Eli Tamanaha v. DroneBase, Inc. (Victor T. Fu, Shane W. Tseng – LKP Global, LLP). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in AAA arbitration on behalf of defendant in this breach of contract and fraud case. DroneBase provides unmanned drone services (e.g., aerial surveillance and mapping) nationwide. Mr. Tamanaha, a minority owner of DroneBase, claimed his ownership share had been improperly diluted in early financing by the company. A key issue was the value of the company as of May 2019. Plaintiff’s valuation expert used the market approach to conclude the value of DroneBase was $139 million. Mr. Neches used the income approach to conclude the value of DroneBase was $20.3 million. Result: the Arbitrator rejected Plaintiff’s valuation and found the testimony of Mr. Neches to be persuasive.

 

In re: R&S St. Rose Lenders, LLC and R&S St. Rose (David J. Merrill, P.C.). Mr. Neches testified an expert in United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Nevada in this bankruptcy matter on behalf of a creditor regarding how much the debtor owed on a note issued by the creditor. The key issue was whether certain transactions among the loan funders should be considered as payback of principal, reducing the loan balance, or as substitutions of lenders, maintaining the prior loan balance. Mr. Neches testified that a substitution of lenders was shown by the time proximity between the repayment of principal to one individual lender and the receipt of additional loan proceeds from another individual lender. Result: the judge accepted Mr. Neches’ conclusion and calculation of the resulting loan balance. On appeal, the United States District Court for the District of Nevada affirmed the Judgment.

 

Linco Inc. vs. Top Lighting Corporation (Mitchell F. Ducey – Masserman & Ducey LLP). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States District Court, Central District of California on behalf of plaintiff in this patent infringement case. Linco sold online photo studio products, mostly in kits, that incorporated as a component a lamp holder protected by a design patent assigned to Linco. Top Lighting sold competing kits containing a light holder Linco claimed infringed its patented product. The key issues of Mr. Neches’ analysis and trial testimony were his calculations of Linco’s lost kit sales and the portion of Linco’s lost profit attributable to the infringed lamp holder. Result: the jury found Linco’s patent was valid and willfully infringed, and they awarded lost profit of $138,363 – the exact amount to which Mr. Neches testified.

 

Innovation Advisory Group, Inc. v. National Pacific Corporation, et al. (David L. Cousineau – Capello & Noël LLP). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in AAA arbitration on behalf of defendant in this breach of contract and fraud case. IAG and NPC, investment companies, had numerous inter-company transactions. IAG claimed it had lost approximately $7 million more than it had invested through NPC. Mr. Neches was retained to determine whether IAG had invested more in NPC than it received back, and if so, how much. Using contemporaneous documents, Mr. Neches reconstructed the cash flows between the two companies. He demonstrated that in fact NPC returned to IAG $559,000 more than IAG had invested. Result: the judge ruled that IAG was entitled to $0.

 

Wheel Solutions, Inc. v. DCO Beach Walk, LLC, et al. (Allan L. Isbell, Namvar A. Mokri, Daniel J. McKenzie – Archer Norris). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Orange County on behalf of defendant in this nuisance case. During 2013-2014, DCO Beach Walk constructed a 173-unit apartment building across the street from Wheel Solutions, which operated a customization business for exotic automobiles. Wheel Solutions claimed the dust and debris from the construction damaged its property in the amount of $121,000 and resulted in lost earnings in the amount of $251,000, for a total claim of $372,000. Mr. Neches testified that Wheel Solutions’ property damage claim was unsupported because plaintiff failed to provide evidence of the value of the property before the construction and of the deminishment in value, if any, cause by the construction; that Wheel Solutions’ lost earnings claim was fatally flawed because it incorrectly attempted to tie additional overtime charged during the construction period to lost profits; and that the evidence supported a lost earnings award of no more than $7,300, and a minimal award for damaged property. Result: the jury awarded only $14,000 in economic damages, after which plaintiff settled the case for $5,000.

