Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout Outs
Runners-up this week range from eight-figure plaintiff-side win in a retaliation case to the reversal of a nine-digit asbestos verdict.
December 15, 2023 at 07:25 AM
4 minute read
Litigators
Our first runner-up spot goes to David deRubertis of The deRubertis Law Firm and Taylor Prainito and Michael Zelman of Southern California Labor Law Group. A state court jury in Los Angeles this week awarded $41.49 million to their client, neonatal nurse Maria Gatchalian, after finding that she was terminated in retaliation after she raised concerns about understaffing leading to issues with patient safety and quality of care. Jurors awarded Gatchalian $2.49 million in economic damages for lost wages and benefits, $9 million for emotional distress, and $15 million in punitive damages against both defendants, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc.
Dale Cendali, Joshua Simmons and their team at Kirkland & Ellis got a summary judgment win for client Astronics Test Systems knocking out a copyright infringement claim from Teradyne—the sole remaining claim in an intellectual property dispute between the two defense contractors. U.S. District Judge George Wu in Los Angeles last week found that Astronics' use of Teradyne's copyrighted declaring code in its automated testing equipment constituted fair use. The Kirkland team also included partners Yvonne Beeler, Yimeng Dou, Yan-Xin Li and Miranda Means, along with associates Julien Jean-George Crockett, Nick Teleky and Josh Berlowitz.
Andrew Silverman of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe helped head up a defense effort for Dow Chemical Co. subsidiary Union Carbide Corp. that wiped out a $107 million asbestos verdict against the company and codefendants in California state court. Judge Cary Nishimoto in Torrance this week granted the defendants' motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, which included $75 million in punitive damages against Union Carbide. In particular, the judge found "no substantial evidence" that Union Carbide asbestos was a substantial factor in causing janitor Joel Hernandezcueva's fatal mesothelioma. The defense line-up for Union Carbide also included Orrick's Eric Shumsky, Josh Rosenkranz, Amari Hammonds, Emily Villano and Anne Savin as well as co-counsel at Polsinelli including Stephen Nichols, David Schultz and Mary McKelvey. Union Carbide co-defendant E.F. Brady Company Inc. was represented by Jerry Popovich and Ashley Henning at Hawkins Parnell & Young. Co-defendant Elementis was represented by William Armstrong and Heather Weakley and DeHay & Elliston.
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Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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