Highlights
February 2, 2012
INSURANCE COVERAGE WIN: DOUBLE SUMMARY JUDGMENT VICTORY FOR CALL & JENSEN’S CLIENT
When M.S. Industrial Sheet Metal’s insurer filed a declaratory relief complaint seeking a judgment that it owed no duty to defend M.S. Industrial in a personal injury action it was facing, M.S. Industrial found itself waging a two-front battle against both the personal injury plaintiffs and its own insurer. M.S. Industrial called upon Call & Jensen to defend it in both actions. Realizing the need to move strategically in claiming their client’s rights, Call & Jensen attorneys filed for summary judgment simultaneously with the insurer. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued a ruling denying the insurer’s summary judgment motion, and granting Call & Jensen’s motion. The result means not only that Call & Jensen’s client will have insurance defense coverage, but the ruling also adds clarity to judicial interpretation of the total pollution exclusion, and is a decision that policyholders may be able to use to secure coverage notwithstanding this exclusion in the future.
December 22, 2011
Defense Victory: Entire Employment Class Action Dismissed by Resolving Individual Claims
After identifying flaws in the Plaintiff’s wage-and-hour class action seeking unpaid overtime wages and penalties for missed meal periods, Call & Jensen obtained a complete dismissal of all class claims and resolved the entire matter by settling the individual claims brought by the class representatives. The client thereby avoided the exposure of class-wide damages at an early stage of the case before substantial legal fees were incurred defending the action.
December 22, 2011
Defense Victory: Defense Motion for Summary Judgment Granted in Copyright Infringement Case
Call & Jensen obtained a complete defense victory in a copyright infringement case. Despite Plaintiff possessing a copyright registration which appeared to be valid, Call & Jensen obtained a ruling from the Court holding that Plaintiff’s purportedly copyrighted design did not share a single point of objective similarity between any protectable element of its design and the alleged infringing garment. After granting the motion for summary judgment, the Court awarded Call & Jensen its attorneys’ fees and costs as the prevailing party under the Copyright Act.
September 15, 2011
Plaintiff Victory: SURPRISE SEARCH AND SEIZURE WITH U.S. MARSHALS
After discovering its client’s telecommunications products were being counterfeited overseas and imported into the United States for sale, Call & Jensen, accompanied by four U.S. Marshals, helped secure a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and the lawful search and seizure of almost 2,000 counterfeit telephones from a Los Angeles warehouse.
August 15, 2011
Defense Victory: Entire Employment Class Action Dismissed
After identifying flaws in the Plaintiff’s wage-and-hour class action seeking unpaid overtime wages and penalties for missed meal periods, Call & Jensen obtained a complete dismissal of all class claims and resolved the entire matter by settling the individual claims brought by the class representatives. The client thereby avoided the exposure of class-wide damages at an early stage of the case before substantial legal fees were incurred defending the action.
July 4, 2011
Defense Victory: MULTIPLE CIVIL RIGHT LAWSUITS DISMISSED
When multiple 7-Eleven convenience stores were targeted by a serial ADA Plaintiff in Florida, 7-Eleven turned to Call & Jensen. After filing a motion to dismiss each of the complaints and catching Plaintiff lying multiple times during deposition in one of the suits, the professional plaintiff gave up and voluntarily dismissed four suits against 7-Eleven in a single day.
February 8, 2010
Defense Victory: On the Eve of Trial, Plaintiff Dismisses Lawsuit with Prejudice
After repeatedly demanding many thousands of dollars from Call & Jensen's client, U.S. Bank, the Plaintiff dismissed all of his claims with prejudice on the eve of trial. The Plaintiff's dismissal was the result of a detailed, interrogating deposition, and surveillance video that exposed falsehoods in the Plaintiff's allegations.
December 23, 2009
Defense Victory: Complete Trial Victory in Unlawful Detainer Case
After a full trial of all claims and defenses, Call & Jensen obtained a judgment in favor of its client, a landlord in Los Angeles County, on all counts.
December 13, 2009
Defense Victory: Class Certification Denied in Multi-million Dollar Putative Class Action
Call & Jensen defeated Plaintiffs' request to have a class certified against one of the nation’s leading pest control companies. The ruling, issued by a federal court in the Northern District of California, effectively reduced the Plaintiffs’ case from a potential multi-million dollar, complex class-action regarding termite control services (Plaintiffs alleged numerous wrongful practices, all of which were without merit) to a claim by two households, neither of which experienced any ongoing termite problems after initial treatments.