 

Jose Gomez v. Moon, LLC, et al. (William W. Steckbauer, James Gilbert – Steckbauer Weinhart, LLP). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in JAMS arbitration in Los Angeles on behalf on behalf of respondent Moon in this breach of contract matter. Mr. Gomez and Moon entered into an agreement to develop a nightclub in El Monte, California. The terms of the agreement called for Mr. Gomez to make capital contributions in excess of $400,000 before Moon was required to contribute a like amount. Mr. Gomez claimed contributions he made, consisting of direct payments of cash, payments to others on behalf of the entity, and the reasonable value of in-kind services rendered by him personally, exceeded $400,000.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his analysis of the books and records of the nightclub, which showed that Mr. Gomez’s contributions were at most $352,000. Result: Respondent prevailed. The Arbitrator ruled that Mr. Gomez’s capital contributions were substantially less than the $400,000 required to trigger Moon’s obligation to contribute a like amount.

 

Harbor Marina, LLC v. Golden Hills Properties, LLC  (William W. Steckbauer, Sean A. Topp – Steckbauer Weinhart, LLP).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Orange County, on behalf of counter-claimant Golden Hills Properties in this breach of contract matter. Golden Hills leased to Harbor Marina a commercial office building and adjacent marina located in Newport Beach.  In accordance with the terms of the lease, Golden Hills purchased Harbor Marina’s leasehold right for the last five years of the lease at a contractually-specified price.  However, Golden Hills delayed conveying these rights for more than 18 months while claiming it was entitled to full payment for all five years’ leasehold value.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his estimation of the rental income Golden Hills received during the 18-month delay period, which Golden Hills claimed should be deducted from the purchase price. Result: The Court ordered Harbor Marina to pay Golden Hills the exact amount (to the penny) of rental income calculated by Mr. Neches, and prejudgment interest thereon.

 

Victor Perez Leon v. Vicente del Rio  (Jeffrey G. Huron – Dykema Gossett LLP).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in AAA arbitration in Los Angeles on behalf of Mr. Del Rio in this fraud and breach of iduciary duty matter. Mr. Leon invested $90,000 to purchase an ownership share of a restaurant Mr. del Rio planned to open near San Diego.  The restaurant was not successful.  Mr. Leon claimed Mr. del Rio fraudulently induced him to invest in the restaurant by including false projections in the offering memorandum provided him.  Mr. Neches testified that the projections, while optimistic, were reasonable based on information available at the time the projections were created. Result: The Arbitrator ruled Mr. Leon had not proved he relied on the projections; hence the issue of their reasonableness become moot. Mr. del Rio was found to be the prevailing party and was awarded attorney’s fees.

 

XXX v. John Doe  (Scott E. Shapiro – Appell Shapiro  LLP).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court (referred to Alternative Dispute Resolution) in Los Angeles on behalf of XXX in this breach of contract matter. XXX and John Doe entered into a contract in which XXX paid John Doe a fixed monthly salary, and in return all fees paid for services John Doe performed during the term of the contract would belong to XXX.  Several month passed in which John Doe received his monthly salary, but failed to turn over to XXX any fees he had collected for the services he performed. XXX terminated the contract and sued John Doe for breach of contract.  In explanation for his failure to turn over any payments to XXX, John Doe claimed that, due to delays in collection, he could not determine which payments he received were for services he performed during the contract period, as opposed to services performed before or after the contract period.  To estimate the amount due XXX, Mr. Neches performed a statistical analysis of claim payment forms subpoenaed from insurance companies, from which he developed a probability distribution of the lag times from the dates services were performed to the dates payments for these services were deposited into John Doe’s business bank account.  He then applied this distribution to total service payments deposited into John Doe’s account during the contract period and the year following.  An expert statistician retained by John Doe to rebut Mr. Neches’ analysis testified the correct amount due XXX was less than half Mr. Neches’ estimate.  Result: The Court awarded XXX the amount calculated by Mr. Neches – adjusted by less than 1%.

