Donald J. Kula

Coso Energy Developers, et al. v. County of Inyo*

Superior Court of California
County of Inyo
One-week bench trial representing Cosco in challenge to reassessment of property taxes for its geothermal power plants. Case involved complex valuation issues relating to the pricing of electricity and novel questions of federal jurisdiction with income producing property located on a U.S. naval base. Matter later settled after favorable reduction in assessed tax.

Flagship Theatres of Palm Desert, LLC v. Century Theatres, Inc.

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Santa Monica Division
Six-week jury trial representing Flagship in prosecuting state antitrust claims for "circuit dealing" involving the way first-run films are booked in movie theatres. Obtained a multi-million-dollar jury verdict, judgement and fee award later reversed on appeal.

Gilbert P. Hyatt v. Franchise Tax Board of the State of California

Eighth Judicial District Court of Nevada, Clark County
Four-month jury trial representing Mr. Hyatt in a litigation that lasted almost 20 years and included multiple trips to the Nevada Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. Obtained large jury verdict and judgment in favor of Mr. Hyatt for intentional tort claims including fraud stemming from government misconduct. The Nevada Supreme Court affirmed the judgment that found the government actors had committed fraud via the conduct they engaged in during the audits, Franchise Tax Bd. of Cal. v. Hyatt, 130 Nev. 662 (2014), while the damages awarded were reversed after-the-fact via a change in U.S. Supreme Court precedent on sovereign immunity, Franchise Tax Bd. of Cal. v. Hyatt, 139 S. Ct. 1485 (2019). The matter also had a separate but parrel administrative proceeding in which large residency-based tax and penalty assessments against Mr. Hyatt were successfully reversed. The erroneous residency-based assessments from decades earlier had spawned the tort case based on the investigative misconduct of the government auditors.

Global BTG, LLC v. National Air Cargo, Inc.

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Four-week jury trial representing Global in a breach of contract claim. Jury found in Global's favor and enforced the parties' “Letter of Intent” under New York law under which Global had procured financing for the purchase of eight 747 aircrafts. The jury awarded $8 million in damages, and with interest Global collected almost $10 million.

In re Matter of Bleich Trust (Makino v. Bleich)

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles (Probate Division)
Two-week bench trial representing Catherine Makino in a contentious family trust dispute against her brother/the trustee of her parents' estate involving claims of undue influence and disputed interpretations of the governing trust instrument. Obtained a multimillion-dollar settlement for Ms. Makino after two weeks of trial.

In re the Estate of Ronald Shaw v. Southland Title Co.*

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Won two-week bench trial for Southland Title regarding the valuation of the company, the value of which determined the amount the company was obligated to pay the founder’s estate in repurchasing his stock. The company was required to pay essentially what it offered in pre-trial settlement negotiations.

Minmetals, Inc. v. Hanwa America Corp.

ADR, Los Angeles, California
Two-week arbitration representing Hanwa in contract action involving rejection of non-conforming goods (imported steel) under the UCC. Case included crossclaims against a third-party customer on behalf of whom Hanwa rejected goods. After arbitration matter settled with third party making substantial contribution towards settlement.

New England Electric Wire Corporation, et al, v. Cooner Sales Company, LLC* 

American Arbitration Association, Los Angeles, California
Represented New England Electric Wire in a series of arbitrations and related court proceeding involving claims of breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty in the termination of a distribution agreement.

Six Flags Amusement Park Employment Matters*

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Represented Park in various wrongful termination and discrimination actions, including a same sex discrimination and harassment case tried to a jury.

* Prior Experience

Classic Party Rentals Trade Secret Cases

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara
Obtained injunctive and monetary relief for Classic in several cases in which former employees illegally downloaded or otherwise stole confidential trade secret information and attempted to impart the information to their new employers and then use the information in competition with Classic. The matters were settled after obtaining the preliminary relief.

MediaNews Group, Inc., et al. v. Revista Publishing LLC., et al.

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Obtained a TRO and then a preliminary injunction for MediaNews Inc. and its affiliated companies the Los Angeles Daily News Publishing Company and California Newspapers Partnership. The injunction prohibited defendants, two former employees and a competitor, from disclosing or using MediaNews’ confidential customer information and from soliciting MediaNews customers whose identities were unknown to defendants absent use of the stolen information. The matter then settled based on the terms of the preliminary injunction.

