Call & Jensen recently persuaded the Honorable Ann I. Jones of the Los Angeles County Superior Court to deny class certification to a proposed class of more than 1,500 therapists in a wage-and-hour lawsuit. Call & Jensen obtained this victory for its client following more than four years of protracted litigation against class counsel. The attorneys who handled the case were Julie Trotter and Delavan Dickson.

Call & Jensen attorneys recently obtained a complete dismissal with prejudice of all shareholder derivative claims in a business dispute in federal court. Last year, a closely held corporation filed a lawsuit against its former CEO, alleging fraud and misappropriation of millions of dollars. The defendant countered with shareholder derivative claims against the corporation’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Financial Officer. Representing these individual counter-defendants, Call & Jensen attacked the derivative claims, arguing they failed to state any valid claims. Agreeing, the Court dismissed the claims, but afforded the defendant “one final opportunity” to amend. When the defendant tried to allege the derivative claims again, Call & Jensen promptly persuaded the Court that the claims were still invalid. The Court dismissed all the derivative claims with prejudice, thereby removing the board chairman and CFO from the suit. This case was litigated by Matthew R. Orr, William P. Cole, L. Lisa Sandoval, and Jeffrey M. David.

Call & Jensen recently obtained a complete defense judgment for its clients in a hotly-contested, multi-million-dollar lawsuit. Call & Jensen obtained the victory via a summary judgment motion after stepping in to take over the defense following years of protracted litigation. The complaint sought more than $5 million in damages based on alleged violations of state and federal consumer credit reporting laws. Attorneys David R. Sugden and Melinda Evans obtained the complete victory for their clients.

Call & Jensen secured a significant transfer of venue for its client in a business dispute in federal court. Despite the existence of a forum selection clause in the parties’ contract requiring that all disputes “arising out of or relating to” the contract be filed in Florida, where Call & Jensen’s client is based, the Plaintiff filed suit in California, where the alleged work was performed. Call & Jensen’s client had previously filed a contract claim in Florida pursuant to the parties’ agreement. Rather than file a cross-claim in Florida, however, the Plaintiff filed a new suit in California, increasing the litigation costs and burden. Call & Jensen moved to transfer the new case to Florida, which the Plaintiff heavily contested, arguing that the parties’ contract had expired and that the claims for quantum meruit and unjust enrichment were not based on the contract. Call & Jensen, however, persuaded the judge to adopt a newly devised standard for determining the correct venue in light of the forum selection clause, and to transfer the case to Florida. The successful motion was authored by Matthew R. Orr and Joshua G. Simon. William P. Cole provided oral argument at the hearing.

In April 2016, Call & Jensen attorneys Mark Eisenhut and Samuel G. Brooks obtained a complete defense victory on behalf of their client, who is the CEO of a prominent business. After four days of trial, the judge denied all claims and relief sought against Call & Jensen’s client. According to the ruling, evidence presented by Call & Jensen “destroyed [Petitioner’s] credibility and made Petitioner come off as ungrounded and truly bizarre in nature.”

Call & Jensen attorneys Matthew R. Orr and Joshua G. Simon secured a class dismissal with prejudice, in a putative consumer class action proceeding in a Massachusetts federal district court against Gencor, an Orange County-based herbal supplement manufacturer. The proposed class action accused Gencor and other defendants, including General Nutrition Corporation (GNC), of misleading consumers by manipulating scientific data regarding the health effects of the herbal extract fenugreek. Call & Jensen moved to dismiss the lawsuit by attacking all nine legal claims, including those brought under the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act and various California and Massachusetts consumer protection statutes. The U.S. District Judge agreed with Call & Jensen’s arguments in their entirety, and granted the motion to dismiss the firm’s client from the case.