 

Calex Engineering Company v. West Coast Transfer Services, Inc.  (Dominic J. Fote and Teresa Ortega-Smith – Chapman Glucksman Dean Roeb & Barger).  Mr. Neches testified in arbitration in Los Angeles on behalf of Calex in this breach of contract matter.  Calex and West Coast formed a joint venture that contracted with the City of Los Angeles to fill Potrero Canyon, located on the Pacific Coast Highway.  After the project ended, Calex received and deposited checks to the Joint Venture from the City of Los Angeles totaling $234,263.34, representing a 5% retention held by the City.  West Coast claimed it was entitled to half of these payments.  Calex claimed that, after reimbursement for unpaid loans, capital contributions and management fees, it was entitled to 100% of the retention payments, and in addition West Coast owed Calex $42,287.37.  Mr. Neches explained to the Arbitrator how Calex determined the amounts due from West Coast and rebutted West Coast’s claims that the financial records of the joint venture showed all loans, capital contributions and management fees were either improperly accounted for or already had been paid.  Result: the Court awarded Calex the exact amount Mr. Neches testified was correct, plus attorney’s fees and costs, for a total award of $207,245.49.

 

William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, LLC v. Howard Schultz and Lighthearted Entertainment, Inc.  (Joseph R. Taylor and Tiffany R. Caterina – Liner Grode Stein Yankelevitz Sunshine Regenstreif & Taylor LLP).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in this American Arbitration Association action in Los Angeles on behalf of cross-claimants in this breach of contract matter. The dispute involved unpaid fees claimed by cross-claimants and cross-respondent involving the reality television series Extreme Home Makeover, Next! and Nothing But the Truth / Moment of Truth.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his calculations of amounts due and interest thereon based on his review of original source documents.  Result: The Panel issued a tentative ruling favorable to cross-claimants.  Subsequently, the parties entered into a confidential settlement.

 

Overland Corners, LLC v. Lisa A. Chan, et al.  (Luan K. Phan, Lisa M. Optican – LKP Global Law).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of defendants in this breach of contract and fraud matter. In October 2010, plaintiff leased property located in West Lost Angeles owned by defendants upon which there was a billboard, parking spaces, and a building containing retail units and apartments. The property did not own the billboard, but received lease payments from the billboard’s owner based on advertising revenue from only one side of the billboard (because the other side of the billboard trespassed onto the property next door).  Plaintiff claimed defendants falsely represented the property owned the billboard and had the right to modify the billboard to eliminate the trespass issue, which would have resulted in substantially larger revenue from the billboard. Plaintiff’s expert testified that plaintiff’s historical and future lost profit totaled $1,839,151.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his criticisms of the assumptions used in plaintiff’s calculations, including projected revenue, expenses, growth rates, discount rates and the length of future damages.   Mr. Neches prepared an alternative damages calculation and testified that plaintiff’s lost profits totaled at most $68,000.   Result: The jury awarded plaintiff damages of $68,000 (the exact amount calculated by Mr. Neches).  The jury then found that, because plaintiff had unclean hands, plaintiff would recover no damages.

 

Danny Huynh v. Seacrest Seafood Corporation, et al.   (Kenneth I. Gross – Kenneth I. Gross & Associates).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of plaintiff in this breach of contract matter. Plaintiff and defendant Langdon Lo each owned 50% of Seacrest, a seafood wholesale business.  In July 2010, Huynh left the business, and the parties agreed that Lo would pay Huynh for the value of his interest in Seacrest as of the time of his departure.  The parties could not agree on the value of Mr. Huynh’s interest, which was submitted to the Court for adjudication.  An appraiser jointly retained by both parties valued the interest at $2,735,000.  Mr. Neches testified that this valuation was reasonable and prepared in accordance with professional standards, and he recommended modifications to the valuation analysis increasing the value of the interest by 26% to $3,450,000.  A valuation expert retained by defendants opined that the value of the interest was $844,000.  Result: The Judge accepted the valuation prepared by the jointly-retainer appraiser.

