The Business Journal asked several OC law firms to provide the most interesting cases they have been working on. Here are the results of the random sampling:
Katz Ruby & Carle
Costa Mesa boutique litigation powerhouse Katz Ruby & Carle LLP has been tapped in two high-profile trade secret cases. MaxLinear Inc. retained the Costa Mesa firm as co-counsel with Kirkland & Ellis in federal litigation brought against Comcast related to the alleged theft of MaxLinear technology that enables Comcast to provide cable service that rivals the performance of fiber-optic internet.
The firm was also retained by InnoPeak Technology Inc. to defend against a trade secret case brought by Apple related to health-sensing technology.
Snell & Wilmer
Snell & Wilmer represented AVI-SPL, a provider of digital enablement solutions, in its acquisition of CCS Presentation Systems Southwest, an audio-visual design and systems integration firm headquartered in Mesa, Arizona.
Snell & Wilmer also advised Smooth-Bor Plastics, a manufacturer of tubes and tubing systems with factories in Laguna Hills and Johor Bahru, Malaysia, in its sale to Plastiflex Group, a supplier of components and customized tubing systems for customers in the medical and industrial technology sectors.
The merger of Smooth-Bor Plastics and Plastiflex Group creates a combined entity that will further extend its product portfolio, particularly in the sleep and ventilation markets, and will offer additional production capacity in the U.S. and Southeast Asia, in line with the group’s operational strategy of regional self-sufficiency.
Both teams have been led by affiliate counsel Serge Pavluk.
Kahana Feld
In the case of Skaggs v. Angels Baseball, Kahana Feld served as appellate counsel for Angels Baseball, attending trial, helping preserve issues for appeal and advising on strategy. And in Artificial Stone Litigation, the firm served as appellate counsel for Caesarstone, one of the defendants in thousands of cases filed against manufacturers, distributors and retailers of artificial stone.
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
On Feb. 11, the Delaware Supreme Court issued what industry observers are calling the most significant life settlements decision to date.
In GWG DLP Master Trust v. Estate of Norman Frank, the Court held that a three-year statute of limitations applies to claims under 18 Del. C. § 2704(b), reversing a trend of plaintiff-friendly rulings that had fueled dozens of lawsuits seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from institutional investors.
The Orrick team was led by Khai LeQuang and included Elise Baranouski, Aaron Rubin, and Janista Lee.
Jones Mayer
The firm handled Elena v. Los Angeles, an officer-involved shooting case that went to trial at the Riverside District Court. Attorneys involved: James Touchstone, Richard Lucero and Denise Rocawich.
Keller Anderle Scolnick
In Guardant Health v. Natera, the firm won a $292.5 million judgment. The jury found Natera engaged in false advertising and unfair competition. One of the largest Lanham Act False Advertising judgments in history.
Lawyers: Chase Scolnick, Jennifer Keller and Greg Sergi.
Kimura London & White
Bloomage Beverly Hills Investment Inc. & Zhao v. Guo
Result: $1,999,376.17 Bench Verdict for Plaintiff
Orange County attorneys involved were Darrell White, Joshua Kimura and Nicholas Massari.
Umberg Zipser
Umberg Zipser obtained a victory in a 2025 trial in Orange County Superior Court on behalf of one of three founders of a startup who was ousted by his co-founders.
The firm’s client, the plaintiff in the case, was kicked out of his company just as it was on the verge of its first major contract. Defendants confiscated the firm’s client’s stock and refused to pay him any salary for the remainder of his employment contract.
The firm’s client was awarded the full amount of his remaining salary, plus interest, treble damages for the theft of his stock, and attorney fees. The firm’s client also prevailed on all cross-complaints brought against him.
Umberg Zipser’s team was led by Ethan Feng and Phillip Kaplan.
Michelman & Robinson
The firm secured a multimillion-dollar jury verdict on behalf of Shiftsmart Inc. in a high-stakes contract dispute. After a week-long trial, the jury awarded approximately $14 million to Shiftsmart, finding Dynata breached the parties’ agreement by withholding roughly $8 million in payments.
In a decade-long consumer class action challenging auto insurance premium practices and alleging exposure exceeding $400 million, the court granted the firm’s clients’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, dismissing the certified UCL restitution class claim in its entirety without leave to amend—just days before trial and class notice to more than one million insureds. The ruling reduced the case from a nine-figure exposure to a nominal individual claim.
Orange County attorneys involved: Mona Hanna, Todd Stitt, Vince Loh.
Following a four-day trial, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a sweeping post-trial ruling in favor of the firm’s clients, rejecting an attempt to shift a $15.2 million trading loss onto the sellers. The Court determined the loss stemmed from the buyer’s own discretionary trading decisions and also awarded attorneys’ fees as a discovery sanction.
Robinson Calcagnie
In December, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury returned a $40 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson, finding that the company’s talc-based baby powder products caused ovarian cancer in two women following decades of regular use. The plaintiffs were represented by Dan Robinson of Robinson Calcagnie and Andy Birchfield of the Beasley Allen firm. Robinson is a partner in the Newport Beach office.p
