Firm News & Information

Uyen Nguyen was lead trial counsel in the Los Angeles Superior Court in a breach of contract and fraud case brought against the firm’s client, a former operator in the solar energy industry. The plaintiff sought more than $500,000 in damages arising out of a contract for solar panels. At trial, the client, who is facing parallel criminal proceedings, opted to assert her right under the fifth amendment to not testify. The firm focused its defense on cross-examination of the plaintiff, with the court awarding the plaintiff a judgment of only $500.

Heath Steinbeck represents Arizona-based 4 Peaks Fire Protection in the sale of its equity to private equity-backed buyer.

The firm served as counsel to Sunset Industrial, a leading distributor of power transmission parts and industrial lubrication solutions, in its sale of assets to Motion Industries, a subsidiary of Genuine Partys Company and an affiliate of NAPA Auto Parts.

The firm represented National Payment Systems, LLC d/b/a Boom Commerce, a leading independent sales organization in the payment processing industry, in the sales of certain assets to Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. The firm also represented Boom Commerce’s executive team, who joined Priority as part of the deal, in the negotiation of their employment contracts and related incentive agreements.

Heath Steinbeck represents Acme Fire Extinguisher Company, an Oakland based business founded more than 70 years ago, in the sale of its equity to private equity-backed buyer.

The firm represented the general partner of CloudNine at Camarillo LP, an approximately 120,000 square foot hangar and office complex at Camarillo Airport, and the managing member of Sky 805, LLC, the holder of ground leases and fixed-base operator rights at the airport in its acquisition by Sky Harbour Group. The complex transaction required multi-pronged negotiations with the companies’ lenders, equity holders and municipalities, and successfully closed following an expression of interest in the summer of 2024.

The firm represented Allitix, a consulting and technology company focusing on financial planning and sales and supply chain management, in its acquisition by Accenture, a leading global professional services company.

Steve Heath was co-lead counsel in a lawsuit filed in the San Diego Superior Court for a China-based investor against a former employee accused of stealing $23 million deposited in U.S. corporate bank accounts. Following a seven-day bench trial, the Court awarded the firm’s clients $23 million in compensatory damages, $8 million in punitive damages, and entered a permanent injunction.

The dispute began in mid-May 2022, when the employee took control of four accounts over which she had co-signatory authority and began siphoning the funds to a separate entity she owned. After the clients filed their complaint, the employee tried to justify her misconduct through further acts of deception – claiming that the plaintiff-investor was an ‘imposter’ and that, in transferring the funds, the employee was acting under the instruction of the ‘real’ investor. The employee also filed in court various fabricated documents, included forgeries of Chinese government records, sought unsuccessfully to disqualify the firm as plaintiffs’ counsel, and even filed a separate lawsuit against the firm to unsuccessfully coerce it into dropping the case.

Throughout the lawsuit, Heath Steinbeck showed that the employee repeatedly violated a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction by spending millions of dollars on high-end real estate, luxury automobiles, and other purchases, and engaged in various acts of intimidation against the plaintiffs and their counsel. Prior to trial, the clients obtained an order freezing $15 million of the stolen funds and recovered an additional $3.9 million. On November 2, 2023, the court entered a final judgment for the full amount that the employee had stolen, $23 million, and also awarded the clients $8 million in punitive damages. The judgment also requires the employee to transfer to the clients real estate purchased with the stolen funds, and includes a permanent injunction forever barring the employee from engaging in any act in the names of the companies or the investor.

Bellami Hair, a pioneer in the hair extensions and beauty space, was acquired by Beauty Industry Group, a portfolio company of L Catterton. Firm partner Steve Heath has represented Bellami as ‘outside’ general counsel since its formation more than a decade ago. In that time, the firm has represented Bellami in a vast array of matters, including endorsement contracts and publicity rights, real estate transactions, corporate structuring, intellectual property, litigation, employment, vendor and brand agreements, and the development of its professional training program. For the acquisition, the firm acted as liaison to Bellami’s lead transaction counsel, Sheppard Mullin, and will continue its role as general counsel to Bellami as the company embarks on its next stage of growth.

The firm represents a long-time client in the purchase of two commercial properties on the Sunset Strip. The firm also drafted and negotiated related development agreements to transform the properties into office, hotel, and entertainment complexes, and will continue to serve as the client’s corporate counsel as the projects progress.