 

Sergie Aftandelian, et al. v. Luciano Gomez, M.D.  (Luan K. Phan – LKP Global Law).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of plaintiffs in this wrongful death matter.  Sergie Aftandelian, a principal at a private school, died on on February 26, 2009.  His family sued Dr. Gomez for medical malpractice. Mr. Neches testified regarding his analysis of plaintiffs’ lost earnings and the value of lost household services.    Result: The jury found Dr. Gomez not liable, therefore the issue of damages was not reached.

 

Peter Reilly v. Inquest Technology, a California Corp., dba In-Quest Technology; Dave Sighal; Pradeep Sethia  (Eric S. Engel, H. Kim Sim – Conkle, Kremer & Engel).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Orange County, on behalf of plaintiff in this breach of contract and fraud matter. In 2003, Inquest Technology and its owners, Dave Singhal and Pradeep Sethia, allegedly promised to Peter Reilly as commissions 50% of profits from sales resulting from contacts Reilly established. Reilly was paid some commissions as agreed, but in December 2008 defendants told Reilly he would not be paid any further commissions. Reilly sued Inquest and its owners for commissions owed. Mr. Neches testified regarding his analysis of defendants’ sales to relevant customers (the companies Triconex/Invensys), which he determined totaled $6,687,748 to date.  Mr. Neches also projected that defendants’ future relevant sales through 2015 would total $9,611,913.  Mr. Neches determined defendants’ gross profit margin to be 27.5%, from which he calculated the present value of historical and future unpaid commissions due Reilly to equal $2,065,702. Result: The jury awarding Reilly $2,065,702 in damages (the exact amount calculated by Mr. Neches). The Court found defendants’ conduct was a willful statutory violation, and applied treble damages to increase the judgment to $6,197,106, plus attorney fees and expenses.  Alter ego liability was separately found by the court as to all defendants.  The Court’s judgment unanimously was affirmed by the Court of Appeal of the State of California.  (Click here for more information.)

 

Aniplex, Incorporated v. The Upper Deck Company  (Michael A. Firestein, Joshua J. Pollack – Proskauer Rose).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States District Court, District of Nevada, on behalf of plaintiff and counter-defendant in this breach of contract matter. Aniplex, a Japanese corporation located in Tokyo, is an anime and music production and distribution company. Upper Deck, a Nevada corporation located in Las Vegas, is a company emphasizing sports and entertainment trading cards and trading card games.  In support of a trading card game in development by Upper Deck called “Kiba,” Aniplex produced and delivered an anime (i.e., animated cartoon) television series in Japan.  Kiba claimed Upper Deck did not pay all amounts due for the television series. Upper Deck counter-claimed the Kiba programs did not meet its needs and no payments were due. Mr. Neches testified regarding his calculations of the amounts due Aniplex, some of which were in U.S. dollars and and others in Japanese yen.  Result:  the parties settled the case on terms favorable to Aniplex while the unread jury’s verdict was in the judge’s hands.

 

Yakov Shlimovich, et al. v. Mikhael Cheban, et al.  (Gregory Bodell – Kozberg & Bodell, Russell L. Berney – Berney Law Corporation).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of defendant in this shareholder derivative  and breach of contract action. Plaintiff Shlimovich claimed 50% ownership of the business, a successful pawn shop. Defendant Cheban claimed Shlimovich was an employee only with no ownership rights. In the liability phase of the trial, Mr. Neches testified regarding his analysis of the company’s financial records as reported in QuickBooks, which showed no investment in the company by plaintiff and significant investments by defendant.  Result:  the Court ruled Shlimovich had no ownership rights in the business.  The Court’s ruling was unanimously affirmed by the Court of Appeal of the State of California.

