Munger, Tolles & Olson and a murder near Rambus 

Litigation

From Hollywood to the Gulf of Mexico to Wall Street, Munger, Tolles & Olson is tackling some of the most high-profile cases across a range of industries.

Our litigators have fought to stop music and film piracy, are guiding large financial institutions through significant litigation stemming from the mortgage crisis and are entrenched in defending a client in actions and investigations involving the oil spill in the gulf.

We work closely with clients to proactively approach any situation, whether to successfully avoid litigation or serve as advocates in court or other proceedings. Our low leverage means matters are staffed efficiently with clients benefiting from a tightly knit team. The firm possesses a long track record of achieving results and an unequaled reputation for finding creative solutions.

Munger Tolles also has a “deep bench of trial lawyers,” as noted by The American Lawyer. We are frequently tapped to take bet-the-company cases to trial in jurisdictions nationwide. Our success in some of the last decade’s most prominent trials − from representing bond king Jeffrey Gundlach in his case against Trust Company of the West to guiding Rambus through numerous trials related to its patent rights − stems from the high caliber of our litigators, from the most seasoned attorneys to our most junior colleagues.

The firm is recognized in Chambers USA’s top tier for litigation in California, and many of the firm’s litigators are individually ranked. Munger Tolles has four Fellows in the American College of Trial Lawyers and two former chairs of the ABA Section of Litigation.

We believe that clerkships provide valuable experience. More than 70 percent of our attorneys served as law clerks to federal judges. Beyond clerkships, our attorneys also have experiences that bring an additional dimension to our client service. Many of our litigators honed their courtroom skills while serving as assistant U.S. attorneys and a number of our lawyers have advanced degrees in relevant subject matter areas, including physics, engineering and medicine.

A sample of the firm’s recent litigation and trial work includes representing:

• DoubleLine Capital and certain of its founders, including CEO Jeffrey Gundlach, in winning a $66.7 million jury verdict against his former employer, Trust Company of the West (TCW). The jury awarded no damages on TCW’s complaint against DoubleLine and the individual defendants.
• Transocean in successfully defending the drilling company in civil and criminal litigation arising from the April 20, 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Munger Tolles obtained a trial verdict in the federal multidistrict litigation, concluding that Transocean was not grossly negligent and, therefore was (1) fully indemnified by BP for compensatory damages and (2) not liable for punitive damages. In actions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, Munger Tolles secured a favorable settlement.
• Rambus in litigation involving the world’s largest DRAM manufacturers in a closely watched 10-year battle for the rights to the fundamental design of memory chips used in nearly all major computing devices.
• Bank of America as lead counsel in a $10 billion lawsuit filed by AIG alleging fraud in connection with AIG’s investments in residential mortgage-backed securities originated or underwritten by BofA and its subsidiaries between 2005 and 2007.
• Vostu, Brazil’s market leader in social gaming, in its defense and countersuit against copyright infringement claims made in the United States and Brazil by popular U.S. gaming company Zynga.
• Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Group, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group in gaining a permanent injunction to shut down one of the most pervasive online file-copying services − LimeWire − and obtained a $105 million settlement in the midst of a damages trial.
• Abbott Laboratories, as co-counsel, in obtaining a defense jury verdict on antitrust claims brought by GlaxoSmithKline, another of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, relating to Abbott’s repricing of the drug Norvir. The Oakland, Calif. jury rejected GlaxoSmithKline's $571 million antitrust damage claim, which would have been subject to automatic trebling.
• Wells Fargo in its settlement of a consolidated residential mortgage backed securities class action litigation. Accused of making misrepresentations in connection with the sale of more than $35 billion in mortgage-backed securities, the settlement was successfully reached at $125 million.
• LG in its defense against a class action antitrust case stemming from allegations of price-fixing among manufacturers of display panels. The matter was successfully resolved on behalf of LG in April 2012.
• The Motion Picture Association of America in obtaining a permanent injunction against the operators of Zediva, an unlicensed video-on-demand service.
• Berkshire Hathaway in successfully defending multijurisdictional stockholder litigation challenging acquisitions by Berkshire of Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Wesco Financial Corporation.

