David R. Sugden dsugden@calljensen.com
(V-Card)
Mr. Sugden is a shareholder at Call, Jensen & Ferrell, and specializes in business litigation throughout the United States. Mr. Sugden has obtained several seven- and eight-figure verdicts and judgments throughout the country, and was recently recognized as one of California’s 20 Top Attorneys Under 40. Some of Mr. Sugden’s recent verdicts and judgments include the following:
▪ $47.4 Million Verdict (Misappropriation of Trade Secrets/Copyright Infringement): A unanimous jury ordered a software pirate to pay Mr. Sugden’s client $47.4 million following a three-week jury trial in federal court.
▪ $20 Million Judgment (Fraud/Trademark Infringement): A consent judgment of $20 million against a software pirate followed a surprise search and seizure with U.S. Marshals wherein Mr. Sugden and his investigation team were able to locate and find direct evidence of software misappropriation.
▪ Complete Defense Verdict: A complete trial victory a local retailer wherein the plaintiff alleged wrongful termination under state and federal law. After less than two hours of deliberation, the unanimous jury concluded that all seven of the plaintiff’s causes of action failed.
▪ Complete Defense Judgment: A complete judgment representing a company alleging unfair competition and other business torts. The judgment was entered as a “terminating sanction” against the defendant for its abuse of the legal system.
Brand Protection Treatise (Oxford
University Press 2009)
Mr. Sugden is also the author of Gray Markets: Prevention, Detection, and Litigation (Oxford University Press 2009), which highlights the strategies and theories to protect brand owners from the black and gray marketing of their products. Amazon and Oxford University Press.
Honors and Awards
In January 2009, Mr. Sugden was recognized in California’s Daily Journal as being among the State’s Top 20 Top Attorneys Under 40.
For the fourth year in a row, Mr. Sugden has been named by Los Angeles Magazine a “Rising Star” – a distinction reserved for just two and one-half percent of the attorneys in Los Angeles and Orange County. Rising Stars are lawyers who are under 40, or who have been practicing ten years or less, selected for excellence in the practice of law.
Speaking Engagements
Mr. Sugden is a regular lecturer on intellectual property issues. Some of Mr. Sugden’s recent and upcoming speaking engagements have been the following:
▪
January 2008: “Intellectual Property Litigation,” Bridgeport CLE
Program (Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles, California)
▪
June 2008: “Gray Gray Go Away: 21st Century
Strategies for Fighting the Gray Market,” Association of
Corporation Counsel of America (“ACCA”) CLE Program (IBM/FileNet
Corp., Costa Mesa, California)
▪
January 2009: “Brand Protection: Swords and Shields in the
Detection and Litigation of Brand Abuse,” Bridgeport CLE Program
(Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California)
▪
February 2009: “Brand Protection Within the Luxury Goods
Market,” Global Secure Summit 2009 (Biltmore Hotel, Miami,
Florida)
▪
October 2009: “Brand Protection and Litigation,” Product
Authentication & Brand Security Conference (Hyatt Rosemont
Hotel, Chicago, Illinois)
Other Publications
▪ Just or Unjust Compensation: Effective Strategies to Maximize Recovery in the Intellectual Property Trial (Intellectual Property Today, December 2007)
▪
Going Gray? Putting An End To Illegal Marketing
(IP Law 360, September 6, 2007)
▪
Preparing And Trying Intellectual Property Cases To Win – And
Win Big (Orange County Lawyer Magazine,
September 2006)
▪
The Next Best Thing To The Smoking Gun (Trial
Magazine, June 2006)
▪
Section 2019.210: A Sword, Not A Shield,
(Orange County Lawyer Magazine, May 2006)
▪
Defending and Deterring Drive-By ADA Lawsuits
(Federal Bar Association Newsletter, February 2005)
▪
Solid Defenses to the Liquidated Damages Class Action
(Daily Journal, April 2002)
▪
Counter-Attack: Consumer Protection Lawsuits Must Be Defended
Aggressively (Daily Journal, July 2002)
▪ License to Harass: California Law Provides Defendants in Frivolous Lawsuits with Needed Ammunition (Verdicts and Settlements, June 2000)
Education and Background
Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Mr. Sugden first came to California to play NCAA Division I baseball at Pepperdine University in Malibu. As a senior, Mr. Sugden was named to the “All-West Coast Conference Team.”
Mr. Sugden was then awarded a Doctor of Jurisprudence
degree from Pepperdine University. As a graduate student
at Pepperdine, Mr. Sugden’s honors included being featured in
the 24th Annual Edition of The National Dean’s List and
the 21st Edition of Who’s Who: American Law Students.
Mr. Sugden finished first-place in The Annual Dalsimer
Moot Court Competition.