News, Results & Firm Blog

By Tim Lamoureux The Tabletop RPG (TTRPG) world has been in an uproar ever since an alleged leak of a document known as Open Gaming License (OGL) 1.1 as well as some communication regarding this document from Hasbro’s subsidiary company Wizards of the Coast (“Wizards”). Most recently, Wizards released a statement through its affiliated website...

Brown Neri Smith & Khan LLP (“BNSK”) is pleased to announce that Anita P. Wu has joined the firm as a partner, adding to the business litigation boutique’s growing roster of attorneys who are former alums of Latham & Watkins LLP, including BNSK’s founding partners. Wu is a highly accomplished trial and appellate lawyer with more than 15...

BNSK is pleased to announce that Andrew M. Purdy, an Irvine-based litigator, has joined the firm as Counsel. Andrew is a seasoned litigator with nearly twenty years of experience both prosecuting and defending his clients’ interests in high-stakes civil matters. His current practice centers on litigating trade secret and intellectual property...

Under CCP § 1033.5(a)(13) costs for “models, the enlargement of exhibits and photocopies of exhibits, and the electronic presentation of exhibits, including costs of rental equipment and electronic formatting, may be allowed if they were reasonably helpful to aid the trier of fact.” The California Supreme Court recently granted review to resolve...

In a recent ruling affirming the denial of an anti-SLAPP motion, the California Court of Appeal reaffirmed that it is the content of the communication that matters when ruling on an anti-SLAPP motion, not the number of people it is said to. Big Sugar Bakeshop is a two-location bakery in Los Angeles. Ben “the Baller” Yang is a self-proclaimed...

On August 19, 2021, the 2nd District Court of Appeal affirmed a ruling in favor of our client Luma Pictures, Inc. (“Luma”) approving an expert valuation for the buyout of a co-founder of Luma. In October 2016, co-founder Betuel filed a complaint against Luma for claims related to Luma terminating his employment and to the operations of the...

Medical School Instructor Sues Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine After Being Fired for Talking About Racism in Medicine  Aysha Khoury, M.D. today filed a Charge of Discrimination with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, followed by a lawsuit in Superior Court against Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine (KPSOM) for...

BNSK is pleased to announce that Todd A. Boock has been elevated to partner in the firm. Todd joined BNSK as Of Counsel from Goodwin Procter LLP in 2020, and his practice is focused on complex business and commercial litigation, with extensive experience in financial services matters. Todd’s broad practice also includes contract disputes; unfair...

ABC-7 Chicago reports on BNSK’s lawsuit against Robinhood for the wrongful death of Alex Kearns. Here’s an excerpt: The family of a Naperville man is suing Robinhood after he died by suicide after believing he lost more than $700,000 on the stock trading app. Attorneys for the family say 20-year-old Alex Kearns connected the app to his death in...

A new case filing by Brown Neri Smith & Khan was featured on CBS News This Morning: Twenty-year-old Alex Kearns took his own life last June mistakenly believing he’d lost nearly $750,000 in a risky bet on Robinhood, the stock-trading app where he started trading as a teenager. His parents filed a lawsuit, first obtained by CBS News, on Monday...

Securities fraud refers to misrepresenting information to investors regarding the sale or purchase of securities and/or the manipulation of financial markets. Read more. What is securities fraud? Securities fraud, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, includes a broad range of activities, including but not limited to high yield...

Cumis counsel refers to the independent attorney whom a defendant is entitled to retain in a liability insurance claim — where there is a conflict of interest between the defendant and the insurance company. The term Cumis Counsel originated in a 1984 California lawsuit between San Diego Federal Credit Union and Cumis Insurance Society, Inc.. In...

A clawback provision, clause, or agreement is often included in a financial contract and outlines how money previously paid to an employee must be returned to the employer, based on certain factors and situations. Here’s a quick overview, and when to consider pursuing litigation. What is a clawback provision, clause, or agreement? Clawback...

Complex commercial litigation generally describes a range of legal disputes pursued or filed by companies and businesses. Choosing an attorney or law firm can be a daunting task, unless approached in an organized manner. Here’s a guide. What is complex commercial litigation? Complex commercial litigation describes a wide range of legal disputes...

Partner Ryan Abbott has been selected as one of the 50 most influential people in IP for 2019 by Managing Intellectual Property magazine. Ryan’s listing notes that, “[h]is work on artificial intelligence (AI) and IP has contributed to the international dialogue on how new technologies are challenging existing legal standards.” Managing IP is the...

