The trial court victories of White O'Connor lawyers are reflected in numerous Supreme Court, appellate and other published decisions, which not only establish new legal precedents that govern future cases but also establish White O'Connor as nationally recognized experts in complicated business and entertainment lawsuits. Examples of these precedent-setting decisions that White O'Connor attorneys have won over the past 25 years include the following:

  • Reginald v. New Line Cinema Corporation, et al. (unpublished decision; review denied June 11, 2008) (California Court of Appeal upheld the trial court’s dismissal on summary judgment of an idea submission action and held that no substantial similarities could be found between the unpublished "The Party Crasher's Handbook" and the movie "Wedding Crashers.")
     
  • Zella v. E.W. Scripps Co., et al. 529 F. Supp. 2d 1124 (C.D. Cal. 2007) (In a groundbreaking opinion, the Central District of California dismissed, with prejudice, a claim for copyright infringement arising from one of TV's most popular cooking shows, Rachael Ray; among other things, the district court held that copyright infringement cases may be dismissed at the pleading stage on substantial similarity grounds, no amount of proof of access will suffice to show actionable copying if the works are not substantially similar, judicial notice was appropriate regarding the elements of the cooking shows being generic).
     
  • Filerman et al. vs. Misenhimer et al. (unpublished decision, 2007) (In a dispute over the development and production of a well-known motion picture into a Broadway musical, the California Court of Appeal ruled in favor of White O'Connor's client and denied defendants' request for a reversal of the trial court's order denying defendants' motion for summary judgment).
          
  • Marder v. Lopez, Sony Music Entm't, Inc. and Paramount Pictures Corp., 450 F.3d 445 (9th Cir. 2006) (upholding the validity of a general release waiving any claims concerning the motion picture Flashdance, including claims of co-ownership in the copyright for the motion picture, the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed the order of the district court, dismissing plaintiff's claims against Paramount for declaratory relief and accounting).
     
  • Thomas v. Infinity Broadcasting Corporation (unpublished decision, 2005) (The California Court of Appeal unanimously affirmed the dismissal of all claims brought by a contestant who competed in a radio show contest).
     
  • Surfvivor Media v. Survivor Productions, 406 F.3d 625, 2005 WL 1027034 (9th Cir. 2005) (In a unanimous decision, affirming summary judgment for the producer of the "Survivor" TV series and the producer of "Survivor" merchandise, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified the legal standards governing trademark claims asserted under a "reverse confusion" theory).
     
  • Pacific Decisions Sciences Corp. v. Superior Court (Maudlin), 121 Cal. App. 4th 1100, 18 Cal. Rtpr. 3d 104 (2004) (The California Court of Appeal issued a writ of mandate ordering the Superior Court to vacate its order to turnover property on a writ of attachment, holding that the California court did not have jurisdiction to issue a turnover order for property located outside of California).
     
  • Sullivan v. CBS Corp., 385 F.3d 772 (7th Cir. 2004) (The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed summary judgment for CBS and the producer of the hit TV series "Survivor" against federal trademark claims and Illinois state law claims asserted by the rock band "Survivor").
     
  • CBS v. The Carsey-Warner Company, LLC (unpublished decision, 2003) (The California Court of Appeal reinstated CBS Broadcasting's claims against Carsey-Warner for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and negligence regarding Carsey-Warner's efforts to syndicate the television series "Cybill" starring Cybill Shepherd.
     
  • Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P. v. Continental Casualty Company, 72 Fed. Appx. 586, 2003 WL 21774040 (9th Cir. July 30, 2003) (The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed $2.7 million judgment against Continental Casualty Company for the carrier's failure to defend Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P. in an underlying lawsuit brought by Francis Ford Coppola for intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, intentional interference with contract, and slander of title).
     
  • Infinity Broadcasting, Inc. v. Playa Del Sol Broadcasters (unpublished decision, 2002) (The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the injunction our firm secured for radio station KROQ-FM against a Palm Springs station infringing the "K-Rock" trademark).
     
  • CBS Broadcasting, Inc. v. California Department of Social Services, 91 Cal. App. 4th 892,110 Cal. Rptr. 889 (2001) (In a unanimous decision, the California Court of Appeal issued a writ of mandate ordering the disclosure of the names of 8,700 convicted criminals licensed to work in California's certified child care facilities).
     
  • FM Rocks v. HSI Productions, et al. (unpublished decision, 2000) (The California Court of Appeal unanimously affirmed the defense verdict White O'Connor secured for a leading producer of music videos and television commercials on a claim of inducing breach of contract).

  • Flores v. CBS Broadcasting Inc. (unpublished decision, 2000) (Reversing a trial court decision, the Court of Appeal ordered the dismissal, under California's anti-SLAPP statute, of claims against CBS Broadcasting arising from an investigative report on restaurant sanitation).

  • Sapsowitz v. Kluge, (unpublished opinion, 1998) (Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court order disqualifying a law firm representing billionaire John W. Kluge, Metromedia International Group and others, setting the stage for the jury trial and favorable verdict described above).

  • Milner v. Butcher (unpublished opinion, 1994) (Court of Appeal reversed a trial court order which had barred malicious prosecution claims; this appellate victory set the stage for the 1995 trial which resulted in the record $33.6 million jury verdict described above).

  • Wilson v. Eu, 1 Cal. 4th 707, 4 Cal. Rptr. 2d 379 (1992) (California Supreme Court adopted a statewide election redistricting plan proposed by Andrew M. White on behalf of a caucus of the California Assembly).

  • Danjaq, S.A. v. MGM/UA Communications Co., 773 F. Supp. 194 (C.D. Cal. 1991) (District Court dismissed copyright claims asserted against MGM/UA by the producer of the James Bond films).

  • Aisenson v. American Broadcasting Company, Inc., 220 Cal. App. 3d 146, 269 Cal. Rptr. 379 (1990) (a frequently cited decision, which upheld summary judgment in favor of ABC against defamation and privacy claims asserted by a Superior Court Judge as the plaintiff).

  • Fine v. Barry & Enright Productions, 731 F.2d 1394 (9th Cir. 1984) (Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment in favor of TV game show producers and broadcasters in an antitrust action brought by a game show participant).

  • Partee v. San Diego Chargers Football Co., 34 Cal. 3d 378, 194 Cal. Rptr. 367 (1983) (California Supreme Court applied the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution to uphold dismissal of antitrust claims).

  • Worldvision Enterprises, Inc. v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., 142 Cal. App. 3d 589, 191 Cal. Rptr. 148 (1983) (Court of Appeal upheld summary judgment for ABC, confirming that a spun-off subsidiary cannot assert business tort claims against its former corporate parent).

  • Stein v. United Artists Corp., 691 F.2d 885 (9th Cir. 1982) (Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the defenses of motion picture producers and distributors to antitrust and business tort claims asserted by shareholders of a motion picture theater operator).

 

 

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