Toxic Tort and Environmental Litigation
- Obtained a seven-figure sanctions award for a client following a plaintiff’s concealment of evidence of the cause of groundwater contamination.
- Obtained summary judgment in an action alleging that gasoline exposure caused a plaintiff’s aplastic anemia. The court agreed with our argument that the plaintiff’s expert’s causation opinion lacked scientific support.
- Defeated class claims on behalf of thousands of homeowners residing near a refinery in Northern California. The court agreed with our argument that the existence of harm caused by dust and odors could not be established on a classwide basis.
- Secured summary judgment in a wrongful death action brought under the Jones Act concerning a seaman’s alleged exposure to crude oil aboard a chartered vessel.
- Obtained a defense jury verdict on a claim alleging that the client’s solvent caused soil and groundwater contamination.
- Defended clients in several jury trials alleging personal injuries caused by benzene.
- Obtained summary judgement on hundreds of coordinated toxic tort cases alleging exposure to industrial chemicals. Lockheed Litigation Cases, Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding No. 2967.
- Led a jury trial involving the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Clean Water Act and related administrative challenges concerning remediation of leaking storage tanks. Esso Standard Oil Co. v. Lopez-Freytes, 522 F.3d 136 (1st Cir. 2008).
- Represented a pesticide manufacturer against thousands of personal injury claims asserted by foreign banana workers.
- Obtained summary judgement and sanctions concerning hundreds of medical monitoring claims alleging risk from underground contamination. Baker v. Chevron USA Inc., 533 Fed.Appx. 509 (6th Cir. 2013). Tried a breach of contract claim alleging the insufficiency of environmental disclosures.
- Obtained a summary judgment ruling that the Clean Air Act preempts a highway worker’s tort claim for harm caused by gasoline and vehicle exhaust.
- Obtained a ruling that the California doctrine of displacement bars common law tort claims alleging harm from a refinery’s permitted emissions.
Commercial Litigation and Consumer Protection
- Obtained a decision under California’s anti-SLAPP statute that protected a client’s petitioning of federal agencies concerning a competitor's product. Neurelis Inc. v. Aquestive Therapeutics Inc., 71 Cal. App. 5th 769 (2021).
- Obtained a jury verdict and permanent injunction for a client denigrated by a competitor’s secretly operated ratings website.
- Defeated an administrative penalty action through a civil rights lawsuit alleging dormant Commerce Clause violations. Daniels Sharpsmart Inc. v. Smith, 889 F.3d 608 (9th Cir. 2018).
- Obtained pre-discovery dismissals of class actions alleging unfair medical care reimbursements and deceptive advertising of skin care products.
- Represented a client before the California Supreme Court on a first amendment challenge to compel corporate disclosures. Beeman v. Anthem Prescription Management, LLC, 58 Cal.4th 329 (2013).
- Defeated class certification in multidistrict litigation concerning the sale of allegedly toxic plastic drinking bottles made from BPA.
- Defeated class certification of statutory and constitutional claims arising out of the Public Employees’ Retirement Law.