Call & Jensen is pleased to announce that it has added two litigators to its roster of trial and complex litigation attorneys. Lisa Sandoval joins the firm from Steptoe & Johnson, where her practice encompassed high-stakes litigation and white collar defense. She holds a J.D. from Columbia University and practiced law in New York and Washington D.C. before joining Call & Jensen. Chris Dalton joins the firm after practicing at Morrison & Foerster, where he represented aviation, pharmaceutical, and medical device manufacturers in product liability and commercial litigation matters in state and federal court. He holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and served in the U.S. Marine Corps prior to practicing law. Call & Jensen welcomes its new attorneys.

Call & Jensen recently defended, successfully, a prominent real estate developer accused of building and selling, for $100M, a 300,000 square foot shopping center which was alleged by the buyer to have been filled with “defective tenants.” The matter was resolved by a confidential settlement favorable to Call & Jensen’s client. The case was handled by Call & Jensen attorneys Wayne Call and Scott Hatch.

Call & Jensen is proud to announce that attorneys Jacqueline Beaumont and Shirin Forootan were recently selected by the Orange County Business Journal as 2016 “Women in Business” nominees. The awards honor business and professional OC women whose accomplishments positively impact the OC business community. Ms. Beaumont is an experienced litigator who has been repeatedly recognized for her work representing employers in all aspects of employment law and legal advising. She is a leader outside the office as well, co-chairing the Orange County Bar Association’s Mommy Esquire Committee, and serving the community through involvement with Girls Inc. and student moot court competitions. Ms. Forootan’s legal practice also focuses on representing and advising employers, which she has been doing exclusively for the past five years. In addition, Ms. Forootan is dedicated to her community—currently serving as Co-Chair of Orange County United Way’s Women United and recently serving as Co-Chair of the Orange County Bar Association’s Community Outreach Committee and Mommy Esquire Committee. She also regularly presents on “teenage legal survival skills” to high-school students in Orange County.

Call & Jensen attorneys recently secured an attorney’s fees award of more than $1.6 million for their client. The award followed the complete dismissal of a $10 million lender liability action against one of the firm’s bank clients and a $4 million judgment for the bank against the plaintiff in the action. The case was litigated by Call & Jensen attorneys Wayne W. Call and Todd C. Bouton.

Call & Jensen was again named to Orange County Business Journal’s list of the Top Law Firms operating in Orange County. The firm is pleased to be recognized and ranked #34 on the list of 86 firms reported by the OCBJ. Overall, more than 1,000 law firms, composed of over 16,000 attorneys, operate in Orange County.

Call & Jensen is proud to be represented this year with firm attorneys in multiple leadership positions with the Orange County Bar Association. Joshua Simon is chair of the OCBA’s Banking & Lending section, and Mark Eisenhut is a member of the OCBA’s Judicial Selection committee. Jacqueline Beaumont co-chairs the OCBA’s Mommy Esq. committee, and Todd Bouton is an executive committee member and past chair of the OCBA’s Banking & Lending section. In addition, several of the firm’s attorneys hold leadership positions with affiliate bar associations: Wayne Call is a member of the Board of Governors for the Orange County Chapter of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ABTL); and Deborah Gubernick, past chair of the Orange County Chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, is currently an Assistant Area Director for the International J. Reuben Clark Law Society. The OCBA is one of the largest voluntary bar associations in California, with over 9,000 members, and provides a variety of programs, services, and opportunities for its attorney members, the judiciary, and the community.

Call & Jensen attorneys David Sugden and Jacqueline Beaumont obtained a complete arbitration victory for their client, a professional services organization, in an employment discrimination lawsuit made under California’s Fair Employment & Housing Act. The claimant had initially filed the lawsuit in civil court, but the Firm successfully compelled arbitration. Following the arbitration hearing on the merits, the arbitrator entered an award for the Firm’s client on all causes of action, including discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, and failure to provide reasonable accommodation. Call & Jensen obtained judgment on each issue presented, including a ruling that Call & Jensen’s client, who was alleged to be a joint employer, did not hold the requisite responsibility over the claimant’s employment to be charged with a duty to engage in the interactive process.