Mr. Paris is a member of S&C s Litigation Group and has been a partner of the Firm since January 2006. Mr. Paris practice focuses on the defense of complex business litigation, with particular concentration on antitrust and securities matters. Mr. Paris antitrust practice has included the defense of private class action litigation, criminal investigations by the Department of Justice and merger clearances (including three multi-billion dollar transactions) before the FTC and DOJ. Mr. Paris also has significant experience handling matters for corporate clients as plaintiffs in significant commercial disputes. He regularly appears in federal and state courts throughout California, and has handled both domestic and international arbitrations through evidentiary hearings on the merits. Selected Cases In re Hydrogen Peroxide Antitrust Litigation Represents Solvay S.A. and Solvay Chemicals in connection with the DOJ Antitrust Division s criminal investigation of price-fixing of hydrogen peroxide, sodium perborate and sodium percarbonate. Conducted internal investigation of alleged claims of wrongdoing and subsequently negotiated resolution with DOJ. S&C continues to represent Solvay in multidistrict antitrust class action litigation brought by direct and indirect purchasers of peroxygens, pending in federal district court in Philadelphia. National Metals, Inc. v. BHP Billiton PLC, et al. (In re Copper Products Antitrust Litig.) Represented Rio Tinto plc and Kennecott Utah Copper Corp. in a DOJ Antitrust Division investigation of the pricing of domestic copper products as well as related private civil MDL direct purchaser litigation brought in federal district court in San Diego. Obtained successful closure of the investigation and dismissal of the civil litigation. Fiol v. Philips Electronics North America Corp. Represented Philips Electronics in consumer class action litigation in California Superior Court involving allegations of unfair competition and false advertising with respect to the sale of allegedly defective set-top boxes. Shortly after S&C obtained the disqualification of lead plaintiff s counsel, the matter was settled on favorable terms. Philips Malaysia v. Measat Broadcast Network Serv. Represented Philips Malaysia in $300 million international arbitration for breach of contract brought in the Singapore International Arbitration Commission. Settled on favorable commercial terms following four weeks of arbitration hearing in New York and Singapore. University of California Regents, et al. v. AOL Time Warner Inc., et al. Represented Morgan Stanley in litigation arising out of its role as Time Warner s financial advisor in the AOL-Time Warner merger. Morgan Stanley was named defendant in numerous federal MDL and state court opt out securities law actions. S&C obtained the dismissal of all federal securities and most state-law claims against Morgan Stanley in the coordinated complex California litigation. Industry City Associates Employee Pension Plan v. Leonard Green & Partners, L.P., et al. Represented UBS Securities in securities class action and derivative litigation relating to the sale of Hollywood Entertainment to Movie Gallery, pending in Oregon state court. UBS acted as financial advisor to Hollywood. S&C obtained the dismissal of all direct class claims and subsequently the matter settled on favorable terms. Softbank Content Services v. MPO Canada and Transcontinental Inc. Represented Softbank as plaintiff in a breach of contract litigation in connection with claims arising out of the sale of Softbank s business. After MPO Canada fraudulently transferred its assets to avoid enforcement of a consent judgment, S&C pursued its parent company for recovery. Following trial, the District Court awarded Softbank all monies owed plus all of its enforcement attorneys fees from Transcontinental. S&C successfully defended these awards on appeal to the Ninth Circuit, and Softbank was paid in full. Express One v. United States Postal Service, et al. Represented Express One as plaintiff/debtor in complex bankruptcy and related state court litigation arising from its wrongful termination for convenience as a favored air transport carrier by the United States Postal Service under a subcontract. Litigation included complicated questions of government contracting, breach of contract and unfair competition. S&C obtained a $24.5 million financial settlement for Express One after years of litigation and shortly before trial. Avnet, Inc. v. Accelerated Networks, Inc. Represented Avnet as plaintiff in breach of contract dispute concerning customer s refusal to pay for electronics products. Settled the matter on favorable terms after substantial motion practice and discovery. Freeman, Freeman & Smiley v. Spieker Properties Represented Spieker Properties in a dispute regarding contractual and interference issues arising from a valuable office lease. Settled the matter on favorable commercial terms after first phase of trial. |