 

Gina Mammana v. Greenrose, Inc. dba Conroy Flower’s, et al.  (Robert A. Latham III –   ArcherNorris).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of defendants in this personal injury matter. Ms. Mammana, a waitress, was injured when her automobile was struck by a Conroy’s Flower’s delivery truck.  Plaintiff’s expert testified Ms. Mammana’s historical and future lost earnings ranged from $544,000 to $617,000.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his analysis of plaintiff’s calculations and regarding his calculation of plaintiff’s potential lost earnings, which ranged from $8,000 to $105,000.  Result:  the jury award plaintiff lost earnings based on Mr. Neches’ calculations.

 

The Citri-Lite Company, Inc. v. Cott Beverages, Inc.    (David J. Cooper – Klein, Denatale, Goldner, Cooper, Rosenlieb & Kimball, LLP).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States District Court, Eastern District of California, on behalf of plaintiff in this intellectual property matter. Citri-Lite and Cott entered into an agreement granting Cott exclusive worldwide production, marketing, sales and distribution rights associated with Slim-Lite®, a beverage developed by Citri-Lite.  Cott terminated the agreement 22 months later, and Citri-Lite was unsuccessful in its attempts to re-launch the Slim-Lite® brand. Citri-Lite claimed Cott was required to and failed to use commercially reasonable efforts to produce the maximum amount of royalty under the agreement and to maintain and enhance the value of goodwill residing in the Intellectual Property.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his calculations of Citri-Lite’s economic damages.  Result:  the judge ruled CitriLite failed to prove liability, hence the issue of damages was not reached.

 

Quantum Cooking Concepts, Inc. and Philip Gonzales v. LV Associates, Inc., et al. (Luan K. Phan – Phan Law Group). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of plaintiff in this breach of contract and fraud matter. Plaintiffs claimed defendants sold grills and broilers designed by plaintiffs without plaintiffs’ authorization.  Defendants produced documents reflecting a total of approximately $135,000 in sales of the accused items.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his analysis that (1) the documents defendants produced appeared to be incomplete and did not reflect all sales of the accused items, and (2) based on the trends of sales actually reported, total sales of the accused items could be as much as $1,900,000.  Result:  the jury awarded plaintiffs $1,000,000 in damages.

 

Maker’s Mark Distillery, Inc. v. Diageo North America, Inc., et al.  (Anthony A. Coppola, Michael Aschen – Abelman, Frayne & Schwab). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States District Court, Western District of Kentucky, on behalf of defendant in this trademark infringement matter. Plaintiff, who manufactures and sells Maker’s Mark bourbon, claimed defendants, who manufacture and distribute Jose Cuervo brand tequilas, infringed plaintiff’s trademarked wax-like coating that covers the cap of the bottle and trickles down the neck of the bottle in freeform tendrils. The Cuervo brand at issue was its premium product, Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia. In his decision, the Court noted that “Makers Mark’s damages expert argued that the Georgia-Pacific factors support an award of a 5% royalty on Reserva sales.  [Mr. Neches] analyzed the factors and recommended the Court award no damages or damages no greater than 1% of Reserva sales.”  The Court also cited  Mr. Neches’s testimony that “Cuervo did not profit from the use of the dripping wax because sales of Reserva grew proportionally, before, during and after Cuervo used the dripping wax.”  Result:  the Court ruled that Maker’s Mark’s trademark was valid and infringed, but declined to award monetary damages.

 

Shelby Feldmeier v. City of Los Angeles, et al. (Kristine A. Moon – Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of the City of Los Angeles in this wrongful termination matter.  Plaintiff, a former Los Angeles Police officer, claimed she was harassed and ultimately wrongfully fired due to her sexual orientation.  Plaintiff’s expert calculated lost earnings ranging from $1,800,000 to $3,200,000 using assumptions including that plaintiff would have retired from the LAPD after 32 years of service.  Mr. Neches testified that plaintiff’s lost earnings, assuming liability and incorporating the statistical likelihood that plaintiff would have withdrawn from the LAPD before retirement, were $195,000.  Result:  the jury awarded plaintiff no damages.