In a published opinion (38 Cal.App.5th 1069), the 2nd District of the Court of Appeal reversed a trial court order disqualifying Richie Litigation, P.C. from representing Plaintiff and Appellant Thomas Wu. BNSK represented Mr. Wu for purposes of appeal. In late 2017, Mr. Wu sued O'Gara Coach Company, LLC for various workplace violations including...

October 6, 2019 — Excerpt. Originally published in Financial Times Brown, Neri, Smith & Khan LLP partner, Ryan Abbott, was recently quoted in the Financial Times, regarding his groundbreaking efforts to obtain patent protection for AI-generated inventions. Excerpt below: Ryan Abbott, professor of law and health sciences at the University of...

Return to The Complex Business Litigation BlogSitemapAttorneysLos Angeles OfficeBrown Neri Smith & Khan, LLP 11601 Wilshire Blvd #2080 Los Angeles, CA 90025 (310) 593-9890 Get Directions >About UsBrown Neri Smith Khan, LLP are business litigation attorneys in Los Angeles, CA. Serving a wide range of practice areas and industries around the...

Managing partner, Ethan Brown, first-chaired a 12 day trial in Los Angeles Superior Court before Judge Elizabeth Allen White, along with BNSK counsel Patricia Eberwine Tenenbaum, Sara Colón and Nona Yegazarian, where BNSK represented plaintiff, Interstate Restoration, in a breach of contract action against defendant, A Community of Friends...

DotConnectAfrica Trust (DCA), a client of our firm, won a victory in its ongoing efforts to bring greater internet access to the continent of Africa. DCA is currently in a suit against the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for the fraudulent rejection of DCA’s application for the top-level domain name “.Africa”.  In an...

The California Supreme Court’s refusal to hear an appeal regarding Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP’s recent disqualification from representing another large firm should serve as both a clarification of attorney-client privilege and a word of warning to law firms. The Court rejected a petition to hear McDermott Will & Emery LLP v. Superior...

On October 6, 2015, Governor Brown signed five privacy bills into law.  The laws add protections and procedures for the collection and maintenance of electronic identifying information by law enforcement, automated license plate readers, and voice-activated smart-TVs.  The laws also define the term “encryption” and change the method of data...

In a wage-and-hour class action (Hendershot v. Ready to Roll Transportation, Inc., 228 Cal. App. 4th 1213) a California Court of Appeal reversed the denial of class certification and held that no set number applies to the numerosity requirement for a putative class. The plaintiffs filed a class action against Ready to Roll (RTR) for failure to...

In 1999, Ironwood County Club entered into a land-purchase agreement with current members.  The members loaned the club $25,500 with the agreement that any funds would be repaid by the Club to the member upon resigning membership.  The agreement also required new members to pay the balance of the members’ land-purchase account and any unamortized...

In Serafin v. Superior Court (2011 Cal. LEXIS 12706) former employee Madeline Serafin sued Balco for wrongful termination, harassment and defamation.  Balco moved to stay the suit pending arbitration based on the arbitration agreement Serafin signed when she was hired.  The arbitrator found in Balco’s favor on all issues and the trial court...

After a two-year investigation, the SEC issued an order for enforcement proceedings against Laurie A. Bebo, the former CEO of Assisted Living Concepts (“ALC”).  The SEC alleged that ALC’s disclosure documents contained false or misleading statements and accused Bebo of securities fraud. In response, Bebo filed a civil action against the SEC (Bebo...

On June 20, 2016, the Hon. R. Gary Klausner ruled in favor of our client DotConnectAfrica Trust (DCA), affirming his April 12 order enjoining Defendant Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) from delegating the top-level internet domain .Africa. On May 6, former Defendant ZA Central Registry filed a motion for reconsideration...

In a recent unpublished decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Global BTG, LLC v. National Air Cargo, Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70386), the Court affirmed a jury verdict finding an exclusive contractual relationship in the absence of any express exclusivity contractual provision.  Although lacking any express exclusivity, the Court...

On Tuesday, April 12, 2016, the Honorable R. Gary Klausner of the Central District of California granted a preliminary injunction in favor of our client DotConnectAfrica Trust (“DCA”). The preliminary injunction prohibits defendant Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers from delegating the rights to the generic top-level domain...