John P. Cooley practices in the area of commercial and products liability litigation. He has extensive experience defending businesses and individuals in cases involving allegations of unfair competition, interference with business, breach of contract, theft of trade secrets, defective products, defamation and invasion of privacy.

Mr. Cooley is a 1992 cum laude graduate of Santa Clara University School of Law and a graduate of the University of California at San Diego.

Areas of Practice

• Business/Commercial Litigation
• Products Liability
• Media Law

Representative Matters

• Defended manufacturing company against cross-claims for breach of contract, unfair competition and state antitrust violations. Obtained multimillion-dollar settlement for client.
• Defended engineering firm sued for theft of trade secrets relating to use of iterative solver to map oil-well reserves; settled the case, in which the plaintiff claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, for a nominal sum.
• Defended a national insurance company sued by a towing company that alleged the insurance company and the state of Nevada conspired to prevent the award of state towing contracts to the plaintiff. Obtained complete dismissal of the lawsuit on behalf of the insurance company.
• Represented a bicycle retailer in a class action lawsuit alleging violation of California's consumer privacy rights statute.
• Represented a pharmaceutical research institute sued for infringement of imaging method patents; obtained summary judgment of non-infringement.
• Defended large pharmaceutical companies sued for defamation and trade libel by biotechnology company; successfully prosecuted anti-SLAPP motions through appeal and obtained judgment awarding clients litigation costs and attorneys' fees incurred defending the lawsuit.
• Represented international energy companies sued by attorney to enjoin out-of-state judicial proceedings and for damages. On the eve of trial, prevailed on anti-SLAPP motion and obtained order dismissing entire lawsuit and awarding clients the right to recover all litigation costs and attorneys' fees.
• Represented commercial real estate investor in fraud action against developer; obtained $1.4 million dollar settlement on behalf of client and possession of the property.
• Represented Internet web hosting service sued by internet service provider company and its subsidiary for claims of theft of trade secrets and unfair competition. Obtained favorable settlement for client after several years of litigation involving complex computer issues, mediations, an inspection of the opposing party's computer hard drive and cross-motions for summary judgment.
• Represented large pharmaceutical company sued in a class action lawsuit for unfair competition involving privacy of patient medical information. Secured full dismissal of lawsuit.
• Defended nonprofit medical clinic in arbitration involving a claim for breach of a software development contract; obtained full dismissal of arbitration.
• Represented national trust company in prosecution of an interpleader adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court against over 100 defendants with claims to 200,000 pollution exchange credits. A full discharge was obtained on behalf of client.
• Member of national litigation defense counsel team for distributor of natural rubber latex gloves sued by healthcare workers in over 225 product liability lawsuits filed nationwide in state courts and federal courts coordinated into a multi-district litigation. Obtained dismissals in numerous actions before obtaining favorable global settlement of remaining cases. In re Latex Glove Litigation, MDL No. 1148
• Represented large publishing company sued by plaintiff who sustained personal injuries after following instructions in book for mixing a home cleansing solution; obtained full dismissal for client based on argument that publisher does not owe reader a duty of care.
• Represented daily newspaper sued for libel based on newspaper article critical of plaintiff company; prevailed on anti-SLAPP motion based on the substantial truth of the article, and obtained order permitting client to recover all attorneys' fees and litigation costs incurred in lawsuit.
• Represented television station sued by adult bookstore for libel based on television news report describing obscenity arrests; prevailed on anti-SLAPP motion based on the privileged nature of the report, and obtained order permitting client to recover all attorneys' fees and litigation costs incurred in lawsuit
• Represented newspaper sued by a religious organization for libel based on an article describing financial mismanagement; obtained summary judgment on all causes of action based on the New York Times legal standard of actual malice.
• Represented clients in dozens of federal and state court appeals involving diverse types of pre-trial and trial issues including ones involving claims of bad faith breach of insurance contract, defamation, shareholder derivative claims, attorney fee awards and state tax bankruptcy claims.

Admissions

• California
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Education

• Santa Clara University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1992
• University of California, San Diego, B.A., 1988

Other Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Partner, 2005-present
• Buchanan Ingersoll LLP
  - Senior Attorney, 2001-2005
• Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP
  - Associate, 1993-2001
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  - Extern to the Hon. James Ware, 1991
• The Gamesman, ESPN Network
  - Videographer, 1988-1989
• KGTV-10 ABC affiliate
  - Assistant News Photographer, 1986-1988

Professional Activities

• Board of Governors, Association of Business Trial Lawyers, San Diego, 2010-2012
• Barrister, American Inns of Court, Louis M. Welsh Chapter, 2001-2003
• San Diego County Bar Association

Honors / Awards

• 2013 Top Lawyer, Commercial and Products Liability, San Diego Magazine
• Recipient of the State Bar Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Service
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Civic and Charitable Activities

• President, San Diego County Crime Stoppers
• Alumni, San Diego FBI Citizens' Academy
• Member, Boundary Committee, Grossmont Union High School District
• Past Chairman, Alpine High School Citizens Committee
• Former Director, Palo Verde Ranch HOA
• Member, Alpine Revitalization Committee
• Director, Alpine Community Foundation

Publications

• "DEFAMATION.COM," Career Education Review, September 2005
• Quoted in "Product Liability's Hot Spots," San Diego Metropolitan, July 2004
• "Legal Risks of Owning a Web Site," San Diego Daily Transcript, January 12, 2000
• "WWW.LAWSUIT.COM: The Legal Risks of Owning a Web Site," Technology Law Update, November 1999
• "In Some Cases SLAPPing Back Is Good For Business," Los Angeles Daily Journal, July 1, 1996
• "The World Wide Web, Lawsuits and You," For The Record, Fall 1996

Speaking Engagements

• "Copyright Law for Photographers," presented to Volquartz Large Format Photography Workshop, 2007
• "Defamation, Privacy and the First Amendment," presented to the staffs of the San Diego State Daily Aztec and San Diego Business Journal, 1994-1998