 

Ada Cordero-Sacks v. Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles.  (Charles E. Slyngstad  – Morris, Polich & Purdy). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of the Housing Authority in this retaliation and whistle blowing matter. Plaintiff, an attorney in the Housing Authority’s Code and Enforcement department, claimed she was terminated in retaliation for investigating the finances of an executive of the Authority.   Plaintiff’s expert calculated lost earnings ranging from $380,000 to $1,100,000.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his analysis plaintiff’s lost earnings, assuming liability, which ranged from $250,000 to $335,000.  Result:  the jury awarded plaintiff $430,000 for economic losses.

 

Donald Bender v. City of Los Angeles, et al.  (Daniel P. Aguilera  – Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of the City of Los Angeles in this retaliation matter.  Plaintiff, a Los Angeles Police officer, claimed he was demoted and lost other earnings in retaliation for his complaints regarding the alleged sexual harassment of a female officer in his unit.   Plaintiff’s expert calculated lost earnings ranging from $938,000 to $1,375,000 using assumptions including that plaintiff would retire from the LAPD after 33 years of service.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his analysis plaintiff’s lost earnings, assuming liability, which ranged from $285,000 to $526,000 using assumptions including that plaintiff would retire from the LAPD after 24 years of service, based on statistics published by the City of Los Angeles Department of Fire and Police Pensions.  Result:  the jury awarded plaintiff $3.6 million.

 

Jim Shai Kolodaro v. Katherin Maghen, et al.  (Robert J. Sherman  – RJSLaw). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf plaintiff in this breach of contract matter. Plaintiff claimed he had written and oral contracts with defendants to share in the proceeds from the development and sale of a luxury home in Beverly Hills.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his analysis of the amounts due plaintiff under the terms of the contract claimed by plaintiff.   Result:  the Judge ruled there was no enforceable contract, therefore the issue of amounts due was not reached.

 

Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles v. Lucille A. Loyce, et al.  (Charles E. Slyngstad  – Morris, Polich & Purdy).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of the Housing Authority in this misappropriation of assets matter.  The Housing Authority, a public agency that provides affordable housing to over 113,000 residents in Los Angeles, accused defendants, who had been the Director and Assistant Director of the Authority, of wrongfully steering to an accomplice, under the guise of bogus “consulting” work, federal funds designated to help residents .  Mr. Neches testified regarding his analysis of payments to the accomplice, which totaled over $1,200,000 during he years 2000 – 2004.  Result:  the jury ordered defendants to repay the Housing Authority $528,000.

 

R.H. III Preferred Tool & Die, Inc. v. Milutin Babic  (D. Joshua Staub – Law Office of D. Joshua Staub, Mark J. Leonardo – Law Office of Mark J. Leonardo).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of defendant and counter-claimant Babic in this breach of contract and fraud (Plaintiff’s claim) and  breach of implied covenant and conversion (Defendant’s counter-claim) matter.  Plaintiff, who initiated and cancelled the purchase of Babic’s business (a precision metal machine shop), claimed the agreed-to price was inflated and that Babic failed to provide information called for in the purchase agreement.  Babic counter-claimed that Plaintiff wrongfully kept custody of essential machine tools and failed to pay agreed-to wages.  Mr. Neches testified regarding the fair value of the Babic’s business, Babic’s lost profits resulting from the withheld tools, Plaintiff’s claims for economic damages and the ability of Babic to provide certain Employment Development Department tax forms.  Result:  the jury denied Plaintiff’s claims and awarded Babic damages consistent with Mr. Neches’s testimony.

 

BHE Group, Inc. and GBM International, Inc. v. MTS Products and Ben Hsai  (Christopher Grivakes, Stephen A. Bost – Ives, Kirwan & Dibble).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of defendants and counter-claimants in this breach of contract matter.  Plaintiffs and defendants teamed to create BHE, a  joint venture that sold low-cost computer hardware to Wal-Mart, with GBM (a multi-billion dollar company headquartered in China with operations worldwide) as the manufacturer and MTS (an approved vendor with a 20-year relationship with Wal-Mart) as the conduit to Wal-Mart.  After only a few months of operations, during which the joint venture’s sales to Wal-Mart exceeded $50 million (with projected future annual sales exceeding $1 billion), the joint venture dissolved.  GBM claimed the failure was due to MTS withholding millions of dollars of payments from Wal-Mart.  MTS admitted withholding the funds, claiming it did so to protect itself after GBM provided defective products. Mr. Neches testified regarding his calculations of the amount of withheld funds due plaintiffs and regarding counter-claimants’ lost profits.  Result:  after nine days of deliberation, the jury awarded $28.4 million of withheld funds to plaintiff, splitting the difference between the amount due plaintiffs calculated by Mr. Neches ($26.8 million) and the amount calculated by plaintiffs’ expert ($30.1 million); the jury awarded an equal amount of lost profits ($9.7 million) to plaintiffs and to counter-claimants (even though plaintiffs and counter-claimants were 70% and 30% owners of BHE, respectively); the jury awarded Mr. Hsai $1.5 million of lost salary; and the jury awarded 3-years of prejudgment interest on the withheld funds ($8.4 million).

 

Koon Chun Hing Kee Soy & Sauce Factory, Ltd. v. Star Mark Management, Inc., et al.  (Anthony A. Coppola, Richard L. Crisona – Abelman, Frayne & Schwab). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, on behalf of plaintiff in this trademark infringement matter. Plaintiff claimed defendants manufactured, imported and sold counterfeit “Koon Chun” Hoisin sauce.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his calculations of plaintiff’s lost profits, plaintiff’s costs of corrective measures, and defendants’ unjust enrichment.  Result:  the Court ordered disgorgement of defendants’ unjust enrichment, which were trebled, and plaintiff’s attorney’s fees.  In his Decision and Order, the Judge found “Neches’ testimony to be credible and his methodology reasonable,” accepted (with some modifications) Neches’ calculation of the number of counterfeit cases sold, and accepted exactly Neches’ calculation of defendants’ average profit per case.

 

Advanced Magnetic Closures, Inc. v. Rome Fastener Corporation, et al.  (Anthony J. DiFilippi – Abelman, Frayne & Schwab ).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States District Court, Southern District of New York, on behalf of Plaintiff in this patent infringement matter.  Plaintiff claimed defendant’s product, magnetic snaps used on handbags and other apparel items, infringed its patent.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his calculation of a reasonable royalty.Result:  the Judge ruled that plaintiff failed to meet the burden of proof of the patent’s validity and dismissed the case.  Therefore, the issue of a reasonable royalty was not addressed by the judge or jury.

 

Mark Abas v. Money Concepts International, Inc. (Mark Abas in pro per).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in NASD dispute resolution hearing in Los Angeles on behalf of plaintiff in this breach of contract matter.  Plaintiff claimed that Money Concepts, an insurance and securities brokerage firm, failed to pay him overrides on commissions earned by agents in his group after he left the company.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his calculations of Mr. Abas’ lost earnings, which ranged from $4.2 million to $5.7 million. Result:  plaintiff lost on liability, hence the issue of damages was not reached.

 

Ya-May Christle v. City of Los Angeles John W. Sheller, Clint D. Robison  – Hinshaw & Culbertson). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of the City of Los Angeles in this sexual harassment matter. Plaintiff, a Los Angeles Police officer, claimed she was demoted in retaliation for her complaints about the personal activities of her supervisor.  Plaintiff’s expert calculated Ms. Christle suffered lost earnings of $718,000 and medical costs of $151,000.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his analysis of plaintiff’s lost earnings, which showed that plaintiff’s lost earnings were approximately $170,000.  Result:  the jury awarded plaintiff $200,000 for lost earnings and medical expenses and $800,000 for non-economic damages.

