EMPLOYMENT
COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARK, AND TRADE SECRET
CLASS ACTION: UNFAIR COMPETITION AND TOXIC TORT
FIRST AMENDMENT
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GENERAL AND COMPLEX COMMERCIAL LITIGATION
The lawyers at Colt Wallerstein have extensive experience litigating a variety of complex commercial cases with outstanding results for both plaintiffs and defendants. We have represented clients in disputes with competitors, vendors, customers, shareholders and business partners. We have represented plaintiffs and defendants in cases alleging breach of contract and warranty, fraud, false advertising, unfair competition, breach of fiduciary duty, interference with economic relationships, trade libel and more. We have successfully handled dozens of disputes in which the amount at stake exceeded $10 million.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
BREACH OF PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT AND BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY: SUMMARY ADJUDICATION
COO filed a $30 million suit against the client and its CEO alleging breach of a partnership agreement and breach of fiduciary duty. Following extensive discovery and a comprehensive motion for summary adjudication that included thousands of pages of exhibits, the court dismissed those causes of action.
BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY AND FRAUD: NOMINAL SETTLEMENT
An investor in one of the country’s
largest accounting firms sued the firm after losing tens of
millions of dollars in an offshore hedge fund. Mediation
resulted in a settlement in which the investor recovered only a
small fraction of the damages sought.
BREACH OF CONTRACT: FAVORABLE SETTLEMENT
Former executives of the client filed a $20 million demand for
binding arbitration, alleging that the client failed to meet
certain purchase obligations to promote and market the brand
after a merger. After extended, contentious litigation,
plaintiffs agreed to a confidential settlement resulting in a
complete dismissal of all their claims.
BREACH OF CONTRACT, IMPLIED WARRANTIES, UNFAIR COMPETITION: FAVORABLE SETTLEMENT
After two
years of litigation including removal to federal court and
extensive motion practice, obtained a favorable settlement on
behalf of semiconductor manufacturer which had been sued for an
amount in excess of $30 million for breach of contract, breach
of implied warranties, unfair competition and related claims.
BREACH OF CONTRACT, IMPLIED WARRANTIES: FAVORABLE SETTLEMENT
Obtained a
favorable settlement with Microsoft on behalf of a manufacturer
of computer software and hardware in a $14 million contract
dispute regarding the development and production of advanced,
customized software.
BREACH OF MERGER AGREEMENT: FAVORABLE SETTLEMENT
Represented one of the nation's premier software companies in a suit brought by former shareholders of an acquired company. Innovative litigation tactics resulted in a favorable settlement only days before arbitration was set to begin.
The attorneys
at Colt Wallerstein have extensive experience litigating claims
of sexual and racial harassment, sex and disability
discrimination, whistle-blower retaliation, non-compete
agreements, and wage and hour claims on behalf of both
plaintiffs and defendants.
We offer advice and counseling on any aspect of the
employer-employee relationship, including hiring practices,
personnel policies, compensation issues and layoffs and
terminations. We are familiar with the many
employment laws, including the California’s Fair Employment and
Housing Act (“FEHA”), the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Americans
with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act (“ADEA”), the Family and Medical Leave Act
(“FMLA”), the California Family Rights Act, the Fair Labor
Standards Act (“FSLA”), the
Public Records Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act
(“OSHA”), and many others.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
EMPLOYMENT ARBITRATION: COMPLETE VICTORY
Successfully enforced arbitration agreement on behalf of high net worth President and CEO accused of sexual harassment and discrimination, wrongful discharge, retaliation, failure to pay overtime and related claims.
DISCRIMINATION SUIT: NOMINAL SETTLEMENT
Represented national retailer in disability discrimination and tort case in which plaintiff alleged life-threatening injuries and sought millions of dollars in damages. Took and defended depositions and successfully argued numerous motions which dramatically reduced the client's exposure and ultimately led to a settlement for a nominal sum.
WRONGFUL TERMINATION: DISMISSAL
Obtained dismissal of wrongful termination and First Amendment claims on behalf of a city Mayor and his Chief of Staff relating to the termination of a high-level official.
WRONGFUL TERMINATION: DISMISSAL
Obtained dismissal on behalf of Housing Authority against claims of wrongful discharge, retaliation and violation of the First Amendment brought by a terminated attorney.
BREACH OF NON-COMPETE AGREEMENT: FAVORABLE SETTLEMENT
Obtained favorable settlement on behalf of individual and acquiring company accused of breaching non-compete agreement with Verizon Wireless.
BREACH OF NON-COMPETE AGREEMENT: FAVORABLE SETTLEMENT
Obtained favorable settlements and agreements not to compete on behalf of high technology companies suing former employees for theft of trade secrets and breach of non-compete agreements.
WRONGFUL TERMINATION: FAVORABLE SETTLEMENT
Represented well-known venture capital firm in wrongful termination case brought by former employee.
HARASSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION: FAVORABLE SETTLEMENT
Represented an attorney accused of sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Obtained favorable settlement.
BREACH OF PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT: SUMMARY ADJUDICATION
Represented the CEO of one of the
nation's largest security companies. In breach of contract
and wrongful termination suit brought by former Chief Operating
Officer, obtained summary adjudication of claims for breach of
partnership agreement and breach of fiduciary duty.
COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARK AND TRADE SECRET
Copyright gives exclusive rights to the creator of an original
work to publish, distribute and adapt that work until it enters
the public domain. A trademark is a distinctive mark used
to identify a unique source of origin, and to distinguish the
product or service from competitors’. A trade secret is
information that is not generally known to the public, confers
some sort of economic benefit on its holder from not being
generally known, and is the subject of reasonable efforts to
maintain its secrecy.