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Surface Transportation Board (STB)

30523 SERVICE DATE - LATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 30, 1999 EB SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD STB Finance Docket No. 32760 (Sub-No. 21) UNION PACIFIC CORPORATION, UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY, AND MISSOURI PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY—CONTROL AND MERGER—SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAIL CORPORATION, SOUTHERN PACIFIC TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, ST. LOUIS SOUTHWESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY, SPCSL CORP., AND THE DENVER AND RIO GRANDE WESTERN RAILROAD COMPANY [GENERAL OVERSIGHT] Decision No. 15 Decided: November 29, 1999 We discuss, in this decision, the issues that have been raised and the conclusions that we have reached in the third annual round of the UP/SP general oversight proceeding. Our review of this record indicates that the service crisis is over and that there have been no competitive problems resulting from the merger. BACKGROUND UP/SP Merger Proceeding. In a decision served August 12, 1996, we approved the 1 common control and merger of the rail carriers controlled by Union Pacific Corporation (Union Pacific Railroad Company and Missouri Pacific Railroad Company) and the rail carriers controlled by Southern Pacific Rail Corporation (Southern Pacific Transportation Company, St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, SPCSL Corp., and The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company) subject to various conditions, including, among many others, a 5-year oversight condition and the terms of the BNSF agreement as supplemented by the CM

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Union Pacific Corporation - External Relations

Washington, D.C., Office Contacts

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Printz Bolin, Vice President - External Relations

Union Pacific Corporation 700 13th St., N.W., Suite 350 Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone:	(202) 662-0104
Fax:	(202) 662-0199
Send a message

 

Printz Bolin was appointed vice president-External Relations in December 2018. He operates out of Union Pacific’s Washington, D.C., office. 

In this position, Bolin is responsible for communicating inside the Beltway about transportation and railroad issues, including economic and safety regulation, passenger rail and Amtrak, security, labor, state-specific and other transportation projects.

Bolin served as assistant vice president-External Relations since 2008. He held various positions since joining Union Pacific in 1991.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi.

Bolin and his wife, Kimberly, have two sons.

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Wes Lujan, Asst. Vice President - External Relations

Union Pacific Corporation 700 13th St., N.W., Suite 350 Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone:	(202) 662-0125
Fax:	(202) 662-0199
Send a message

 

Wes Lujan is the Assistant Vice President - External Relations for Union Pacific. He operates out of the Washington, D.C., office of Union Pacific and its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad. In his position, Lujan is responsible for advocating before the federal government on issues impacting the company, including its employees, shareholders, customers, and communities. His career with Union Pacific began in 2007, and he has held prior assignments for the company in Sacramento, CA, Chicago, IL, and Roseville, CA.

Lujan holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California (1999), Bachelor of Arts in History from Chico State University (1997), and completed the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business Executive Development Program (2011). In 2015, he was chosen to represent the United States on an international delegation to the Republic of Turkey with the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL). In his free time, Lujan enjoys spending time camping and hanging out in the forests of Northern Virginia with his wife, son, and daughter, and walking his two Great Danes.

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Andrew Brady, General Director - External Relations

Union Pacific Corporation 700 13th St., N.W., Suite 350 Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone:	(202) 662-0115
Send a message

Andrew Brady is a General Director-External Relations. He operates out of Union Pacific’s Washington, D.C., office and advocates on behalf of the company before federal lawmakers and regulators. Prior to joining Union Pacific in 2019, Brady was an Assistant Vice President of Government Affairs at the Association of American Railroads. Brady also worked in various positions in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011-2016, after beginning his career in the Congressional and Public Affairs division of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Brady graduated from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. with a B.A. in Political Science with a focus on public policy.

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Patty Richey, Sr. Manager - Political Programs

Union Pacific Corporation 700 13th St., N.W., Suite 350 Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone:	(202) 662-0110
Send a message

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Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has sold its entire $2 billion stake in Oracle

London (CNN Business) Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has sold its entire $2 billion stake in Oracle after holding the investment for just one quarter.

