Susan J. Harriman

Cases of Note

City and County of San Francisco v. Music Concourse Community Partnership: We successfully defended the Music Concourse Community Partnership from two consolidated actions. The actions sought to halt the creation of a $50 million underground parking facility in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. After two bench trials, the court declined to issue an injunction which was upheld by the California Court of Appeal.

City of Hope National Medical Center v. Genentech, Inc.: We represented Genentech in a breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty action. In the first trial, the jury hung 7-5 in favor of Genentech. In the retrial, the jury awarded compensatory and punitive damages. However, we persuaded the California Supreme Court to reverse the breach of fiduciary duty verdict, thereby throwing out the $200 million punitive-damages award.

Plaintiff v. Chevron: We won a $5.5 million jury verdict against Chevron for wrongfully terminating and retaliating against a female petroleum engineer. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the award.

Maritime Association v. Individual: We successfully defended an individual in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) action brought by her deceased husband’s employer. The employer sought to recoup the $10 million insurance proceeds paid to our client upon her husband's death. After a two-week court trial, judgment was awarded in favor of our client, and affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Plaintiff v. Jenner Biotherapies, Inc.: We defended Jenner Biotherapies and one of its significant investors from breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and negligence claims. During a two-week jury trial, the federal court threw out five of the seven claims. The jury split on the remaining two claims, and awarded a fraction of the plaintiff's original demand.

Plaintiff v. Alameda County District Attorney's Office, Tom Orloff: We successfully represented the Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff and the District Attorney's Office, who were accused of discriminating against women. Working with top female attorneys in the D.A.’s office, we proved the plaintiff’s allegations were unfounded, and secured summary judgment.

Televisa v. Univision Communications: We represented Univision, the country's leading Spanish language television network, in a breach of contract jury trial. Televisa, a Mexican multimedia conglomerate which supplied Univision with its most popular Spanish language programs, attempted to terminate a long-term exclusive licensing agreement and sought more than $100 million in damages. The case was settled during trial on favorable terms. We also represented Univision in a bench trial which sought declaratory judgment to prevent Televisa from broadcasting over the Internet the same highly popular programs that it exclusively licensed to Univision. We won a complete victory at trial.

Univision Communications v. Televisa: We represented Univision, the country's leading Spanish language television network, in a trial by reference. The case involved a breach of contract dispute over the rights to televise Mexican Soccer League games. The judge adopted the interpretation of the contract which favored our client.