The attorneys at Colt Wallerstein have deep experience
litigating copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets.
Because of the sensitivity of these intellectual property
rights, these cases often require the kind of lightning-fast
judgment and execution that you can only get from years of
experience in this field.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT AND FALSE ADVERTISING: COMPLETE VICTORY
Client was served with a complaint and a motion for a temporary
restraining order at approximately 5:00 p.m. Opposition
papers were due 8:00 a.m. the following morning. Alleging
trademark infringement and false advertising, the plaintiff
demanded that the client immediately dismantle a $20 million
nationwide advertising campaign that included television, radio,
and billboard advertisements, as well as 20,000 taxi-top
displays.
Doug Colt worked throughout the night preparing the opposition
and witness declarations, and successfully filed them by 7:00
a.m. the following morning. The client’s general counsel
wrote that he was “stunned” at how quickly the opposition papers
were prepared and “blown away” by their quality. After a
three-hour hearing later that day, the District Court denied the
motion for a temporary restraining order. After five
months of intense discovery, the plaintiff agreed to dismiss its
complaint and agreed to pay the client’s legal fees if the
plaintiff ever asserted similar claims in the future.
TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT AND FALSE ADVERTISING: COMPLETE VICTORY
Represented one of the world's largest
software manufacturers in multiple suits for trademark
infringement and false advertising brought by H&R Block.
The suits included extraordinarily accelerated time-tables,
beginning with proceedings for a temporary restraining order and
a permanent injunction. One such suit resulted in an
unprecedented reversal of a temporary restraining order by the Eighth Circuit
Court of Appeals in only five hours. Each suit settled on
extremely favorable terms for the client.
TRADE SECRETS: COMPLETE VICTORY
Represented one of the country's leading financial advisors which suspected a senior engineer of copying sensitive documents and software systems. Worked with computer forensic specialists and uncovered the extent of the misappropriation and proceeded to file a complaint against the former engineer. Successfully negotiated a settlement resulting in the complete return of all of the misappropriated software, a permanent injunction and judgment against the former employee, and the payment of the client’s legal fees totaling more than $100,000.
CLASS
ACTIONS (CONSUMER UNFAIR COMPETITION AND TOXIC TORTS)
Recently, the
California Supreme Court opened the door wide open for consumer
class actions alleging that a business advertisement or practice
is misleading or fraudulent under California’s “Unfair
Competition Law,” Business & Professions Code Section 17200
et
seq. The attorneys at Colt Wallerstein have extensive
experience with this law and with class actions generally.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
BREACH OF WARRANTIES AND UNFAIR COMPETITION CONSUMER CLASS ACTIONS: COMPLETE VICTORY
After successfully winning motions preventing the disclosure of potentially incriminating documents, obtained a complete dismissal of all claims against a national software company in several purported class actions alleging breach of express and implied warranties and violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumer Legal Remedies Act.
CONSUMER CLASS ACTION: COMPLETE DISMISSAL
Plaintiffs filed a nationwide class-action alleging that the client violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (“FACTA”) by printing credit card expiration dates on millions of customer receipts for online transactions. The potential damages exceeded $1 billion. Drafted a motion to dismiss based on a creative interpretation of the statute while simultaneously participating in a joint Congressional lobbying effort to amend FACTA to exempt online transactions. The lobbying was successful, and resulted in a amendment that provided retroactive protection to the client, resulting in a complete defense victory.
ATTORNEY GENERAL INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGEDLY FALSE ADVERTISING: FAVORABLE SETTLEMENT
State Attorney General alleged that product packaging of a major software manufacturer was false and misleading. Prepared a presentation for the Attorney General’s office and developed modified product packaging; obtained a settlement for a nominal fee.
BREACH OF WARRANTY / PRODUCT DEFECT / UNFAIR COMPETITION NATIONWIDE CLASS ACTIONS
Representing automobile manufacturer in purported class actions alleging breach of warranty, product defect, unfair competition and related claims.
MASS TORT: FAVORABLE SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS
Selected to serve as national counsel for pharmaceutical defendants accused in hundreds of cases arising from the manufacture and distribution of the diet drug “fen-phen.” Obtained dismissals of dozens of individual cases in state and federal court as well as in class actions and consolidated multi-district litigation; obtained favorable settlements of hundreds more.
MASS TORT: FAVORABLE SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS
Represented defendants in state and federal product liability cases, including purported class actions and multi-district litigation, relating to alleged injuries caused by products containing phenylpropanolamine (“PPA”). Obtained dismissals and settlements of hundreds of individual cases in state and federal court as well as in class actions and consolidated multi-district litigation
MASS TORT: FAVORABLE SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS
Obtained favorable settlements and dismissals in the defense of thousands of product-liability claims relating to alleged exposure to asbestos-containing products over a thirty-plus year time frame. Played essential role with national alliance of defense firms on joint defense issues and created document database for use by national trial teams.
The lawyers
at Colt Wallerstein defend companies and individuals against
claims of libel, slander, defamation and violation of First
Amendment rights. Recently, for example, a group of
disgruntled former employees sued our client for defamation,
seeking millions of dollars in damages. We used our
expertise and experience to obtain the voluntary dismissal of
those claims without our client paying a dime.
We also have experience representing a variety of public figures
against claims of First Amendment violations. For example,
Tom Wallerstein helped obtain the dismissal of First Amendment
claims on behalf of a Mayor and his Chief of Staff relating to
the termination of a high-level official. He also helped
obtain the dismissal on behalf of a Housing Authority against
claims of violation of the First Amendment brought by a
terminated attorney.