December 13, 2009
Defense Victory: Denial of Class Certification Against Dietary Supplement Maker
Call & Jensen secured significant victories in two nationwide class action lawsuits filed against its client, a leading supplier of dietary supplements. The Court denied class certification in both cases, effectively reducing multi-million dollar class claims to individual claims of nominal value. Call & Jensen's aggressive defense strategy – which included gathering declarations from hundreds of putative class members – was pivotal to these victories.
December 8, 2009
Defense Judgment: Civil Rights Lawsuit Dismissed
In a pre trial motion, a federal judge ruled that the Plaintiff had failed to present sufficient evidence to support his case. (Jerry Doran et al. v. 7 Eleven Inc., et al., Case No. SACV 09-00067-JVS) Plaintiff Jerry Doran, a self-described “disability rights activist” who has filed over 200 lawsuits alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, claimed that he suffered “humiliation and embarrassment” after being unable to “fully enjoy” the services of a 7-Eleven store in Anaheim during dozens of visits dating back to 2004. Doran, who had previously persuaded an appeals court to overturn two previous orders dismissing his case, demanded money damages and attorneys’ fees of nearly $500,000 from 7-Eleven on the morning of trial.
December 1, 2009
Publication: Call & Jensen Attorney Publishes Brand Protection Treatise
Managing Shareholder, David Sugden, authored .Gray Markets: Prevention, Detection, and Litigation (Oxford University Press 2009), which highlights the strategies and theories of protection for brand owners from black and gray marketing of their products.
May 13, 2009
Defense Victory: Defense Verdict After 14 Minutes of Deliberation
A jury deliberated just 14 minutes before rejecting a demand by a disabled man for over $100,000 alleging that Jack In The Box had violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) (Marquez v. Jack In the Box, Inc., Case No. BC384442). Plaintiff Luis Marquez, a paraplegic, alleged that his civil rights were violated and that he was humiliated on over 100 visits to a Los Angeles Jack In The Box. Marquez asked the jury to award him at least $100,000 in damages, as well as several hundred thousand dollars in attorneys’ fees. Marquez’s claims quickly disintegrated, however, when Mr. Marquez admitted that he had learned from his attorney that he could earn larger settlements in disability lawsuits if he claimed to experience discrimination at the same restaurant “hundreds and hundreds of times.” After deliberating just 14 minutes, the jury rejected Mr. Marquez’s claims. One juror noted that Mr. Marquez’s story was “unbelievable” and that the lawsuit was “just a shakedown.”
January 21, 2009
Honor: Call & Jensen Attorney Recognized as one of “California’s 20 Top Attorneys Under 40”
Managing Partner, David Sugden, was recognized by California’s Daily Journal as one of “California’s 20 Top Attorneys Under 40.”
December 17, 2008
Defense Victory: Unanimous Verdict After 18 Minutes Of Jury Deliberation
After only 18 minutes of deliberation, the jury returned with a unanimous verdict in favor of Call & Jensen's client and rejected the Plaintiff's claims that he had encountered discriminatory barriers within an Orange County Del Taco restaurant. Call & Jensen exposed the Plaintiff, who had filed approximately 200 identical lawsuits against California businesses and restaurants within one year, to the members of the jury – who reported that their unanimous defense verdict was reached “after 15 minutes of picking a foreman and 3 minutes of expressing shared outrage [at the Plaintiff]”. After Call & Jensen aggressively pursued and was awarded its client’s litigation costs, the Plaintiff quickly dismissed 4 additional lawsuits against the company. Call & Jensen's victory was highlighted by the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, CNN, as well as the KFI•AM 640 radio program “The John & Ken Show.”
September 10, 2008
Defense Victory: Plaintiff Dismisses Lawsuits During Trial Cross-Examination
Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed all four of his lawsuits against Call & Jensen clients Del Taco, Carl’s Jr., and El Pollo Loco. The Plaintiff, a professional litigant with dozens of similar “access discrimination” lawsuits, voluntarily dismissed all four of his lawsuits after his credibility was shaken on the stand and his claims, which were originally filed as statewide class actions, were exposed as meritless. Call & Jensen's victory was featured in a Fox-11 News expose regarding the ongoing and unfortunate abuse of California’s Disabled Persons Act.
June 30, 2008
Defense Victory: Ninth Circuit Affirms Federal Antitrust and Malicious Prosecution Action
Call & Jensen successfully defended a Ninth Circuit appeal of a victory Call & Jensen had won for its client on malicious prosecution and antitrust claims. Call & Jensen’s client, European toolmaker Gillet Outillage, was sued under the Lanham Act, Clayton Act, and state tort law for trying to enforce an international patent. Gillet Outillage had voluntarily dismissed a previous patent lawsuit against a U.S. competitor when changes in technology reduced the financial benefit of continuing the infringement action. The U.S. competitor responded with antitrust and malicious prosecution claims against Gillet Outillage and its prior counsel. Call & Jensen won summary judgment for Gillet Outillage, and the judgment has now been affirmed in a published Ninth Circuit opinion.
