Kent M. Roger

Representing both plaintiffs and defendants, Kent has litigated numerous bench and jury trials. His experience includes trying two cases on behalf of claimants of a $10 billion failed life insurer; obtaining a multimillion-dollar judgment on behalf of a banking regulator against executives of a failed trust company; and winning a $45 million jury verdict for compensatory and punitive damages for a well-known sports representation agency.

Antitrust and Unfair Competition

Energy
Represented an oil refiner and gasoline supplier in multiple class actions asserting ten year output suppression and price-fixing conspiracy on the West Coast and claiming $24 billion in alleged wholesale and retail overcharges. Federal court in San Diego granted complete summary judgment without trial finding plaintiffs’ evidence did not support that defendants conspired to fix prices but instead suggested that they responded to market forces and, in fact, increased gas supply as demand rose.

Transportation

Represented Uber Technologies, Inc. in multiple antitrust class actions regarding pricing practices; obtained dismissals of predatory pricing claims, which were affirmed on appeal

Represented Pacific Maritime Association, including all West Coast shippers, ports, and terminal operators in multiple; successfully defended two antitrust actions against monopoly claims, affirmed in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and obtained dismissal of monopoly and RICO claims of medical provider

In re TFT-LCD and CRT Antitrust Litigations
Represented manufacturer of LCD flat-panel displays and CRT displays in separate multidefendant nationwide price-fixing class actions brought concurrently with worldwide governmental civil and criminal investigations

Golden Gate Pharmacy v. Pfizer Inc. and Wyeth
Represented Pfizer in action by pharmacies to enjoin its $68 billion merger with Wyeth; injunction denied and action dismissed; affirmed on Ninth Circuit appeal

In re Currency Conversion Antitrust Litigation
Represented HSBC in multidefendant, nationwide antitrust class action brought against Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Chase, Bank One, CitiBank, HSBC, Bank of America, MBNA, and Providian involving credit card issuer practices; a favorable nationwide settlement in this multidistrict consolidated litigation was approved

Ross v. HSBC
Represented HSBC in a nationwide multidefendant antitrust action alleging collusion in credit card issuers’ adoption of cardholder agreement arbitration clauses and class action bans

Smith v. Royal Bank of Canada
Represented Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in nationwide price-fixing antitrust class action brought on behalf of merchant participants in the VISA program and against VISA, RBC, JPMorgan Chase Bank, and Canadian Imperial Bank, claiming price fixing in “chargeback” cardholder refund transactions; persuaded plaintiffs to dismiss the complaint against RBC prior to filing a motion to dismiss

Lloyd Design, Inc. v. Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc.
Defended Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc. (MBNA) in “tying” antitrust case brought by parts and accessories competitor after MBNA announced it would include floor mats as standard equipment; prayer for damages and injunction to prevent rollout of announced 1996 models; obtained summary judgment for MBNA on eve of trial; affirmed on appeal

Mozart v. Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc.
Defended MBNA in action alleging antitrust violations in connection with sale of automobile replacement parts; the jury’s verdict after a two-month jury trial was affirmed on Ninth Circuit appeal

Complex Commercial Litigation

Executive Life Insurance Company Insolvency
Represented a consortium of employers (e.g., MAXXAM, Inc., The Pacific Lumber Company, Revlon, Inc., American National Can Company, Blue Cross of California) holding $1 billion of claims against the $10 billion insolvent Executive Life Insurance Company on employee retirement annuity policies issued by Executive Life; satisfied virtually all clients’ claims and court awarded reimbursement of $4.4 million in clients’ attorney fees and expenses; affirmed on multiple precedential appeals

California Federal Bank v. Cities of San Francisco & Santa Monica
On federal preemption grounds, obtained summary judgment for California Federal Bank and permanent injunction against the cities’ enforcement of ordinances banning ATM use fees; affirmed on Ninth Circuit appeal

Price v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., et al.
Defended Wells Fargo and former employee in lender liability action brought by Merced cattle ranchers; payer for compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages; obtained summary judgment in favor of all defendants; affirmed in a landmark appeal

Taldan v. Comerica Bank-Detroit
Defended Comerica in a lender liability action involving claims of $20 million compensatory damages and unstated punitive damages; defeated claim for breach of loan commitment to finance construction of $40 million mixed-use project; obtained summary judgment for Comerica on eve of trial; affirmed on Ninth Circuit appeal

California Superintendent of Banks v. Evangelista, et al.
Action for breach of fiduciary duty and negligence against officers and directors of a failed trust company; claims included misappropriation of corporate assets and breach of trust duties owed to investors in failure of second largest student loan originator in the United States; after a 12-week trial, obtained judgment for California Superintendent on all claims for $7.8 million; defendants’ appeal dismissed