K&N Engineering, Inc. v. Wix Filtration Corp. LLC

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Obtained dismissal at pleading stage for Wix in action claiming false advertising and unfair competition directed at published advertisements of Wix’s auto parts. Court found alleged statements mere puffery and non-actionable.

Luban, et al. v. Nissan North America d/b/a Infiniti*

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Obtained a dismissal at the pleading stage for Nissan in a putative consumer class-action suit alleging unfair competition and unfair advertising relative to advertising statements made in regard to the brakes in one of the Infiniti models. Also obtained a stay of discovery during pendency of successive demurrers that resulted in the dismissal of the case, thereby saving significant expenses to the client.

PKL Corp. v. Mapei Corp.

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
In trademark enforcement action, obtained stipulated relief for PKL in which Mapei agreed to change existing mark and not challenge PKL’s registered mark.

RingCentral, Inc. v. Nextiva, Inc.

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Represented Nextiva in a lengthy false advertising and unfair competition action with each side asserting claims for tens of millions of dollars based on alleged improper internet marketing activities including search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) practices. After extensive discovery and motion practice, the matter was resolved shortly before trial.

Steinberg, Moorad & Dunn Inc. v. David L. Dunn, et al.*

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Obtained summary judgment for Platinum Equity in an action involving novel claims of investor and directory liability, trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition, and other torts. Platinum had invested in a startup company that provided sports agency representation to current and prospective NFL football players. The court found that Platinum’s role as lead investor and member of the agency’s board of managers was insufficient to impose liability. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the summary judgment.

Undisclosed Seller of Consumer Goods

Investigation by California Attorney General’s office and Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office
Representation of direct seller of consumer goods in three-year confidential civil investigation by California Attorney General’s Office and Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office regarding alleged improper sales, marketing, and advertising activities by seller directed at Hispanic consumers. Obtained resolution for seller with no claims or charges filed.

Valerie Sarofim, et al. v. Paula Thomas, et al.*

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Represented primary investor in a startup company and successfully prosecuted claims against partner for breach of fiduciary duty and unfair competition stemming partner's theft of copyrighted designs and failure to assign copyrights in works to the new company.

* Prior Experience

Cappello Capital Corp. v. AmericanWest Bank, Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P., et al.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
Obtained a summary judgment for Sandler O’Neill against Cappello from the bankruptcy court resulting in dismissal of all claims against Sandler O’Neill by the district court. The claims consisted of alleged interference with contract and interference with prospective economic relations. Sandler O’Neill, a New York-based investment bank that specializes in finding capital for financial institutions, found and placed the necessary capital that allowed AmericanWest Bank to avoid seizure and takeover by the FDIC. Cappello sued both the bank and Sandler O’Neill seeking credit for the deal and remuneration for the deal. The court found Sandler O’Neill, not Cappello, solely sourced the deal and that Cappello failed to establish any legal claim against Sandler.

Dawg House Holdings, LLC v. Ball Corporation, et al.*

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Successfully defended Ball in action involving claims for breach of contract, breach of warranty, and product liability for alleged failure of product to perform as warranted and contemplated by the parties.

Mehrens/DiSimone v. Redbox Automated Retail, LLC

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Defended Redbox in putative class action alleging that collection of certain information at Redbox kiosks violates California's Song-Beverly Act. Obtained a dismissal via a motion to dismiss, and had dismissal affirmed on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Durkalski v. Offield

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Defended Ms. Offield in action asserting wrongful eviction and related claims stemming from unique property in Venice, California. After substantial discovery and motion practice, matter was resolved with Ms. Offield retaining the property.

Ratel Investments, LLP v. Clippenger

American Arbitration Association, Los Angeles, California
Represented Ratel in breach of contract/breach of fiduciary duty action seeking removal of project manager and control of redevelopment of historic property in Hollywood. After several months of discovery and motions, project manager defaulted ending the arbitration.

Seattle Bank Reverse Mortgage Cases

Various cases brought in California, Nevada and New Mexico
Obtained dismissals and highly favorable nuisance settlements in a series of cases brought by consumers who had obtained reverse mortgages from the bank’s mortgage unit, Seattle Mortgage, in which plaintiffs alleged unfair competition, false advertising and related consumer claims.

Positron Systems, Inc. v. Wyle Laboratories, Inc.

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Defended and pursued crossclaim for Wyle in action alleging claims for breach of contract, interference with prospective business relations, and fraud based on alleged usurpation of a government contract for research into new technologies for detecting internal corrosion in military aircraft.

* Prior Experience