Sierra Elizabeth, P.C.

Toxic Tort/Products Liability/Personal Injury

• Represented AbbVie in products liability case alleging that its prescription eye drop product, Vuity, caused permanent damage to the plaintiff’s vision in both eyes. Kirkland successfully removed the case to federal court on a fraudulent joinder theory and secured dismissal in full.
• Serves as lead defense counsel for Abbott Laboratories in products liability litigation involving premature infant formula.
• Served as lead defense counsel for 3M Company in litigation concerning 3M’s allegedly defective dual-ended Combat Arms Earplugs™. Secured a complete defense verdict in the second (Dustin McCombs v. 3M Company, et al.) and fifth (Blum v. 3M Company, et al.) bellwether trials. The victories were profiled in The Am Law Litigation Daily’s “Litigators of the Week” features and received extensive media coverage including in The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and the National Law Journal.
• Represented Toll Brothers and its subsidiary, Porter Ranch Development Co., in litigation alleging malfeasance regarding the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas leak, the largest leak of natural gas in U.S. history. The parties ultimately reached a favorable settlement and the case was dismissed in September 2022.
• Represented Walmart Inc. in products liability and personal injury litigation involving the sale of baby food allegedly containing toxic heavy metals in California Superior Court.
• Represented beauty, health and wellness company in products liability litigation.
• Represented BP in multi-plaintiff litigation brought by residents alleging personal injury and property damage resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, specifically related to source control issues.
• Represented General Motors LLC in bellwether cases in connection with its defense of thousands of personal injury and fraud cases arising from GM’s ignition switch recalls.
• Represented a third-party defendant in litigation involving the alleged release of potentially toxic substances into the soil and groundwater of a California city.
• Represented a chemical company in multiple cases involving alleged injuries resulting from asbestos-contaminated talc.
• Represented the CEO and Chairman of Scotts Miracle-Gro Company in class action litigation involving the alleged misuse of pesticides in wild bird food.
• Represented an asbestos supplier in multiple cases involving alleged injuries resulting from asbestos-containing products.
• Represented a manufacturer of corrugated steel tubing in litigation brought by home owners alleging design defect.
• Represented Warner Bros. against a water safety diver who alleged that he suffered a career ending injuries on the set of the movie “Flags of Our Fathers.” Following a four-week trial, the jury awarded a unanimous verdict in favor of Warner Bros. The plaintiff originally sought more than $10 million in damages.

IP/Business Torts

• Represents Unisys Corporation in its trade secret misappropriation litigation against Atos SE, and Atos IT Solutions and Services, Inc.
• Represented Constellation Brands, Inc. in a breach of contract and trademark infringement trial in the Southern District of New York brought by Grupo Modelo, an Anheuser-Busch InBev company. After trial, the jury delivered unanimous verdict for Constellation Brands on all counts.
• Represented Constellation Brands and a number of its subsidiaries in lawsuit brought by Modelo de Mexico, an Anheuser-Busch InBev company, over whether hard seltzer is beer. Modelo sought to enjoin Constellation’s use of CORONA® trademarks on Constellation’s Corona Hard Seltzer, as well as Constellation’s launch of two Modelo Reserva beers. Kirkland defeated summary judgment motion on liability. After just over an hour of deliberations, a jury concluded that Constellation’s Corona Hard Seltzer and Modelo Ranch water products — both hard seltzers — are beer. Motion for new trial defeated. Unanimously affirmed on appeal.
• Represented LivePerson, Inc. in its trade secret misappropriation trial against [24]7.ai, Inc. The jury returned a verdict for LivePerson on every claim, and awarded $30 million in damages.
• Represented Eli Lilly in litigation against the Regents of the University of California (“UCSD”) in connection with a breach of contract lawsuit involving a clinical research study in San Diego Superior Court.
• Represented Sydney Holland in an action brought by Sumner M. Redstone alleging elder abuse and breach of fiduciary duty.
• Represented a leading independent production company in an accounting dispute against a movie studio related to 5 of its films.
• Represented Goldcrest Film Distribution III Limited in an action to recover several million dollars from Summit Distribution, LLC in connection with the film Twilight.
• Represented a private equity fund in a breach of contract action to recover profits related to its $375 million film financing investment in films produced by Paramount Pictures Corporation. The case settled favorably before trial.
• Represented a hedge fund in a profit participation dispute against a movie studio related to its $1 billion slate financing agreement.
• Represented 19 Entertainment and DCP Productions in a breach of implied-in-fact contract case regarding the television show “So You Think You Can Dance.”
• Represented affiliates of the Royal Bank of Scotland in multiple actions brought by institutional investors alleging federal and state securities law violations arising out of the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.
• Represented corporate client in a several hundred million dollar suit filed against multiple foreign defendants, alleging that the client was defrauded out of purchasing an insurance company. The case settled favorably shortly before trial.

Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP (New York), Summer Associate

Kirkland & Ellis, LLP (Los Angeles), Summer Associate

Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, Extern

Represents a class of parents and guardians of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) students asserting claims for discrimination based on race and wealth, as a result of LAUSD’s failure to provide its students with basic educational equality during the COVID-19 school closures.

Partnered with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights to investigate the City of Minneapolis and its police department after the murder of George Floyd. 

Successfully defended a mother against the State of Michigan’s claims that she had mentally and emotionally abused her child. At the conclusion of the bench trial, the trial court found that the claims were unsubstantiated and rejected the state’s petition to take jurisdiction.

Achieved two misdemeanor convictions following a four day criminal jury trial as a volunteer Deputy City Prosecutor and participant in the Trial Advocacy Prosecution Program (TAPP) for the City of Hermosa Beach.

Successfully defeated an unlawful detainer action by a landlord trying to unlawfully evict a family whose property was covered by the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance.

Partnered with the Asian Pacific American Legal Center as trial counsel in action by a group of defrauded parents and students seeking to recover damages from an art school.