News

Partner Devin A. Donohue of Palmer, Lombardi & Donohue LLP represented UBS Financial Services Inc. (UBS) against a former UBS broker who failed to repay approximately $800,000 he owed to UBS after leaving the firm. UBS filed suit against the broker in FINRA arbitration, and the broker, through his counsel asserted various employment counterclaims seeking more than $3 million in damages from UBS. Mr. Donohue secured from the panel a full principal arbitration award plus interest and a dismissal of the broker’s seven figure counterclaims in their entirety. The broker subsequently paid UBS in full for all principal and interest owed on the award.

Corporate attorney Jeff Warren will be a panelist at this year’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Academy at Purdue University discussing the state of venture investing and the process for undertaking early stage finance.

Mr. Warren is also scheduled to speak to the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University providing insight of his experiences as an attorney and venture investor. Both speaking engagements will be held in March 2012.

Palmer, Lombardi & Donohue LLP represented J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC (JPMS), in an appeal that challenged a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration award.  The appellant Vivine Wang, appealed the District Court’s interpretation of the JPMS Customer Agreement as to the recovery by JPMS of a $3 million dollar debit balance and its reasonable legal costs and expenses.  On October 31, 2011 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the arbitration “was proper under the terms of the Customer Agreement,” and affirmed the FINRA arbitration award in JPMS’ favor.

Partner Brett D. Watson authored an article featured in the ABA Banking Journal, titled “Defending card issuers against employee embezzlement claims.” The article examines the rise in lawsuits brought against charge card issuers by employers seeking reimbursement for losses due to employee embezzlement. He writes that many such claims against card issuers “are meritless and costly.” Mr. Watson then provides a framework for successfully defending card issuers, comprised of, inter alia, demonstrating an employer’s “failure to properly supervise their employees, review their monthly account statements, and timely report any suspected unauthorized transactions.” Read full article.

Partners Scott Palmer and Thomas Lombardi have been named to the 2012 list of Southern California Super Lawyers. Super Lawyers is an annual ranking of outstanding lawyers from more than 60 practice areas who have achieved a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only five percent of the total lawyers in the state are selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers.

Palmer, Lombardi & Donohue LLP attorney Mary Manesis was quoted in the Los Angeles Business Journal article, “Insulin Inhaler Too Puffed Up?” discussing a lawsuit filed against the pharmaceutical company MannKind Corporation for allegedly misleading investors about the prospects of an insulin inhaler, Afrezza, which the FDA concluded required further clinical testing. Ms. Manesis, who has defended pharmaceutical companies in several securities class actions, said that an important part of the case will be exactly what MannKind knew prior to the FDA’s decision. She commented, “What would be key in any trial is to really understand the nature of the dealings and communications between the company and the FDA.” According to Ms. Manesis, the case is particularly complex given the drug development and approval process and could prove lengthy, with plaintiffs’ attorneys deposing the company’s research personnel and demanding all documents related to Afrezza’s development.

Palmer, Lombardi & Donohue, LLP has announced the election of two new partners, John C. Steele and Jeffrey N. Goldberg.

Mr. Steele is a trial attorney with extensive experience in securities, banking, healthcare, employment, intellectual property, and real property disputes. He represents a variety of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, brokerage firms, healthcare providers, as well as corporate officers and directors. Mr. Steele obtained his J.D. cum laude and his B.A. magna cum laude from Brigham Young University.

Mr. Goldberg is a trial attorney who has handled various litigation matters in state and federal courts, including appeals in both the California Courts of Appeal and the United States Courts of Appeals. Mr. Goldberg also has extensive experience in arbitration proceedings in various forums (including FINRA, AAA, JAMS, and NAF) and related court proceedings. While Mr. Goldberg has a broad range of experience in civil litigation matters, Mr. Goldberg concentrates his practice on securities litigation. Mr. Goldberg earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and received his B.A. from Emory University.

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As profiled in the Daily Journal and The Recorder, Attorney Jeffrey Warren has joined the firm as partner and head of the firm’s corporate department. Mr. Warren has nearly 30 years of experience specializing in finance, business acquisitions, workouts, fund formation, partnering, governance and general commercial transactions. Mr. Warren also has extensive experience with public and private offerings, business acquisitions, investment management counsel, regulatory compliance, enforcement counsel, corporate governance and business planning, and varied dispute resolution involvement. He has argued cases in bankruptcy and other courtrooms from New York to Hawaii, and achieved success in defending administrative and regulatory prosecutions.

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Palmer, Lombardi & Donohue LLP, a Los Angeles-based law firm, has joined the Euro-American Lawyers Group (EALG), an association of law firms whose members best serve their clients’ interests overseas by co-operating with likeminded firms who have local knowledge of, and immediate access to the legal system operating in their own jurisdictions.

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Palmer, Lombardi & Donohue LLP represented American Express Bank, FSB, in a multi-million dollar malicious prosecution case filed against Amex in connection with a police report filed by Amex regarding possible cardmember credit card fraud. Amex obtained a dismissal following a ruling on an anti-SLAPP motion, and Plaintiff appealed. The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s ruling, holding that the filing of a police report is protected speech, and that Plaintiff had failed to meet his burden to overcome the anti-SLAPP challenge.