News

Caldwell Leslie wins dismissal of Prop. 65 action-for the second time. Mike Leslie and Sandy Tholen recently won a dismissal with prejudice of an action brought under California’s Proposition 65, involving alleged failures to warn and alleged releases from an old landfill in Huntington Beach. This was actually the second time they won the case, since the plaintiff refilled the claims after the Caldwell Leslie team, working closely with other defendants, won the first case on demurrer. After the first trial judge dismissed the case, the plaintiff appealed, and Mike Leslie and Sandy Tholen won affirmance of that ruling on appeal. In an issue of first impression, the Court of Appeal held that there could be no Prop. 65 liability where the defendants were merely remediating past disposal at a site under the oversight of state agencies. Yet, the plaintiff then changed the allegations slightly to try to avoid the Court of Appeal’s opinion, and refilled the case in Orange County Superior Court. After taking the demurrer under submission, the court dismissed the action with prejudice on the grounds of res judicata and collateral estoppel, thus ending the litigation-again.

Caldwell Leslie noted as among top Southern California White Collar Criminal Defense firms. Caldwell Leslie & Proctor's white collar practice was singled out in the 2009 Top Southern California Law Firms, recently published by the Los Angeles Daily Journal. The article acknowledged the firm's demonstrated ability to defend those at the highest level of corporate fraud cases, and refers to Michael J. Proctor and David K. Willingham, the Co-Chairs of the firm's White Collar Crime and Corporate Compliance practice group.

Linda Burrow selected as top litigator in California. Linda M. Burrow was recently named by the Los Angeles Daily Journal as a member of the Top Women litigators in California. The prestigious award recognizes Ms. Burrow as one of the elite lawyers in the state. This is the second year in a row that a Caldwell Leslie attorney has been awarded this honor. Robyn C. Crowther won the award last year.

Caldwell Leslie team obtains $45 million judgment for studio client. Caldwell Leslie was engaged by a studio client to file a breach of contract action against a Dubai-based company that defaulted on a $45,000,000 agreement to exhibit products on Indian television. After Caldwell Leslie's team strenuously litigated the case for months, including obtaining a dismissal of defendant's key counterclaim for fraud in the inducement, the defendant defaulted. Our attorneys Linda Burrow, Jeanne Fugate and Lennette Lee were ultimately able to obtain a default judgment in the full amount of $45,000,000, plus more than $3,000,000 in prejudgment interest and our full fee request.

David Willingham to Speak at ABA’s National Securities Fraud Institute on Pay-To-Play. David Willingham was recently selected to speak as a panelist at the ABA’s National Securities Fraud Institute in Washington, DC. The panel, to be held on October 15, 2009, will focus on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s efforts to regulate Pay-to-Play activity in the institutional investor realm. The selection recognizes Mr. Willingham’s expertise in the field of securities fraud and defending clients before the SEC.

Caldwell Leslie secures judgment for Robert De Niro. The California Court of Appeal affirmed a complete defense judgment that the firm obtained on behalf of our client, Oscar®-winning actor Robert De Niro. Chris Caldwell, Robyn Crowther, David Codell, and Jeanne Fugate handled the appeal after winning the case in the trial court. The Caldwell Leslie team won summary judgment against Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., which insured the film Hide and Seek in 2003, and had accused Mr. De Niro of intentionally withholding information about his cancer diagnosis during a cast medical examination. The case was dismissed in favor of Mr. De Niro. Click here and here for the articles.

Caldwell Leslie wins summary judgment for major studio. Linda Burrow and Laurie Martindale recently won summary judgment for a major motion picture studio accused of copyright infringement. In holding that the Plaintiff could not, as a matter of law, demonstrate that his script was used as the basis for a film produced by the studio, United States District Judge Margaret Morrow agreed with Caldwell Leslie that there was no evidence that the film’s creators ever had access to the Plaintiff’s script, and held that the Plaintiff’s script and the studio’s film were not at all “similar,” thus precluding Plaintiff’s copyright infringement claim.

Caldwell Leslie obtains summary judgment on $40 million copyright infringement and breach of contract claims. Chris Caldwell, Andrew Esbenshade and Alison Mackenzie obtained summary judgment for Warner Bros. and all individual defendants in a copyright infringement and contract case in which the plaintiffs claimed damages of $40 million. Plaintiffs alleged that the Warner Bros. film We Are Marshall infringed the copyright in their documentary and that they had reached a contract with the producers of the film for credit and compensation from We Are Marshall. United States District Judge Gary A. Feess granted Caldwell Leslie's motion on all claims as to all defendants, finding that the parties did not reach an enforceable agreement and that there was no copyright infringement. Click here and here for articles.

The Eleventh Circuit affirms dismissal of trademark action against Warner Bros. The Eleventh Circuit recently held that summary judgment was appropriate on a trademark claim based on a finding of no likelihood of confusion. Linda Burrow and Jeanne Fugate had obtained the dismissal of the lawsuit, which alleged that the reality dating show “Elimidate Ironman Challenge” infringed on the Ironman Triathlon trademarks. In ruling for Warner Bros., the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling that the “Elimidate Ironman Challenge” did not infringe the Ironman Triathlon trademarks because the term “ironman” is commonly used to describe persons of unusual endurance and thus the Plaintiff’s marks were entitled only to limited protection. Click here for a copy of the district court opinion.

Elder abuse case victory saves client's home for Thanksgiving. A pro bono triumph was achieved by Michael Roth, Laurie Martindale and Andy Esbenshade on behalf of an 86-year-old client victimized by a “gypsy scam” to take his house and virtually all of his assets. The Caldwell Leslie team pursued a civil case against the two abusers who removed our client from his own home, while helping the District Attorney assemble a criminal case. The abusers ended up being convicted of grand theft and our client's money and home were restored to him two days before Thanksgiving 2008.

