Robert A. Brundage

Robert is certified as specialist in appellate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.

He also served as a law clerk to Judge John T. Noonan, Jr., of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Product Liability and Federal Preemption

• Lead counsel in product liability appeal. Resolving conflict in lower-court cases, California Supreme Court held that evidence of industry custom and practice can be admissible in design-defect product liability case and affirmed judgment for client. Kim v. Toyota Motor Corporation, 6 Cal.5th 21 (2018).
• Lead counsel in product liability appeal. Court of Appeal affirmed judgment for client, holding that expert permissibly explained how plaintiff’s weight led to injuries in car accident. Testimony rested on established science and was not barred by eggshell-plaintiff rule. Lindemann v. Toyota Motor Corporation, 2014 WL 7109378 (Wash. App. 2014).
• Lead counsel in product liability appeal. Court of Appeal affirmed judgment for client, holding that consumer-expectation test for design defect did not apply to seat belt in 40-mph crash; court also rejected challenges to verdict form and jury instructions. Singh v. Toyota Motor Corporation, 2009 WL 2477774 (Cal. 3d Dist. App. 2009)
• Successfully represented manufacturer in product liability appeal. Texas Supreme Court held that claims of other alleged accidents were wrongly admitted in evidence, reversing $2 million compensatory and punitive damages judgment. Nissan Motor Co. v. Armstrong, 145 S.W. 3d 131 (Tex. 2004)
• Lead counsel in product liability appeal. Court of Appeal ruled for client, holding that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards preempted plaintiffs’ challenges to design of automobile restraint system. Malam v. Toyota Motor Corporation, 2008 WL 4814263 (Cal. 2d Dist. App. 2008)
• Successfully represented locomotive manufacturer in multiple cases on preemption of state-law claims respecting locomotive design. Courts ruled for client, holding that federal law preempted claims. Scheiding v. General Motors Corporation, 22 Cal. 4th 471 (Cal. 2000); General Motors Corporation v. Kilgore, 853 So. 2d 171 (Ala. 2002); Oglesby v. Delaware & Hudson Ry., 180 F. 3d 458 (2d Cir. 1999); Law v. General Motors Corporation, 114 F. 3d 908 (9th Cir. 1997); Abbott v. A-Best Co., 549 US 823 (2006) (mem.) (counsel of record)

Class Actions

• Lead counsel for employer appealing class-action judgment in case brought by ex-employees. Court of Appeal reversed judgment against client and vacated nearly $1 million attorney-fee award. Court rejected analysis of all five previous judges to address the issue, and held as a matter of law that client was not liable. Zalewa v. Tempo Research Corp., 2010 WL 3735240 (Cal. 2d Dist. App. 2010)
• Represented employer in appeal from trial court’s to certify collective action under Fair Labor Standards Act. Court of Appeals ruled for client, holding that employees who settled individual claims could not appeal class issue. Smith v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., 570 F. 3d 1119 (9th Cir. 2009)
• Lead counsel for employer in plaintiff’s appeal from dismissal of class action for failure to prosecute. Court of Appeals ruled for client, affirming dismissal of proposed class action. Hunter v. Digital Equipment Corp., 136 Fed. Appx. 28 (9th Cir. 2005)

Business Disputes

• Lead counsel on appeal in trade-secret case. Court of Appeal ruled for client, affirming right to use critical customer list. FAA Beverly Hills, Inc. v. Shahrokhi, 2004 WL 2211916 (Cal. App. 2d Dist. 2004)
• Successfully appealed trial court’s refusal to compel arbitration of multimillion-dollar claims. Court of Appeal reversed and ordered trial court to compel arbitration. Court held that statutory exception to arbitration did not apply and adverse party could not avoid arbitration by suing nonparties to arbitration agreement. PrimeCare of Corona, Inc. v. Hemet Comm. Medical Group, Inc., 2012 WL 1018736 (Cal.App. 4th dist. 2012) (argued)
• Successfully represented bank in appeal arising from wire transfers initiated by impostor. Federal Court of Appeals ruled for client, holding that Uniform Commercial Code barred adversary’s claim. ReAmerica, S.A. v. Wells Fargo Bank Int’l, 577 F. 3d 102 (2d Cir. 2009)

Jurisdiction and Procedure

• Lead counsel on successful writ petition. Court of Appeal unanimously held that existing Court of Appeal precedent was wrong and trial court could not require client to bring out-of-state employees to California for deposition. Toyota Motor Corporation v. Superior Court (Stewart), 197 Cal.App.4th 1107, (Cal. App. 2d Dist. 2011)
• Lead counsel in product liability appeal. U.S. Court of Appeals held that trial court could not exercise personal jurisdiction over client based on activities of client’s American subsidiary. Thomson v. Toyota Motor Corporation, 545 F. 3d 357 (6th Cir. 2008)
• Successfully represented foreign government on appeal from trial court’s denial of sovereign immunity. Court of Appeals held that Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act’s "commercial activity" exceptions to sovereign immunity did not apply and suit must be dismissed. Terenkian v. Republic of Iraq, 694 F.3d 1122 (9th Cir. 2012), rehearing en banc denied, 704 F.3d 814 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 134 S. Ct. 64 (2013)

Employment

• Lead counsel on appeal for employer. Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for client, rejecting claims of employment discrimination and wrongful termination. Williams v. Fatburger Restaurants of California, Inc., 2006 WL 3074156 (Cal. App. 2d Dist. 2006)

Dispositive Motions

• Obtained dismissal of claim seeking multimillion-dollar cleanup in environmental-contamination action under federal and state law; also handled jury instructions. Angeles Chemical Co. v. McKesson Corp., No. CV 01-10532 (C.D. Cal.)
• Obtained summary adjudication of all damages claims against client in complex intellectual-property and contract dispute. Wrapsidy LLC v. Nielsen Media Research, Inc., Santa Clara County Superior Court No. 106-CV-061625 (2007)
• Handled dispositive trial-court motions based on preemption under federal statutes. E.g., PNC Bank v. General Motors Corporation, Clark County, Ind., Cir. Ct. No. 10C01-9904-CT-212 (2004) (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards); Navarette v. General Motors Corporation, Los Angeles County Superior Court No. BC313221 (2005) (same); Hemenez v. Toyota Motor Corporation, San Francisco, Cal., Sup. Ct. No. 413618 (2005) (same); Johnson v. American Standard, Inc., St. Louis County, Minn., Dist. Court C8-00-602285 (2004) (Locomotive Inspection Act); In re MTBE Prod. Liab. Litig., S.D.N.Y. MDL No. 1358 (2005) (Clean Air Act)

Other Significant Cases

• Lead counsel for plaintiff prison inmates challenging prison’s requirement to forfeit interest on savings accounts. U.S. Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment for defendant prison officials and ordered summary judgment for clients. Vance v. Barrett, 345 F.3d 1083 (9th Cir. 2003)
• Represented bankruptcy creditor in U.S. Supreme Court. Supreme Court held that creditor could obtain contractual attorneys’ fees for work related to bankruptcy. Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co., 549 U.S. 443 (2007)
• Represented defendant opposing federal-court jurisdiction in U.S. Supreme Court. Supreme Court held that probate exception to jurisdiction did not apply. Marshall v. Marshall, 547 U.S. 293 (2006)