Morgan Franich Fredkin Siamas & Kays LLP is devoted to the successful, cost-effective resolution of business disputes on behalf of large and small businesses as well as individuals.
We pride ourselves on being trial lawyers, not simply litigators, so we understand the endgame. Our ability to successfully try cases, and our opponents’ knowledge of this fact, gives us the ability to resolve most disputes without the burden and expense of going to trial. We have many years of experience negotiating, mediating, arbitrating, litigating and trying business disputes in a wide variety of subject matter areas. We have an active litigation practice both in state courts, including California Superior Court, and in federal courts in California and other jurisdictions.
We have substantive expertise in and regularly handle matters involving contractual issues, intellectual property, trade secrets, employment, close corporation disputes, shareholder derivative claims, breach of fiduciary duty, securities fraud, real estate, debtor-creditor issues, internal investigations, professional malpractice, purchase and sale disputes, breaches of leases and commercial evictions, construction, insurance coverage, environmental disputes, and unfair and deceptive trade practices, among others.
Our goal is to help our clients achieve their business objectives as effectively and as quickly as possible. At the outset and continuing throughout the course of our engagement, we consult closely with our clients regarding potential outcomes, strategies, tactics and budgets. We evaluate and discuss settlement possibilities with our clients at appropriate junctures and, if necessary, litigate aggressively on our clients’ behalf.
Our litigation services
Recognized leaders in advancing client interests, our attorneys have extensive experience in:
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Notable cases
Some of our notable outcomes include:
- Technology: We obtained a $15 million jury verdict on behalf of a start-up technology company and against a leading chip manufacturer. At trial, we established the defendant misled our client through false promises and other deceptions regarding an agreement to provide source code. The jury found the defendant liable for fraud. The award included a substantial amount for punitive damages.
- Corporate and Securities: We stepped in on numerous occasions to defend Silicon Valley executives in a variety of lawsuits against corporations and their officers and directors, where corporate counsel had a conflict of interest. Such actions included those brought by corporate competitors alleging misappropriation of intellectual property, actions brought by shareholders alleging fraud and breach of fiduciary duty and those brought by bankruptcy trustees claiming the executives were guilty of negligence and waste of corporate assets. After working cooperatively with corporate counsel, we were able to settle each case in a manner satisfactory to our clients.
- Intellectual Property: We represented a developer and manufacturer of medical instruments whose technology was misappropriated by a global manufacturer and seller of ophthalmological devices and products. We were able to resolve the matter in mediation for a substantial seven-figure settlement, after defeating the defendant’s motions seeking to have the case dismissed by the court before trial. We successfully defended a small Silicon Valley entrepreneur in a binding arbitration proceeding instituted by a company that claimed our client’s source code, used in connection with certain innovative Bluetooth device he developed, infringed on the technology of a code developed by the claimant. After multiple days of trial, the panel of three arbitrators unanimously found in favor of our client that there was no misappropriation. The client later was able to sell his technology company for an eight-figure multimillion-dollar amount.
- License Agreements: We served as outside litigation counsel to a U.S. subsidiary of a multinational information technology company in connection with various litigation matters over several years. Representative cases included defending the client against a multimillion-dollar fraud claim arising out of the sale of the client’s business unit to an investment firm, and defense of a $4 million claim for breach of license agreement. We also represented the client as a plaintiff in various litigation matters involving breaches of license agreements and other contracts. Each of the matters was satisfactorily settled prior to trial.
- Merger and Acquisitions: We have successfully represented buyers and sellers in corporate acquisition litigation concerning earn-out provisions and alleged breaches of representations and warranties.
- Stock Options: We obtained a $2 million jury verdict for a Silicon Valley executive who was denied stock options from a technology company that claimed the options had not fully vested. After a one-week trial, we convinced the jury that, based on the evidence submitted, the executive’s employment contract should be interpreted to allow for full vesting of the options.
- Fraud: We obtained a $6 million jury verdict on behalf of mobile home park residents, all senior citizens, who were defrauded by the defendant, an owner of parks nationwide, in connection with the imposition of inflated water charges and fictitious “taxes” claimed to be owed. The award included a substantial amount of punitive damages.
- Cybersquatting: We successfully defended a small business owner sued in federal court by a multinational automobile company who accused our client of “cybersquatting” and trade name infringement based on our client’s use of his surname on his company’s web page. The automobile company attempted through the litigation to secure the right to use the name for its own web page. After a court trial, the district court ruled in favor of our client.
- Personal Injury: We obtained multi-million dollar recoveries by jury verdict, as well as settlement, for injured individuals in multiple cases, including medical malpractice.
Our team of litigation attorneys
The attorneys practicing in this area include: