Quyen Ta

Cases of Note

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company v. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation: We represented the world’s leading semiconductor foundry, TSMC, against China’s leading semiconductor manufacturer, SMIC, in the largest trade secret misuse case ever tried. SMIC owed its existence to technology stolen from our client, and faced our damages claim of $2 billion, which would have exceeded SMIC's entire market value. The parties produced nearly 18 million pages of documents and conducted 266 days of deposition in the U.S. and in Asia. Following a jury verdict in favor of our client, SMIC agreed to pay $200 million in cash and approximately $130 million of its company stock. Ultimately TSMC's goal was to protect its intellectual property, not shut down its competitor, and so settled for far less than it could have recovered. For foreign companies that market their goods and services in the U.S., this case established that California’s trade secret statute will protect the intellectual property essential to those goods and services, even if the theft occurred in Asia.

Purdue Pharma v. Impax Laboratories, Inc.: We defended Impax Laboratories, Inc. against patent claims related to generic oxycodone products. Following the Federal Circuit’s reversal and remand of inequitable conduct findings in an earlier lawsuit brought against another defendant, we brought a revised challenge under the terms of the Federal Circuit’s order. We then secured a settlement that released our client from all past liability, and gave the company a limited license.

Plaintiff v. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company: We represent TSMC, the world’s largest contract semiconductor manufacturer, in a multi-patent case with Ziptronix in the Northern District of California. Ziptronix, a North Carolina company that claims to have invented various methods of bonding and processing two or more silicon wafers together, brought suit originally, and TSMC counterclaimed asserting a number of its own patents in this same technical field. The technology relates to methods used to manufacture image sensors for digital cameras.

Eastman Kodak Co. v. HTC Corp.: We are defending HTC in a patent litigation matter before the International Trade Commission and in the parallel case before the United States District Court, Western District of New York.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Former Chief Financial Officer: We are defending the former chief financial officer of San Francisco-based hedge fund firm against charges of insider trading, which are part of the government’s recent push to make insider trading the focus of financial fraud prosecution. The Securities and Exchange Commission named our client and several others in a civil suit, alleging they made more than $8 million trading on stocks based on insider tips. A jury trial has been scheduled in the Northern District of California for early 2012.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officers: We represented the CEO and CFO of a communications technology company in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation, a lawsuit filed with the SEC, related civil lawsuits filed by investors, and a related bankruptcy action. We resolved all of the lawsuits on favorable terms.

United States v. McKesson Corporation: We represent McKesson Corporation and one of its subsidiaries in a False Claims Act case pending in Oxford, Mississippi. Over the government's opposition, we won dismissal of the qui tam relator for lack of jurisdiction, and have moved for summary judgment of the government's principal claims.

Plaintiff v. Law Firm: We successfully defended at trial an Am Law 50 law firm and one of its former partners against a $100 million claim. The plaintiff alleged malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty related to estate planning. After an eight-week trial in California state court, we won a complete victory.

Plaintiffs v. Individuals: Plaintiffs filed breach of contract and many other state claims including fraud and unjust enrichment against our clients. We successfully filed a demurrer on more than half of the claims, eventually leading to a successful settlement.

Plaintiff v. Westamerica Bank: We successfully tried this breach of contract lawsuit, filed in Solano County Superior Court. We won a favorable verdict for the plaintiff on the liability phase.