- We obtained a $1,250,000 confidential settlement for our clients in an insurance bad faith claim after the insurer denied our clients' water damage and mold claim. We were the fifth lawyers to represent the clients, and the previous lawyer had recommended a settlement for less than $100,000, which was the estimated amount owed under the homeowner's policy. We believed that the insurer had acted in bad faith, and we believed our clients deserved to be compensated, so we properly funded the case, properly worked it up, and aggressively litigated the matter. After over 1 year of very hard-fought litigation, we obtained a $1,300,000 settlement for our clients.
- We obtained a $1,350,000 confidential settlement for our client who was wrongfully terminated after he participated in a sexual harassment investigation and reported discriminatory conduct on behalf of his supervisors. The settlement was the highest settlement amount ever paid to an individual claimant by this large financial institution, but only after lengthy and vigorous litigation.
- We obtained a $4,900,000 arbitration award for a company that supplies parts and services for a radar reconnaissance and surveillance system sold by a United States company to foreign governments. Our client had an exclusive license to supply the parts and service the systems. The Defendant terminated the license agreement without cause because it considered the terms unfavorable. We prevailed after a three-week arbitration and obtained a $4,900,000 lost profits award for our client.
- We obtained a confidential $4,300,000 settlement for a small company after a publicly traded company interfered with our clients' employees, and other contractual relationships. As is often the case, the Defendant was represented by one of the most prestigious and aggressive law firms in the country, which sent its hired gun from back East to defend the case. The Venardi Elam Firm prides itself in litigating against such firms, and after reviewing more than 100,000 pages of documents, taking countless depositions, and engaging in vigorous law and motion practice, we successfully obtained a $4,300,000 settlement for our deserving client.
- We represent an individual and his wife in a catastrophic product liability suit against Segway, the designer and manufacturer of a two-wheeled self balancing scooter. Our client was launched from the Segway after it malfunctioned. He landed on his forehead and suffered a fracture at C4. He is a quadriplegic. The case is presently being litigated in Alameda County Superior Court.
- We represent the surviving family members in a wrongful death action against a commercial vessel operator. Our client died after the Defendant's vessel struck the decedent's vessel.
- We represent a winery ("Client") that had a very effective malolactic bacteria develop in its wine during the fermentation process. Our Client had retained a winemaker consultant ("Winemaker") to assist it with the winemaking process. The Winemaker noticed very quickly that naturally occurring yeasts and/or bacteria were present in the wine and were responsible for efficiently finishing the fermentation process in high alcohol content wines. The Winemaker, without our Client's knowledge, contacted a company that manufactures food supplements and additives, including additives commonly used by wineries to finish the fermentation process. The Winemaker and the company went onto our Client's property and took samples from the fermentation vat without our Client's knowledge or consent. The company isolated the bacteria strain and is presently marketing and selling the bacteria strain to winemakers around the world. Our Client is suing the company and the Winemaker for breach of implied contract, fraud, conversion, quantum meruit, breach of fiduciary duty, trade secrets theft, and conspiracy.
- We represented a Canadian environmental drilling company ("Client") in a hard-fought case where our Client was considering purchasing another drilling company. Unbeknownst to our Client, the President of its United States subsidiary was negotiating to purchase the drilling company for his own benefit. The President terminated his employment with our Client, purchased the company for his own gain, and went into business in direct competition with our Client. We very aggressively litigated this matter and sued the new company, our Client's former employee, and the investors in the new company for breach of contract, theft of trade secrets, intentional interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, breach of fiduciary duty, conspiracy, and imposition of a constructive trust. After very aggressively litigating the case, and essentially prevailing, we forced the former employer and its investors to tender the new company to our Client for the same price at which they had purchased the company, after which the case settled on confidential terms.
- We represented a publicly traded United States company ("Client") that manufactured, sold, and serviced very large telecommunications switches. Our Client sold three such switches for millions of dollars to a regional telephone company. The regional telephone company contended that the switches were defective and sued our Client for breach of contract, breach of warranty, and fraud, seeking more that $5,000,000 in damages. We prevailed on this matter in a binding arbitration after proving that our Client and the regional telephone company had entered into an agreement to jointly develop an experimental switch, that the warranty was limited to an experimental switch, that our Client fulfilled all of its obligations, and made no misrepresentation.
