• Arbitrated numerous matters involving breach of contract, discrimination, harassment, whistleblowers and retaliation
• Mediated numerous employment disputes involving claims of gender, racial, age and disability discrimination; breach of contract; sexual harassment; wage and hour; California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA); and meal and rest break violations, including C-suite and high-level executives in businesses, universities, nonprofits and the public sector  
• Mediated employment case involving ERISA
• Mediated multiple disputes regarding trade secrets and noncompetition
• Mediated wrongful termination/retaliation disputes involving technology and pharmaceutical companies
• Environmental Law
• Mediated dispute involving a worker’s claim of exposure to unsafe radiation and hazardous substances at a shipyard, alleging negligence by a contractor that conducted environmental investigations under CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act) standards
• Mediated dispute regarding California’s hazardous waste control laws
• As a judge, presided over major environmental cases  
• Health Care
• Mediated dispute involving the sale and purchase of a medical billing company 
• Mediated copyright/trademark dispute between competitors in artificial intelligence (AI) for healthcare automation 
• Mediated dispute regarding employment noncompetition and trade secrets involving a medical staffing company
• Mediated breach of contract and related statutory and common law claims for failure to commercialize healthcare technology under licensing agreement
• Insurance
• Mediated consumer class action lawsuit against an insurance company for alleged breach of contract and bad faith
• Mediated class action lawsuit claiming that an automobile insurer overcharged drivers who qualified for good driver discounts, in violation of California Insurance Code § 1861, et seq
• Intellectual Property
Patent
• Arbitrated patent/trade secrets dispute 
• Mediated patent litigation focused on Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) technology involving both U.S. and Chinese companies
• Mediated patent inventor’s multimillion-dollar breach of contract/patent infringement lawsuit against major Asian corporation and its U.S. subsidiary over unpaid royalties alleged due under patent licenses 
• Mediated complex two-patents infringement dispute involving cutting-edge gene-therapy
• Mediated patent dispute involving video game technology
• Mediated investor-claimant/ownership dispute regarding two technology patents including bad faith allegations, ownership issues and Washington Consumer Protection Act claims
• Special master for motion in limine in pharmaceutical patent case
• Special master for multi-patent dispute involving cybersecurity technology regarding adequacy of infringement contentions
• As a judge, issued Markman rulings on claims construction in patent cases 
Copyright/Trademark

• Mediated numerous copyright/trademark infringement disputes
• Mediated breach of contract suit to enforce allegedly violated prior settlement agreement in trademark dispute, as well as related trademark infringement between pet services companies
• Mediated copyright infringement case involving software
• Mediated trademark dispute between companies with health care products and related services, including vitamins and over-the-counter medicines
• Mediated trademark infringement action between snack food product companies 
Trade Secrets

• Mediated a multimillion-dollar case alleging misappropriation of trade secrets intended to reduce food waste and spoilage between inventing startup company and a major retailer alleged to have utilized the information to file its own patents
• Arbitrated trade secrets misappropriation action related to pulse transformers
• Mediated trade secret dispute involving major retailer 
• Mediated several misappropriation of trade secrets disputes
• International & Cross Border
• Mediated dispute between U.S. company and Taiwanese supplier of component parts contract
• Mediated copyright infringement and related claims in gaming industry by South Asian company against European parent company and U.S. subsidiary, including jurisdictional issues
• Tripartite arbitration under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Rules of Arbitration regarding alleged unpaid royalties under a technology agreement between a major company with photographic capability on its mobile devices and a provider of photo recognition software and hardware; the amount in dispute was over US $100 million
• Tripartite arbitration under the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) Rules of Arbitration involving a contract dispute between a California company and a Japanese company that was seated in Tokyo; Both California law and Japanese law applied; the amount in dispute was approximately US $10 million to $15 million
• As a judge, held settlement conference for trademark infringement case against a Chinese manufacturer of smartphones and associated chargers by wireless headphone American subsidiary and German parent 
• 2007 Chinese High-Tech Enterprise and U.S. IP Litigation Strategy Forum; China Intellectual Property Society; Beijing Foreign Studies University; Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing
• Presided over mock patent trial, Chinese State Intellectual Property, Bo'ao, China
• Life Sciences
• Mediated dispute between pharmaceutical company and weight loss company, alleging violations of federal and California laws, false advertising/unfair competition and trademark infringement 
• Discovery referee for pharmaceutical product liability case
• Special master for motion in limine in patent case involving pharmaceutical company
• Mediated patent infringement case between leading competitors in operating room technology/medical field 
• Mediated Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) case between two specialty pharmaceutical companies 
• Mediated patent case involving a challenge to the validity of a patented diagnostic related to using DNA to detect a pathogen associated with a disease-causing bacterium 
• Mediated employment disputes involving a biopharmaceutical company, cloud-based personal health care products manufacturer, biological equipment manufacturer and research company specializing in life sciences
• Mediated employment dispute by employees who worked on advanced bioscience projects directed at cancer in several related startup companies against their common owner over alleged broken promises of stock grants, including claims for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, estoppel and breach of contract
• Personal Injury
• Mediated child sexual abuse case involving school
• Arbitrated dispute regarding breach of contract and negligence relating to the destruction of stored eggs and embryos due to cryogenic storage tank failures
• Neutral analysis for case involving adolescent addiction to social media 
• Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) mediation relating to a traffic accident involving a United States Postal Service vehicle
• Privacy
• Discovery referee for dispute involving private internet browsing and the Federal Wiretap Act, California’s Invasion of Privacy Act, the Comprehensive Data Access and Fraud Act, invasion of privacy, intrusion upon seclusion, breach of contract and California’s UCL
• Mediated class action alleging that website misappropriated names, photographs and likenesses without obtaining users’ consent or providing compensation
• Professional Liability
• Mediated matter involving professors and a postdoctoral student at a public university and alleged violations of the university’s Faculty Code of Conduct

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Selected Awards and Honors

Memberships and Affiliations

Selected Publications

Judge Laporte has written numerous articles and participated in many publications, including the following:

Selected Speaking Engagements

Background and Education

• United States Magistrate Judge, Northern District of California, 1998–2019
• Chief United States Magistrate Judge, Northern District of California, 2013–2014
• Chief of Special Litigation, San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, 1996–1998
• Administrative Law Judge, California Department of Insurance, 1991–1996
• Partner and Associate, Turner & Brorby, 1983–1991
• Law Clerk, The Honorable Marilyn Hall Patel, Northern District of California, 1982–1983
• Policy Planner/Economist, Federal Trade Commission, 1977–1979
• J.D., Yale Law School, 1982
• M.A., Oxford University, 1977
• Marshall Scholar
• B.A., Princeton University, 1975