Litigation
Gorman & Miller’s litigation practice includes all areas of business and commercial disputes before state and federal trial and appellate courts and administrative agencies. The firm's attorneys have extensive experience successfully handling business matters, including but not limited to breach of contract, intellectual property, unfair competition, trade secrets, franchise litigation, employment law, real estate, construction law, accounting malpractice, collection, and securities litigation.The law firm is strongly committed to providing cost-effective litigation services for its clients. The firm works closely with its clients to achieve desired results, either through negotiation or court action.
Representative Cases:
Represented a startup venture in an intellectual property infringement claim against a Fortune 500 corporation that resulted in a highly favorable confidential settlement.
Represented the developer of a major regional shopping center in a federal lawsuit brought by a national architectural firm for copyright infringement and breach of contract. We succeeded in obtaining an order of dismissal and our client was awarded its fees and costs of suit.
Represented a California investment company in a lawsuit for breach of contract and interference with prospective advantage against a Japanese investment company resulting in a favorable confidential settlement.
Represented three individuals who were assaulted and injured by unknown assailants in the parking lot of a 24 hour convenience mart owned by a major international franchisor in a lawsuit that led to a settlement in excess of $4.5 million.
Represented a world famous singer in the defense of a lawsuit brought by a concert promoter resulting in dismissal of the lawsuit.
Represented a California distributor against a large Korean-based multinational corporation in a lawsuit for breach of contract resulting in a favorable confidential settlement.
Represented an investor in a securities lawsuit against a hedge fund that resulted in substantial confidential settlements against the hedge fund’s sponsors and its attorney.
Represented a national franchisor in various federal trademark infringement actions that resulted in permanent injunctions that restrained continued misuse of the registered mark.
Represented the owners of a luxury single family residence in a major construction defect lawsuit and obtained a settlement in excess of $4 million against the builder, its subcontractors, the architect, and the structural engineer. This is believed to be the largest settlement ever achieved in a single family construction defect case in Santa Clara County.
Represented an individual in a breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit that led to entry of a judgment of approximately $3.75 million against the fiduciary following a state court bench trial.
Represented a manufacturer of memory cards in a patent infringement and unfair competition lawsuit. Our law firm filed a successful motion to dismiss a state law unfair competition claim brought by the plaintiff under Massachusetts law that sought treble damages. Dismissal of the treble damage claim led to settlement of the dispute.
Represented the general contractor in a large mechanic’s lien foreclosure action against a high rise building which resulted in a favorable confidential settlement.
Represented an infomercial marketer in a substantial collection action against a credit card processor resulting in a judgment for the infomercial marketer.
Represented a theater operator in the defense of a lawsuit brought by an entertainment production company resulting in dismissal of the lawsuit.
Represented a manufacturer of air filtration devices in a patent infringement lawsuit brought against a Fortune 100 corporation. The case resulted in an early settlement. Our client received a substantial upfront payment for the past infringement. The defendant further agreed to enter into a license agreement pursuant to which our client continues to receive a steady stream of quarterly royalty payments.
Represented the purchaser of a large apartment complex in Phoenix, Arizona against the seller/developer for breach of a representation that the seller would provide permanent take-out financing upon completion of the project. The seller/developer eventually agreed to a settlement that reimbursed the purchaser's additional interest costs.
Representative Trials:
Obtained a federal jury verdict for a seller of high-end Italian menswear against a former marketing manager for engaging in illegal "cybersquatting" subsequent to his departure from the company.
Obtained a judgment in excess of $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages (as well as entry of a permanent injunction) for one of the country's largest wholesale distributors of computer components against a former salesperson for misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition based on theft of customer lists following her formation of a competitive enterprise.
Obtained a federal jury verdict and issuance of a permanent injunction prohibiting trade disparagement for a client against its leading competitor in the field of medical devices.
Represented a subsidiary of a major publicly traded corporation in an employment discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit that successfully resulted in entry of a judgment for the employer following plaintiff's opening statement. Judgment was affirmed on appeal. Kohn v. GTE Government Systems, Inc.
Represented gas station operators in a lawsuit against a major oil company that resulted in a sizeable judgment for overcharging of petroleum products; judgment was affirmed on appeal. Rossi v. Mobil Oil Corp., 710 F.2d 821 (TECA 1983).
Represented the dissenting shareholder of a corporation in a shareholder dispute that resulted in a unanimous state court jury verdict for compensatory and punitive damages against the dominant shareholder; judgment was affirmed on appeal. Chan v. Short.
Representative Opinions:
Represented a former franchisee in a leading case that invalidated a provision of the franchise agreement that required resolution of disputes by way of AAA arbitration in Oklahoma. Laxmi Investments, LLC v. Golf USA, Inc., 193 F.3d 1095 (9th Cir. 1999).
Represented a publicly traded NYSE corporation in the defense of an employment lawsuit brought by a former managerial employee. Obtained summary judgment for our client as to the tort claim for fraud, thereby removing punitive damages from the case, leading to dismissal of the case in return for a token settlement. Salstein v. HALO Industries, Inc., 82 F. Supp. 2d 1080 (N.D. Cal. 1999).
Represented a purchaser of defective steel against a large Japanese trading company in a UCC breach of warranty action. A federal court judgment of $1,646,969 in favor of the purchaser of the non-conforming goods was upheld on appeal. S & R Metals, Inc. v. C. Itoh & Co. (America), Inc., 859 F.2d 814 (9th Cir. 1988).
Represented the defendant in a case holding that terminating sanctions could not be issued for nonpayment of monetary sanctions that had been imposed based upon the discovery misconduct of his former lawyer. Newland v. Superior Court, 40 Cal. App. 4th 608 (1995).
Represented a commercial landlord of a long-term lease in a fraudulent conveyance claim against a putative spouse of the commercial tenant who failed to pay rent according to the agreed terms of a long-term lease. Kim v. Tsai, 2003 WL 499954 (2003).
Represented a party in a shareholder dispute that resulted in disqualification of opposing counsel for violation of its ethical duties regarding joint representation. Multiwave Innovation, Inc. v. Kris Technologies, Inc.
Represented a savings and loan in an action brought against several large financial institutions for allegedly engaging in unfair lending practices and antitrust violations. The complaint was dismissed by the district court. The dismissal was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit on appeal. Ames v. Pacific Western Financial, et al..
Represented purchasers in a securities fraud case against the control persons of a bankrupt start-up corporation. The defendants' attempt to remove the action to federal bankruptcy court was rejected by the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Ninth Circuit and the case was thereafter settled on highly favorable terms. In re eManage.com, BAP No. NC-03-1211-PBK, Adv. No. 02-7307 AN (9th Cir. BAP 2003).
Represented the prospective buyers of a residential property in an arbitration establishing that the seller's disclosures must be actually delivered and that it is not satisfactory for the seller or its real estate agent to make them available online. Pettit v. Wang, JAMS Case No. 1110009512 (2007).
For more information on our senior litigators, please click on the following links: Richard Klein, Ken Heisz, and Ken Miller.