A regulatory filing by Berkshire Hathaway on Thursday revealed that it sold over 41 million shares in the software company before the end of 2018. The stake was worth over $2 billion when first disclosed in November.

It's not clear whether the Oracle investment was made by Buffett or his portfolio managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler. Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) typically holds its investments over much longer periods of time.

Shares in Oracle were down nearly 3% premarket.

Buffett's legendary investment company has also trimmed its stake in Apple (AAPL). Berkshire Hathaway owned 249.6 million shares in the iPhone maker as of December 31, a reduction of 1% from the previous quarter.

The disposals coincided with a dramatic sell-off in tech stocks at the end of last year. Shares in Oracle declined 13% during the fourth quarter; Apple stock dropped 30% over the same period.

Apple warned investors on January 3 that an economic slowdown in China had damaged iPhone sales during the final three months of the year.

SoftBank's Masa Son makes a Warren Buffett move, and investors love it

Comments from Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger on Thursday indicate the company's value investing strategy has not changed.

"I don't know why Apple stock is going up or down," he told investors. "I know enough about it so I admire the place, but I don't know enough to have any big opinions on why it's going up or down."

"Part of our secret is we don't attempt to know a lot of things," added Munger, who was speaking at the annual meeting of publishing company Daily Journal.

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Walnut Creek / Investigators suspect boiler was at fault

Explosion Rips Through Wells Fargo in Walnut Creek / Investigators suspect boiler was at fault

Charlie Goodyear, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, December 1, 1999

Note:  Darion Sable –Former Marine Suicide leaves Wells Fargo and jumps from Bay Bridge
A thunderous blast ripped through a Wells Fargo Bank branch in downtown Walnut Creek yesterday, injuring an employee and a pedestrian struck by flying debris. Authorities termed it an accident.
Fire investigators were focusing on a second-floor boiler as the likely cause of the blast. Authorities and bank employees said the boiler had been repaired about an hour before the explosion.

"It was a big boom," said bank manager Nancy Methlie as she stood with a group of Wells Fargo employees not far from the intersection of Bonanza and North Main streets where the bank is located. "It was like you could feel it everywhere in the building."

The explosion occurred at 3:51 p.m., blowing out windows around the building and throwing a large metal duct grille across Bonanza Street where it struck a man. He was taken to Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Walnut Creek with injuries to his shoulder and knee.

A bank employee who was in a room adjacent to the boiler at the time of the blast was also taken to the hospital for symptoms of shock. But officials described both victims' injuries as minor.
Bank patron Alex Utal said the explosion knocked panels off the walls inside the bank. "I thought someone had thrown something against the building," he said.

Shannon Rogers, an employee at Athletic Outpost across from the bank, felt the explosion shake the building while she was working.

"It reeked of gas," she said. "A big metal piece flew off and hit the piano store across the street."
Other bank employees said the building quickly filled with heavy steam or smoke but officials said there was no fire inside following the blast.

Damage was heaviest on the second floor where the suspect boiler was located.

''Earlier in the day, repairs were being made to the boiler," said Contra Costa Fire Capt. Larry Thude. "The repair crew left around 2 or 2:30 p.m."

Authorities said only about 10 people, including employees and patrons, were in the bank when the explosion occurred. A gas line to the bank was immediately shut off but several neighboring businesses were evacuated as a precaution.
Police cordoned off a four-block area around the bank, snarling traffic in the already heavily congested downtown area.
Wells Fargo was planning to send its own security people to the scene to secure the bank, said bank market president Andrew Mastorakis.
Mastorakis said there had been no threats made against the bank and that all evidence pointed to an explosion in the boiler. Fire officials and police were expected to remain at the scene to establish an official cause of the blast. Engineers from the bank and the city were assessing structural damage to the building last night.
Lance Berg, a Wells Fargo spokesman in San Francisco, said customers in Walnut Creek should use Wells Fargo's branch on South Broadway until the branch on North Main reopens.

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