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Business Litigation

Our services range from counseling to mediation, and from arbitration to “bet the company” jury trials and appeals.

Not every case involves the entertainment industry, and our non-showbiz clients routinely rely on us to resolve their disputes, big and small, in a wide array of settings and industries, including toys, real estate, insurance, diamonds and jewelry, manufacturing, accounting and legal malpractice, divorce, tax shelters, and some high profile actions for personal injury.  Our services range from counseling to mediation, and from arbitration to “bet the company” jury trials to appeals. Our clients include individuals, start-ups, mid-size, and Fortune 500 companies, and we always put forth the same passion and fight to protect our clients’ interests.

Representative Matters

+ x Companies

  • The representation of Starz in a lawsuit against DISH Networks in Colorado state court for breach of contract and declaratory relief. DISH gave away for free several Starz pay premium movie channels for one-year to over 101 million DISH subscribers, seriously damaging Starz’s valuable rights as a provider of premium channels. The case was settled favorably in the middle of the jury trial. Arising out of this same incident, FX Networks filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles against DISH and Starz in which the firm is defending Starz.
  • The representation of Mattel, Inc. in the defense of claims brought by board game inventor Hersch & Co. Following a nearly month-long trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Mattel on a claim that Mattel had failed to comply with the terms of a license agreement for the distribution of the board game “Outburst,” rejecting Hersch’s claim that Mattel had failed to advertise the board game as required by the license agreement.
  • The representation of USI Holdings Corporation, the 9th largest insurance brokerage firm in the United States.  KHIKS has represented USI and its subsidiaries as plaintiffs in numerous trade secrets and unfair competition actions. In these cases we have successfully enforced USI’s contracts containing covenants not to compete and non-solicitation clauses and obtained injunctive relief against defendants.
  • The representation of insurance company Keenan in defense of claims for breach of fiduciary duty and unfair business practices. Following over 7 years of  discovery and motion practice, KHIKS filed motions for summary judgment, upon which the case settled.
  • The representation of Business Cards Tomorrow, a wholesale print shop, in its claims against a competitor and two former employees for misappropriation of trade secrets and trade libel. After filing a motion for summary judgment, KHIKS secured a favorable settlement.
  • The representation of Smashing Pictures, an investor in motion pictures, on claims against Fox for breach of contract, an audit, and accounting under a written agreement with Fox. The matter was settled.
  • Represented an accounting firm in federal court in bad faith insurance litigation against its carrier that refused to provide insurance benefits under the policy. KHIKS filed a motion for summary judgment, and on the eve of the hearing, the insurer agreed to settle the case.
  • The representation of an accounting firm asserting claims of breach of fiduciary duty, breach of partnership agreement, and indemnity against a former partner. The former partner counterclaimed for breach of the partnership agreement and defamation. KHIKS filed a motion for summary judgment and the arbitrator issued a tentative ruling granting the motion. The case then settled favorably for our clients.

+ x Individuals

  • The representation of Jaycee Dugard, in litigation against the federal government for failing to monitor convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido, who kidnapped and held Dugard captive for 18 years. The complaint states that authorities were negligent and aware that Garrido was still dangerous, yet failed to revoke his parole and return him to prison. This filing follows the $20 million settlement in 2010 for Dugard against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for alleged failure to adequately supervise Garrido during the 10 years he was under its parole supervision (also handled by the firm). This matter is still pending.
  • The representation of two L.A. wholesale diamond dealers who were sued by other dealers for allegedly buying stolen gems in Europe valued at 15 million Euro. The plaintiffs sought to recover the gems and to obtain millions of dollars in damages. After a two week bench trial in Los Angeles Superior Court involving complex choice-of-law questions, the Court found that KHIKS’s clients were bona fide purchasers for value and could retain ownership of the diamonds. The plaintiffs took nothing – a complete victory for KHIKS’s clients.  The verdict was named as one of the top 10 defense verdicts of 2007 by The Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal.
  • The representation of more than twenty plaintiffs in cases relating to illegal tax shelters. The cases grew out of the technology boom of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s and were filed against Big 5 accounting firms and major law firms who advised certain of their high net worth clients to make what were (unbeknownst to the clients) fraudulent tax investments. These clients believed that the investments would shield or postpone taxation of their gains, but instead were hit with huge tax bills, interest and penalties. KHIKS successfully litigated against several prominent defendants, recovering in excess of ten million dollars for its clients.
  • The representation of a ticket broker in a lawsuit against Ticketmaster for breach of an agreement pursuant to which the ticket broker consulted with Ticketmaster regarding the use of dynamic pricing for tickets.
  • The representation of the family of the victim in a wrongful death/elder abuse case, in which KHIKS obtained a $1.5 million jury verdict for the family.
  • The representation of two sets of attorneys in which the plaintiffs sought hundreds of millions of dollars in a malicious prosecution case. KHIKS obtained summary judgment on behalf of its clients.
  • The representation of the creator of a children’s brand in his lawsuit against his brand management company for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.
  • The representation of a prominent local businessman in a palimony case.
  • The representation of Minister Tony Mohammad against the Los Angeles Police Department. KHIKS obtained a settlement of the claims.

Practice Areas

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Entertainment

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Intellectual Property

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Entertainment IP

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Business

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Criminal Defense