Trial Practice, Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Amin Wasserman Gurnani’s Litigation practice focuses on the areas that matter to food, dietary supplement, cosmetic, drug, and medical device companies in the lifecycle of developing, manufacturing and selling products and services. Our team is adept at resolving disputes through pre-dispute negotiation yet has the experience and tenacity to enforce or defend a client’s rights when it comes time to fight. At the outset of a potential dispute, Amin Wasserman Gurnani’s lawyers draw on their deep understanding of the complexities of the food and drug industries and matters specific to the FDA, USDA, and FTC to provide a prompt assessment of the issues and to craft a pragmatic and focused strategy to achieve the business’ objectives. Our team is prized for providing innovative litigation strategies and achieving efficient and effective results for our clients.

Consumer Class Action Litigation

Food and drug companies are increasingly subject to consumer class actions asserting false or deceptive advertising. As class actions in FDA-regulated industries have increased, our team’s multidisciplinary approach – combining regulatory and scientific savvy with deep expertise in intellectual property and commercial disputes – has proven to be of great value to the manufacturers of food, beverage, dietary supplement and cosmetic products.

Our litigators work seamlessly with our FDA compliance attorneys to guide clients through the class action minefield, anticipating challenges and helping companies stay compliant. When it is necessary to defend against a class action, we develop and execute creative and aggressive strategies to defeat class certification or otherwise achieve our clients’ business objectives on the merits of the claim.

Intellectual Property Litigation

Our intellectual property litigators stand ready to enforce and/or defend against all forms of claims and proceedings associated with intellectual property rights, including trademark, patent, trade secret and copyright claims as well as claims of false advertising, unfair competition, and deceptive practices under state and federal law. Our lawyers regularly counsel on all aspects of intellectual property litigation, including:

• Trademark litigation, including trademark and trade dress infringement, oppositions to trademark applications, and petitions to cancel existing trademark registrations.
• False advertising and unfair competition litigation, including allegations of false and/or misleading claims or other alleged unfair or deceptive practices.
• Patent litigation, including patent infringement and validity, issues relating to priority of invention, inequitable conduct, patent misuse, and damages as well as licensing and cross-licensing solutions.
• Trade secret litigation, including claims of trade secret misappropriation by competitors, by former employees, or in connection with various businesses arrangements and agreements.

Government Investigations

Amin Wasserman Gurnani is highly regarded for its ability to handle regulatory matters and enforcement proceedings before all types of federal and state agencies. Our lawyers have unique and deep experience with the FDA, USDA, and FTC, and handle suits and investigations initiated by these agencies as well as by State Attorney Generals and/or Departments of Health. We also have extensive experience on matters specific to state law such as counseling clients on California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, known as Proposition 65, and defending against claims and investigations brought under this and a variety of other state statutes.

Commercial/Business/Supply-Chain Litigation

Our commercial litigation practice encompasses disputes regarding a wide variety of commercial contracts and business relationships. Our lawyers have extensive experience in handling supply chain disputes involving the sourcing, manufacture, and distribution of products and materials as well as disputes involving information technology procurement, development, and outsourcings. Our lawyers are trusted to manage our clients’ toughest disputes such as:

• Commercial contract claims, including claims of material breach of contractual obligations, breach of warranty, failure to timely deliver or meet milestones, failure to adhere to specifications, breach of service level agreements, and payment disputes.
• Customer and vendor side information technology and software disputes, including disputes regarding the acquisition, development, implementation, outsourcing, licensing and use of technology.
• Disputes involving business arrangements such as partnerships, joint ventures, strategic alliances and other associations, licensing and royalty transactions, non-competition agreements, and a variety of other business arrangements.

E-commerce/Online Marketplace Disputes

Our litigation team understands the unique issues associated with the online environments in which many e-commerce transactions take place. Whether a dispute is associated with the practices of a particular platform such as Amazon, centers on issues between buyers and sellers, involves copyright, trademark, counterfeiting or false advertising take downs, or is related to other issues unique to e-commerce and online marketplaces, our team crafts effective strategies to resolve online issues and keep the business running.