Caldwell Leslie teams achieve victories for two retail giants on two successive days. On two successive days, Caldwell Leslie teams led by Michael Roth and Linda Burrow achieved victories for two retail giants threatened with baseless consumer class action lawsuits. First, our client Gap Inc. won a motion for summary judgment against claims of false advertising and unfair competition by a plaintiff alleging that a Gap shopping-card promotion did not properly disclose its terms of redemption. The plaintiff’s efforts to expand the case to a nationwide class of consumers came to an end when a federal judge granted Caldwell Leslie’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that Gap had clearly and repeatedly disclosed the terms of the promotion.

On the following day, the Caldwell Leslie team derailed another potential class action against Best Buy, Inc., brought by a plaintiff who claimed he did not receive an extra promotional DVD in a box set of the “Smallville” TV series. Ruling that the alleged class was not sufficiently numerous and that any class members shared no commonality of interest, the judge granted Caldwell Leslie’s motion to deny class certification.

David Willingham selected as Co-Chair of ABA’s National Securities Fraud Committee. David K. Willingham was recently appointed as Co-Chair of the American Bar Association’s national Securities Fraud Committee. The two-year appointment to the ABA’s Securities Fraud subcommittee recognizes Mr. Willingham’s experience and expertise in the area of securities fraud and securities defense.

Robyn Crowther selected as Top 75 Litigator in California. Robyn C. Crowther was recently named by the Los Angeles Daily Journal as a member of the Top 75 Women attorneys in California. The prestigious award recognizes Ms. Crowther as one of the elite litigators in the state. Click here for the article.

David Codell becomes Of Counsel to Caldwell Leslie & Proctor, PC. David C. Codell, prominent trial and appellate litigator, has become Of Counsel to Caldwell Leslie. Mr. Codell is a former United States Supreme Court clerk to the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He brings a wealth of experience to our practice from his years representing major clients in the entertainment industry, both at the trial and appellate court level. Mr. Codell is also a noted civil rights advocate.

Caldwell Leslie succeeds in reopening case for pro bono client in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Albert Giang and David Zaft represented an immigrant in removal proceedings before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. What began as a straightforward request for adjustment of status developed into a substantially more complicated matter implicating special immigration provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The Department of Homeland Security sought to remove the client to Mexico, despite the fact that she had not been to Mexico in more than fifteen years and had demonstrated prima facie eligibility for VAWA relief. After briefing and arguing the case in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Caldwell Leslie succeeded in reopening the removal proceedings so that the client could file a new application for adjustment of status under VAWA.

Caldwell Leslie obtains a complete defense verdict at trial for CBS Outdoor. Following a nine day trial in Los Angeles Superior Court, Caldwell Leslie client CBS Outdoor obtained a complete defense verdict in a commercial dispute regarding outdoor advertising where the Plaintiff claimed an excess of $2 million in damages. Plaintiff, a Nissan car dealership along the San Diego Freeway, claimed that CBS Outdoor was illegally trespassing on its property, and denied that our client had a right to operate outdoor advertising on the property. Michael Proctor tried the case to a defense verdict before the Honorable James Dunn.

Former Federal Prosecutor David Willingham joins Caldwell Leslie. David K. Willingham, who was formerly the Deputy Chief of the Major Frauds Section of the United States Attorney’s Office, joined the firm. Mr. Willingham, will Co-Chair the firm’s White Collar Crime and Corporate Compliance practice group with Michael Proctor. Mr. Willingham served six years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where he focused on the prosecution of corporate entities and investment frauds, and was also responsible for oversight of the sub-section prosecuting health care fraud matters. Mr. Willingham also prosecuted criminal environmental matters during his tenure. Click here for the article.

Caldwell Leslie obtains dismissal of complex environmental case on the eve of a six to eight week jury trial. On the last day before a six- to eight-week jury trial was to begin in Kern County Superior Court, Caldwell Leslie’s environmental practice group obtained a complete victory dismissing the claims against its client, a major international oil company, on summary judgment. The case involved claims by a small independent oil company for fraud and rescission, which attempted to unwind the claimant’s 1995 purchase of an oil field in Santa Barbara County. The claimant asserted damage claims against our client of $4 million in past plugging and abandonment costs and up to $9 million in future remediation costs, plus punitive damages and declaratory relief. The Caldwell Leslie trial team, led by Michael R. Leslie, brought a summary judgment motion in this extremely hard-fought case. After taking the motion under submission for almost four weeks, the court issued its ruling granting the motion and dismissing all of the claims against our client on the last business day before trial.

Michal Proctor addresses the Los Angeles County Bar Association on Federal Grand Jury practice. Michael Proctor and Assistant United States Attorney Rodrigo Castro-Silva gave on a lecture for the Los Angeles County Bar Association as part of its program Navigating the Federal Criminal Court Maze: A Nuts and Bolts Primer.

Riverside Police Union cleared of all alleged wrongdoing. In a federal criminal matter defended by Michael Proctor, the United States Attorney's Office terminated its investigation into the Riverside Sheriffs' Association and its Legal Defense Trust and brought no charges, vindicating the Union and its ERISA benefit trust. The matter involved an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney's Office into allegations that funds expended by the union and its trust were embezzled by union management, charges that had the potential to have broad political fallout in Riverside County. After drafting and serving a motion highly critical of the government's investigative techniques, and after a presentation to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the federal prosecutor's abruptly "terminated" their investigation, thereby vindicating our client. Click here and here for the articles.