We defended a fish processor in a class action suit claiming an alleged antitrust conspiracy. After more than a year of litigation, the plaintiffs dropped their $500,000,000 damages claim, and publicly acknowledged the benefits our client provided to the fishery.

Our client was the shareholder of a closely held company in a suit against the company’s president and managing member. We obtained a multimillion-dollar jury verdict and recovered our attorney fees. The former president was found liable for multiple breaches of fiduciary duty and stealing corporate funds.

In this complex commercial foreclosure case, the bank that made a real estate development loan failed and the developer defaulted on the multi-million dollar loan.  We represented the company that bought the loan from the FDIC.  In seeking to foreclose on the real estate and enforce personal guaranties, we fended off novel affirmative defenses and lender liability claims, obtaining a summary judgment for our client on all claims and defenses.  We handled the appeal by the borrower and guarantors, and our trial court victory was affirmed by the Washington Court of Appeals.

Our client was a national bank defending a case involving claims brought under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and Oregon Unfair Debt Collection Practices Act. We not only obtained a favorable jury verdict, we went on to represent the client in the Ninth Circuit where the Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment and ordered the plaintiff pay for our client’s attorney fees.

Seventeen Astoria homes were damaged or destroyed in a landslide caused by improper excavation and negligent engineering. We represented the homeowners and after four weeks in front of a jury, helped them receive a settlement of 98 cents on the dollar.

When an air show’s vintage jet fighter flew off course, the homes of seven individuals were damaged or destroyed. We represented the homeowners and defeated the air show’s defense of federal preemption. Our firm not only won the liability claim, we obtained a confidential settlement from the pilot’s estate and the air show. And for the first time in a U.S. court, we established that air shows present an abnormally dangerous activity.

Contaminated groundwater forced an international chemical company to seek remediation costs against the prior owner. When the prior owner refused to pay, we obtained a partial summary judgment award of $3.1 million. Later we helped settle the remainder of the case on favorable terms for our client.

An oil refiner filed a $5 million CERCLA damages claim against our client, a local metal recycler, claiming our client caused PCB contamination at their refinery. The case was dismissed twice on the ground that there was no CERCLA regulated release. The case eventually settled for less than the cost to defend the claim at trial.

Our clients invested in a nursing home facility with promises of large returns. When the large returns didn’t materialize and the facility was about to go under, a new operator claimed that he could turn things around and he did; but he also tried to squeeze our clients out of their investments. We were able to prevent the squeeze out and get our clients monthly returns on their investment.

We represented investors who lost a large chunk of their retirement in a fraudulent pyramid scheme. We sued the brokerage firm and recovered close to 70% of what the investors had lost.

A software company suspected that a competitor had obtained their software without permission and was using it to develop competing products that tilted the field in favor of the competitor. By filing copyright and trade secrets claims, seeking injunctive relief, and deploying an effective discovery strategy, John Rake created the leverage necessary for the client to “level the playing field” via a confidential settlement.

An Oregon company wanting to obtain trademark registration sought our advice when an Ohio company in an unrelated field had a federal registration for the same trademarked name. After considering the client’s options, including litigation in federal court or the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board, we negotiated a coexistence agreement that protected our client’s trademark rights and cleared the way for a federal registration.

We represented a New York clothing manufacturer that was in a contract dispute over trademark rights against a prominent Oregon brewing company. After prevailing at summary judgment in the trial court, we achieved complete affirmance in the Oregon Court of Appeals on the issue of whether a party who terminates a contract can later sue for specific performance.

Our client discovered the existence of a treasured family heirloom that had disappeared many years earlier. After trying to reclaim possession of the heirloom and having her case dismissed in court based on the statute of limitations, the client hired us to appeal the trial court’s dismissal. We took her case to the Oregon Supreme Court, which reversed and held that client’s claims did not accrue until she discovered the taking; the defendant, recognizing our client’s victory, then returned the heirloom to our client.

A bankrupt contractor and the insurance company representing him refused to pay for damages brought on by defective construction. By employing novel claims and statutory procedure, we sued and helped our client obtain a favorable settlement.

After a commercial building was damaged by a major drain pipe backup, the insurance company refused to reimburse the property owner for the damages the owner paid to one of his affected commercial tenants. We sued the insurer, resulting in our client’s claim being paid in full. And on an issue of first impression in Oregon, the court also denied the insurer’s pollution exclusion defense.