Trial Ready and Broad Record of Success

Secured a complete verdict in favor of our clients, Bio-Rad Laboratories and the University of Chicago, in a patent infringement suit brought against a competitor, 10X Genomics, regarding sophisticated genetic testing methods. After brief deliberations, the Delaware federal jury held that all of our clients’ asserted patents are valid and infringed, and that the infringement was willful, and awarded the full amount of requested damages: $24 million. In July 2019, the court denied 10X Genomics’ challenge to the verdict, and in a separate decision, granted Weil’s clients’ motion for a permanent injunction. The Federal Circuit sustained the verdict and the permanent injunction in August 2020.

Weil achieved a sweeping victory in March 2022 for client CareDx following a five-day jury trial in Delaware federal court, when a jury returned a nearly $45M verdict in CareDx’s favor against competitor Natera. The jury found that Natera intentionally and willfully engaged in false advertising in the promotion of its kidney transplant rejection assessment test that deliberately deceived the organ transplant community, and awarded CareDx $21.2M in compensatory damages and $23.7M in punitive damages under the Lanham Act, the Delaware Deceptive Trade Practices Act and Delaware unfair competition law.

Weil secured a complete defense jury verdict for C&S Wholesale Grocers following nine days of trial in April 2018 in an antitrust class action in Minnesota federal court. The jury’s verdict erased several hundred million dollars sought in treble damages, plus attorneys’ fees, and brought nine years of litigation to a close. Plaintiffs alleged that New England-based C&S and Supervalu, another leading wholesaler based in the Midwest, entered into a conspiracy to allocate the New England and Midwest territories between themselves for a period of five years, resulting in inflated grocery prices. The other defendant settled before trial. Weil partners David Lender and Eric Hochstadt, who led the trial team, were recognized as The American Lawyer’s “Litigators of the Week,” in which the publication characterized the rare, high-stakes case as “An Antitrust Unicorn – With $800M on the Line.” The team also won Global Competition Review’s “Litigators of the Week” accolades for its role in securing this win. In 2020, following oral argument, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the verdict dismissing all claims, and the U.S. Supreme Court subsequently denied plaintiffs’ motion for a writ of certiorari.

Successfully represented a major e-commerce company in a contract dispute relating to a multi-year operating agreement with a former business partner. Following a five-day evidentiary trial and post-trial briefing, secured a complete victory and significant damages for the client.

Obtained a significant federal jury verdict for ESPN in a $150 million dollar dispute with DISH Network relating to certain provisions of a content distribution agreement. In a separate dispute with DISH Network, obtained an affirmation on appeal of a complete New York state court jury verdict for ESPN, also worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Obtained a $170 million dollar jury verdict for General Electric in a patent infringement dispute against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries – part of a multi-forum dispute relating to wind turbine technology.

Weil served as lead trial counsel for Johnson & Johnson in the mass tort talc litigation brought in New Jersey state court. After a four-week trial, Weil secured a complete defense jury verdict in October 2018. The plaintiff alleged that J&J’s baby powder contains asbestos and causes cancer. This lawsuit is one of many similar cases currently pending in courts around the United States, in which plaintiffs allege that the use of talcum powder caused lung cancer or ovarian cancer, but this is the first defense verdict for J&J in a talc case in New Jersey courts. The American Lawyer awarded Weil lead trial partner Diane Sullivan “Litigator of the Week” honors for securing the verdict. Law360 also highlighted the win as a landmark victory of 2018. CVN showcased the win as the most impressive defense verdict of the year.

Weil subsequently served as co-lead trial counsel for Johnson & Johnson in a similar case in New Jersey state court alleging that exposure to asbestos in J&J’s baby powder contributed to him developing cancer. Following four weeks of trial, in March 2019, the jury returned a unanimous, 6-0 verdict after deliberating for less than 25 minutes. As a result of the victory, Weil was named a “Legal Lion” by Law360.

Following closely on the heels of this victory, in May 2019 Weil served as lead trial counsel in a separate lawsuit in the mass tort talc litigation in South Carolina state court alleging that exposure to asbestos in J&J’s baby powder contributed to the plaintiff developing a rare form of cancer. Following one week of trial, the jury returned a unanimous, 12-0 verdict in favor of J&J on every question.

Secured a total victory for Morgan Stanley in November 2015 after a New York federal jury issued a verdict of no liability in a trial of private insider trading claims asserted by a Russian billionaire and his Netherlands-based investment vehicle, Veleron Holdings. The jury reached its verdict after two weeks of trial in the Southern District of New York. Plaintiff alleged that Morgan Stanley was improperly short-selling stock of Magna International – a Canadian auto-parts manufacturer in which plaintiff had invested $1.5 billion just prior to the start of the financial crisis – based on purported insider information gleaned by Morgan Stanley from BNP Paribas, the lending bank that funded plaintiff’s investment in Magna, and that had entered into a series of derivative transactions with Morgan Stanley referencing Magna stock. In June 2017, the Second Circuit affirmed.

Obtained a favorable decision for Nuance following an arbitration of $30 million in claims brought by Vocada relating to an earnout dispute.

On June 11, 2021, Weil secured a highly favorable result for Pandora and Sirius XM in the Web V proceedings against SoundExchange and the recorded music industry. The CRB set royalty rates to be paid by non-interactive (i.e., radio-style) webcasters to the recorded music industry for the rights to publicly perform copyrighted sound recordings and to make ephemeral copies of those recordings over the 2021-2025 period at a level far lower than sought by SoundExchange. The six-week trial—one of the most extensive virtual trials with dozens of witnesses, multiple other parties, numerous other law-firm participants, a three-judge panel, and thousands of exhibits—was held via videoconference in August and September 2020. Weil also represented Sirius XM and Pandora in several similar previous rate-setting proceedings (Web IV, SDARS I, SDARS II, SDARS III, and Phonorecords III).

Won a complete defense verdict for Philip Morris USA in a class action tried to a jury in Boston federal court. The plaintiffs brought a medical monitoring class action on behalf of allegedly over 30,000 Massachusetts smokers who smoked Marlboro cigarettes, seeking to have Philip Morris USA fund a screening program for the early detection of lung cancer. Plaintiffs sought a comprehensive program that would have included yearly low-dose CT scans, which are now the standard of care for the early detection of lung cancer for certain patients. Plaintiffs’ legal theory was design defect, alleging that our client could have made a safer cigarette that would have decreased their risk of subcellular injuries caused by smoking. Originally filed in 2006, the case was certified as a class action in 2010. Weil was brought in as lead trial counsel in 2012. After 10 years of litigation and three-week jury trial, our client won a unanimous verdict on the first question on the verdict sheet – Marlboro cigarettes are not defective and unreasonably dangerous.