Trials & Arbitration

When clients choose MTO, they send an unmistakable message that they are ready and willing to go to trial and that their case will be litigated aggressively at every step. Our representations include:

• Netflix in obtaining a defense verdict against one plaintiff and minimal damages awarded to another in an invasion of privacy case arising from the RealHouse documentary, ”Our Father”. 
• Office of the Attorney General of the State of Washington, in a state court trial that successfully challenged the proposed $24.6 billion merger of the Albertsons and Kroger supermarket chains. 
• Plains All American Pipeline, in the aftermath of an oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara County. We defended Plains in a four-month criminal trial on claims brought jointly by the California Attorney General’s office and the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office. Thirty counts were dismissed before trial, and we avoided conviction on the counts charging Plains with a “knowing” discharge of oil. Plains paid an approximately $3 million criminal fine and we limited the restitution award to approximately $150,000. On the civil side, we negotiated a $230 million settlement. 
• Walt Disney Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures in successfully defending the studios against claims for indirect profits by Rearden LLC on alleged secondary copyright infringement based on a third-party vendor’s use of Rearden’s motion capture software on seven of the biggest films of the 2010s. Rearden has settled with the studios and dismissed its complaint. 
• Oaktree Capital Management, through Lonestar Airport Holdings, in winning a $90 million breach of contract award after the City of Austin terminated Lonestar’s 40-year agreement to operate, and participate in the expansion of, South Terminal at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The award is 50 times larger than the $1.8 million the city had offered via a condemnation process. 
• Pacific Gas & Electric in negotiating a civil settlement to 31 criminal charges brought in Shasta County after the 2020 Zogg Fire. As part of the settlement agreement, the trial court dismissed all charges, including felonies, with prejudice, and PG&E made $50 million in payments, primarily to community organizations.
• FIGS, a medical apparel company, and its co-founders against Lanham Act false advertising, intentional interference, and unfair competition claims brought by the industry incumbent, resulting in a full and complete defense verdict following a three-week federal jury trial. 
• The Kobe Bryant Estate in winning a liability finding and $15 million in damages in Vanessa Bryant’s invasion of privacy and federal civil rights suit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for its members illegally taking and sharing of photos from the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others. Our powerful closing arguments were widely covered in the media and led to a Daily Journal  California Lawyer of the Year Award. 
• Southern California Edison in successfully defending on appeal a grant of summary judgment in a case in which the plaintiffs claimed that a family was experiencing electrical shocks on their property because of alleged stray voltage from a nearby substation. 
• Fortress Investment Group in successfully resolving a lawsuit filed by HM Ruby, a life settlement investment fund that claimed $400 million in damages for Fortress’ alleged violations of a credit agreement. After Fortress won a bench trial, an appeals court reversed on the grounds that HM Ruby was entitled to a jury trial. The matter was resolved for Fortress on favorable terms shortly before a second trial. 
• A national bank in obtaining a unanimous jury verdict against a former high-level employee who alleged that the bank illegally recorded a workplace phone call in connection with a multibillion-dollar foreign exchange transaction, a call that was later used as justification for the employee’s termination. This victory was recognized as a Top Defense Verdict of the Year by the Daily Journal. 
• Rent-A-Center in an expedited trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery resulting in a judgment confirming Rent-A-Center’s right to terminate a proposed merger and a settlement enabling Rent-A-Center to collect a $92.5 million termination fee. 
• Steves & Sons in the first matter ever in which a trial jury, not a regulatory body, required divestiture as a remedy in private litigation over a completed merger. 
• Philip Morris USA in obtaining a favorable verdict in a class action trial that spanned more than 17 years, alleging the company falsely advertised that Marlboro Lights cigarettes delivered less tar and nicotine to users. The plaintiffs sought more than $1.5 billion in damages but were awarded only $5 million. The case was named by the Daily Journal as a “Top Defense Verdict.” 
• Transocean, owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, in obtaining a defense verdict in litigation arising from the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. By finding that Transocean’s conduct did not void the company’s indemnity agreements, the company avoided tens of billions of dollars of liability. The verdict earned the trial team a 2015 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award. 
• DoubleLine Capital LP and certain of its founders, including CEO Jeffrey Gundlach, in winning a $66.7 million jury verdict in favor of Gundlach against his former employer, Trust Co. of the West, on his cross-complaint, regarding trade secret and employee mobility issues. 

We have successfully enforced arbitration agreements and achieved favorable results in arbitrations across a wide range of industries and matter types. Our representations include: 

• DoubleLine Capital and its CEO, Jeffrey Gundlach, in successfully defending against an action brought by former partners in a JAMS arbitration. MTO achieved a complete defense award as well as victory on counter-claims that significantly reduced the value of the former partners’ outstanding equity after a two-phase, multi-week hearing.  
• The Estate of Etsuko Toguri in obtaining a $30 million arbitration award for compensatory damages, punitive damages and interest, in a complete win for the estate of the physician and businesswoman, who was the victim of a massive real estate fraud involving the sale of a 32-acre parcel in the heart of downtown Rancho Cucamonga, a city east of Los Angeles. The award was named a Top Verdict of the Week by the Daily Journal.  
• Former heavyweight boxing champion Deontay Wilder in a contract dispute with boxing promoter Top Rank and then-heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. After a one-week arbitration in the middle of the COVID pandemic, the arbitrator ordered the rematch our client demanded.  
• Service Employees International (SEII) and other affiliated government contractors in winning a class action JAMS arbitration concerning allegations that 7,000 truck drivers were subjected to a de facto policy requiring them to under-record time worked in support of the military effort in Iraq.