Mark is the practice managing partner of the Business Litigation and Class Action and Appellate practice groups. He is a seasoned trial lawyer engaged in a broad range of litigation matters, including consumer class actions, false advertising, unfair competition, employment (including California wage-and-hour), insurance coverage and first-party bad faith claims, patent, trademark, trade secrets, collaboration and intellectual property license agreements and other complex business disputes.
He has extensive experience in the food, beverage and dietary supplements industries, where he has successfully defended companies in consumer and competitor claims of false advertising and unfair competition. His background also includes responsibility for the development of class certification experts on issues critical to the defeat of putative classes, including consumer behavior and economics in multidistrict class action litigation.
Before joining Shook, Mark was a partner at both Sidley and Loeb & Loeb; at the latter, he was co-chair of the firm’s consumer class actions and regulatory defense practice and chaired the litigation department for four years.
Representative Matters
Obtained summary judgment in action against major online retailer alleging disability discrimination and harassment.
Obtained summary judgment/adjudication in a PAGA class action involving more than 4,000 employees alleging violation of California Wage Order 7 temperature provisions.
Vogue Recovery California LLC et al. v. CMJ Recovery CA LLC et al. | Obtained $13.25 million jury verdict, including $3.25 million in punitive damages, on behalf of client action in action alleging breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and interference with contract.
Successfully opposed an attempt to certify a nationwide class of call center employees on behalf of international property and casualty insurer.
Achieved complete defense verdict after a two-week jury trial on behalf of a top national insurance company alleging misclassification of nine insurance adjusters.
Dantzler v. S2 Services Puerto Rico, LLC | Defeated putative class action claim of more than $150 million against client in appellate victory alleging enhanced security fees, charged in connection with a cargo container scanning program, were unconstitutional under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Obtained decertification of wage and hour class action against an international property and casualty insurer alleging misclassification of claims adjusters and order striking PAGA claims as unmanageable.
Perisic v. Ashley Furniture Industries | Defeated class certification in consumer class action alleging violations of consumer protection laws related to the marketing of faux leather furniture.
Isaac v. Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. | Obtained dismissal of consumer class action alleging violation of Massachusetts Consumer Protection Statute.
Razo v. Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. | Summary judgment granted in consumer class action alleging misleading marketing of faux-leather furniture.
Young v. Toyota Motor Sales, USA | Defeated class certification and obtained defense verdict at trial in consumer class action under Washington Consumer Protection Act. Verdict upheld in appellate court and Washington State Supreme Court.
Choi v. Toyota Motor Sales, USA | As a member of Toyota’s core defense team, responsible for the development of class certification experts on issues of consumer behavior and economics in multidistrict litigation involving customer complaints about the anti-lock brake systems in 2010 Prius and Lexus HS25h vehicles.
Illinois Tool Works, Inc. v. MOC Products Co. | As lead trial lawyer, secured $5.55 million jury verdict and willfulness finding in patent infringement trial.
PomWonderful v. Purely Juice, Inc. | Obtained $2.1 million judgment on behalf of POM Wonderful LLC in a Lanham Act false advertising and misleading marketing trial.
Represented a life sciences company in a licensing dispute involving agreement for development and marketing of excimer laser for use in transmyocardial revascularization.
Successfully represented a chemical company in a licensing dispute over fluorescent detection technology.
Heang Ju Lee v. Living Forest, Inc. | Defended AOE International, Inc., in a putative class action alleging that dietary supplements the company manufactured contained ibuprofen in violation of federal labeling regulations and California’s Unfair Competition Laws. The case was settled favorably on a nonclass basis.
CG Roxane v. Fiji Water Co. | Obtained summary judgment, including cancellation of trademark, for Fiji Water Company in a trademark and false advertising suit brought by Crystal Geyser Spring Water over the use of the phrase “bottled at the source,” which both companies use on their bottles and for which Crystal Geyser held a registered trademark.
Evans v. Roller Derby Inc. | Obtained dismissal of patent infringement action.
PomWonderful LLC v. Naked Juice Co. of Glendora, Inc., | Obtained preliminary injunction in false comparative advertising case under the Lanham Act.
PomWonderful LLC v. Biroc | Obtained temporary restraining order and permanent injunction in action for civil harassment and trespass for POM Wonderful, a maker of pomegranate juice, against animal rights activists who protested POM Wonderful’s testing of its products on mice. The activists engaged in targeted “home visits,” during which they stationed themselves outside the homes of POM Wonderful employees, wearing masks, holding inflammatory signs and shouting threats.
Buettner v. Bertelsmann AG | Represented Bertelsmann AG and its former CEO Thomas Middlehoff against two former executives who sought $3.5 billion for their claimed roles in the establishment of AOL Europe.
Barton v. Alexander Hamilton Life Ins. Co., 110 Cal.App.4th 1640 | Served as one of the lead trial lawyers in this case of first impression on the standard of proof to be applied on a nonsuit motion to a claim for punitive damages.
Kaman Industrial Technologies Corp. v. Oltmans | Successfully led a Ventura County, California, jury trial defending Oltmans Construction Company against a $2.5 million claim.
Obtained a preliminary injunction and a seizure order in a trade dress action.
Presented the closing arguments on behalf of a Fortune 500 company in a punitive damages phase of a federal national origin discrimination trial.
Presentations
Economic Damages in Automotive Class Actions, 2023 Motor Vehicle Product Liability Litigation Conference, Scottsdale, April 19, 2023 (Speaker).
COVID-19: Employment Law Considerations - A Rapidly Changing Picture Addressing Practical Insights and Workforce Strategies, Webinar, Missouri Bar, April 15, 2020 (Speaker).
COVID-19: California and Federal Employment Law Considerations, Webinar, Association of Corporate Counsel, April 2, 2020 (Speaker).
Working With Experts in Automotive Class Actions, American Bar Association’s Emerging Issues In Motor Vehicle Product Liability Litigation, San Diego, California, April 3, 2019 (Speaker).
An In-Depth Examination of Working With Class Action Experts, Bridgeport 2017 Class Action Litigation Conference, Los Angeles, April 7, 2017 (Speaker).
Who’s in the Driver’s Seat? Assessing Misrepresentation, Liability and Injury in a World of Complex Automated Products, April 6, 2017 (Speaker).
Bridgeport Class Action Litigation & Management Conference, Los Angeles, April 11-12, 2013 (Speaker).
Media Coverage
Justices Shun Importers' $150M Fee Suit Against Puerto Rico, Law360, May 17, 2021.
Wash. High Court Won’t Revive Toyota Suit Over Mirror, Law360, September 25, 2020.
1st Circ. Frees Puerto Rican Agency From $150M Fees Suit, Law360, May 4, 2020.
Lawyer: Kobe Bryant's Family "Torn Apart" by Dispute With Mom, The Orange County Register, May 14, 2013.
Kobe Bryant Doesn't Want Mom to Sell His Stuff, ABC News, May 4, 2013.
Kobe Bryant, Mom in Court Battle, ESPN, May 4, 2013.
Report: Kobe Bryant Family Feud Had Been Simmering, UPI, May 4, 2013.