June 17, 2008
Defense Victory: Trial and Appellate Victory in Homeowners Association Dispute
After achieving rare trial and appellate court victories for homeowners against their homeowners association in a high-end real estate dispute, Call & Jensen secured a further ruling awarding Call & Jensen's clients all of their attorneys' fees and recoverable costs.
June 17, 2008
Defense Victory: Court of Appeals Affirms Innovative Class De-Certification Strategy
The California Court of Appeals affirmed an innovative defense strategy Call & Jensen utilized to defeat class certification in an overtime case. In a lawsuit against BCBG women’s clothing boutiques, Call & Jensen gathered extensive evidence to defeat class certification by proving that BCBG managers’ work varies significantly from store to store and manager to manager. Rather than wait for the Plaintiffs to move for class certification, C&J successfully argued that the court could rule against class certification based on BCBG’s defense motion and the evidence gathered by C&J. The court granted BCBG’s motion and struck all the class action allegations from the complaint.
September 14, 2007
Defense Victory: Complete Trial Victory In Civil Rights Case
An Orange County jury took little more than an hour to decide that Call & Jensen client Marie Callender Pie Shops had not violated disability laws that a woman who uses a wheelchair cited when she claimed the size of the stalls at the restaurant chain's diner in Buena Park prevented her from getting access to the toilet. Jurors also rejected Plaintiff Sue Gasper's claim that our client was required to renovate bathrooms at all of its 136 locations in the western U.S. under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the state Unruh Act. (Gasper v. Marie Callender Pie Shops Inc., Case No. CV05-1435)
August 31, 2007
Defense Victory: Plaintiff’s Copyright Case Dismissed and Plaintiff is Ordered to Pay
In a significant victory for a major retail department store, Call & Jensen turned the tables on a copyright infringement Plaintiff by not only convincing the Plaintiff to dismiss its case with prejudice, but also by requiring the Plaintiff to pay Call & Jensen's client $20,000.
August 31, 2007
Plaintiff Victory: $10 Million Judgment in Warranty Fraud Case
Call & Jensen client Nortel Networks Corp., then North America's largest maker of telephone equipment, won a $10-million court judgment against two U.S. companies it accused of selling its equipment through a warranty-fraud scheme. Nortel alleged the Oklahoma companies, SMC Electronics LLC and Allied Solution Technical Center LLC, claimed to be operating a network under a Nortel warranty and received replacement parts for free. The two companies then re sold the warranty parts. Nortel's claims included trademark infringement, fraud, breach of contract, and deceptive acts and practices. "We are very pleased with the outcome in this case," a Nortel spokesman said. "This is a victory in the ongoing worldwide fight against piracy and demonstrates our commitment to putting an end to gray market fraud." The judgment issued a ruling of $10 million for damages, lawyers' fees, and costs.
March 30, 2007
Plaintiff Victory: $51 Million Settlement
Call & Jensen secured a $51 million dollar cash settlement for a large technology company against its supplier. The identities of the parties and details of the settlement are confidential.
March 11, 2007
Defense Victory: Overtime Class Action Dismissed
The United States District Court granted Call & Jensen's motion to strike the class allegations in a putative overtime class action seeking $50 million in damages.
January 16, 2007
Plaintiff Victory: $1.4 Million Arbitration Award
Call & Jensen achieved a $1.4 million judgment for its client, a prominent financial institution. After a multi-day arbitration trial, the arbitrator awarded $1.4 million plus interest, attorneys' fees, and costs to Call & Jensen's client.
June 15, 2006
Defense Victory: Preliminary Injunction Denied and Court Discharges TRO
After having a temporary restraining order granted against it in a counterfeiting case, a fashion-industry client retained Call & Jensen to act immediately to take steps to defend against a preliminary injunction and seek to discharge the temporary restraining order. Call & Jensen was able to move swiftly, present oral argument to the Court, and obtain a complete victory and dismissal of the case against Call & Jensen’s client.
June 1, 2006
Plaintiff Victory: $47.4 Million Jury Verdict
A San Diego jury awarded telecom giant Nortel Networks a record $47.4 million in punitive damages, the state's largest punitive damages award in 2006. The unanimous verdict against global telecommunications retailer Platinum Networks in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California followed a three-week trial involving claims of stolen trade secrets and copyright infringement.
December 25, 2005
Defense Victory: Class Action Against Computer Maker Dismissed
Call & Jensen secured the complete pretrial dismissal of a high stakes class action complaint against one of the world’s largest personal computer makers. Before dismissal, the Plaintiff sought classwide damages in excess of $100 million.
