Joshua J. Pollack

My focus

I have extensive experience representing clients in complex commercial litigation matters. I advise a wide range of businesses and industries, including financial institutions, hedge funds, manufacturing, real estate, entertainment and media, apparel, retail, and hospitality. I have successfully represented corporate and individual clients on a wide variety of matters involving claims for breach of contract, fraud, negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty, unfair competition, business interference, and false advertising. I also represent clients in intellectual property litigation matters including copyright, trademark, and patent ownership and infringement claims.

In addition to commercial and IP litigation, I also have over a decade of experience representing policyholders in disputes with insurance companies and litigating coverage matters from coast-to coast. I have counseled clients with regard to designing pre-litigation insurance coverage strategies and conducted policy reviews and analyses.

Representative experience

Complex Commercial Litigation

• Co-chaired a two-week federal jury trial on behalf of Jiae Lee, the plaintiff in an action against defendants Dong Yeoun (“Damon”) Lee, Creative Global Investment, Inc. (“CGI”), and Grace Min, claiming fraud, negligent misrepresentation, conversion, unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract. The jury found Damon Lee and CGI liable on essentially all counts, and awarded significant compensatory and punitive damages.
• Second chaired a three-week federal jury trial on behalf of a Japanese animation company in a multi-million-dollar contract dispute against a prominent trading card producer, resulting in a positive settlement for the client; conducted many of the direct and cross examinations at trial
• Second chaired an eight-day AAA arbitration hearing on behalf of a global brand management company in a dispute involving the rights and revenues associated with a major children’s literary property
• Defeated class certification in defense of a manufacturer in a putative class action in which damages were alleged to exceed $750 million; the parties subsequently reached a settlement pursuant to which the manufacturer paid no money to plaintiffs
• Defended a former officer of Lehman Brothers in connection with California litigation arising from the Lehman bankruptcy; all claims against the former officer were dismissed with prejudice twice on demurrer
• Represented an Israeli company defending claims asserting entitlement to sales commissions in perpetuity; principal architect and drafter of a successful summary judgment motion that secured dismissal of all claims based on a novel statute of limitations theory
• Defended car and truck rental companies against substantial putative class action claims in California regarding the companies’ refueling charges, resulting in a positive settlement for the clients
• Primary drafter of briefs in a Second Circuit appeal on behalf of a gold mining, development, and exploration company
• Defended a California-based bank in litigation involving allegations of fraudulent transfers, fraud, and unfair competition
• Defended a shareholder accused of civil RICO violations for allegedly disparaging a New York corporation and its founder and majority shareholder
• Prosecuted claims on behalf of a French tobacco company in litigation involving complex swap transactions and the sale of financial derivatives

Intellectual Property Litigation

• Successfully represented Reuben Klamer, the author of the iconic board game, The Game of Life, in an appeal before the First Circuit. The appellate court unanimously affirmed the district court’s bench trial ruling finding that plaintiffs possessed no termination rights in the copyrights to The Game of Life
• Represented Vanessa Hudgens, an American actress, entrepreneur, and singer, in a suit filed against SBLA Beauty relating to violations of rights of publicity, unfair competition, and false advertising; achieved amicable early settlement
• Defended DECA International Corp. and GolfzonDECA, in a false advertising suit filed by SkyHawke Technologies, LLC, related to golf GPS devices. Won motion to dismiss, dismissing 15 of 21 claims pleaded. The case settled on favorable terms
• Prosecuted claims on behalf of most of the major motion picture studios and the four major television networks in their technology copyright action against ReplayTV, a distributor of personal video recorders
• Prosecuted claims on behalf of a Cuban-origin rum distributor in litigation involving claims of trademark infringement, trade name infringement, and unfair competition

Insurance Coverage

• Represented numerous insurance trusts in a series of lawsuits against life insurers throughout the United States in which the insurers were attempting to invalidate hundreds of millions of dollars of life insurance policies by asserting that they involved secondary market stranger-owned or investor-owned life insurance. These cases involved numerous legal issues of first impression and important industry-wide economic and business issues
• Represented a seller of high-quality Oriental rugs and tapestries in prosecuting claims against its first-party property insurers
• Represented a university-affiliated medical center in AAA arbitration against its stop-loss insurance carrier for reimbursement of millions of dollars in medical claims
• Represented the former operator of an aluminum manufacturing plant in litigation against insurers to recover costs of remediating a TCE plume and settling related toxic tort claims
• Represented the former owner of a 1000-acre site in prosecuting claims against insurers under “cost cap” and EIL policies
• Represented the owner of a shopping center in litigation against its property insurer to recover substantial losses and damages, including lost business income and construction-related costs, resulting from a fire at the shopping center

Looking ahead

With courts facing a significant backlog due to the pandemic, I see clients more focused on trying to avoid or address disputes before they end up in litigation. When litigation becomes unavoidable, clients will be looking for highly experienced lawyers who know the right balance between aggressive litigation and finding the most efficient and cost-effective path to achieving their goals.

Presentations

• Speaker, 2023 Courthouse Lunch Program, Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association, December 14, 2023