 

Chathamscape, Inc. v. Mudville Productions, Inc. and Donut City Productions, Inc.  (Edward A. Klein, Joseph R. Taylor – Liner Yankelevitz Sunshine & Regenstreif).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in an A.A.A. arbitration in Los Angeles on behalf of Respondents Mudville and Donut City in this breach of contract matter. Chathamscape was a loan-out corporation owned by David Angell, one of three executive producers of the successful television series Frasier.  Based on its interpretation of a partnership agreement among the three parties, the estate of Mr. Angell (who was killed in the 9/11/2001 terrorist attack) claimed Chathamscape was entitled to a one-third share of executive producer fees earned by Respondents (loan-out corporations for two other executive producers of Frasier) for the last two seasons of the show (which aired in 2003 and 2004).  Mr. Neches testified regarding his analysis of income tax returns and financial statements of the parties, which showed that Claimant’s claim was inconsistent with the manner in which executive producer fees had been distributed among the parties throughout the life of the partnership.  Result:  the Arbitrator ruled in favor of Respondents.

 

Joanne Marie Anthony v. George McNeil, et al.  (Daniel P. Aguilera, Beth D. Orellana  – Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of the City of Los Angeles in this sexual harassment matter.  Plaintiff, a Los Angeles Police officer, claimed defendant, also a Los Angeles Police officer, stalked and harassed her, resulting in emotional distress and lost earnings.  Plaintiff claimed one year’s lost earnings and substantial emotional distress damages.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his analysis of plaintiff’s lost earnings, which showed that plaintiff had suffered little if any reduction in earnings due to defendants’ alleged wrongful acts.  Result:  the jury awarded plaintiff $8,375 for lost earnings, $11,600 for future medical expenses and $30,450 for non-economic damages.

 

AKO Services, Inc.; Yuri Akopyan v. John K. Jones, Inc.; John K. Jones, M.D.  (Thomas G. Gehring – Law Offices of Thomas G. Gehring & Associates).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of defendants in this fraud and breach of contract matter.  Plaintiffs claimed they were entitled to substantial payments for loans and management services provided to two medical clinics owned by Dr. Jones.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his analyses of monies advanced and repaid on loans, monies “passed through” AKO for marketing services provided by third-party vendors to the clinics, and the value quantum meruit of management services provided by AKO.   Result:  the judge ruled in favor of defendants. In assessing damages, the judge relied on the amounts Mr. Neches calculated.

 

NationsFirst Lending, Inc. v. NovaStar Financial, Inc.  (Cameron M. Jolly – Mixon, Valk & Jolly, David Berkovitz – Berkovitz & Schilit). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in a J.A.M.S. arbitration on behalf of plaintiff in this breach of contract matter.  Plaintiff, a mortgage bank specializing in non-prime and “Alt A” loans, claimed defendant’s breach of a non-disclosure agreement associated with a proposed purchase of NationsFirst by NovaStar, and the resulting creation by NovaStar of a competing bank staffed with employees recruited from NationsFirst, resulted in the near destruction of the company.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his calculations of plaintiff’s lost profits and defendant’s net worth.  Result:  the arbitrator ruled in favor of the defendant.

 

Koon Chun Hing Kee Soy & Sauce Factory, Ltd. v. Eastimpex, et al.  (Marc M. Gorelnik, Timothy R. Cahn – Townsend and Townsend and Crew).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States District Court, Northern District of California, on behalf of plaintiff in this trademark infringement matter.  Plaintiff claimed defendants manufactured, imported and sold counterfeit “Koon Chun” Hoisin sauce.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his calculations of plaintiff’s lost profits, plaintiff’s costs of corrective measures, and defendants’ unjust enrichment.  Result:  the Judge awarded Koon Chun its lost profits and costs of corrective measures (which were trebled) and defendant’s profits based on Mr. Neches’ calculations.  The judge also ordered injunctive relief, statutory damages as an alternative to the monetary awards, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

 

Ernest L. Washington, M.D. v. Parthenia Medical Group, Inc., et al.  (Louis C. Cheng – Law Offices of Louis C. Cheng).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of plaintiff in this breach of contract matter. Plaintiff, a medical doctor specializing in general orthopaedic surgery, claimed his termination from Parthenia was wrongful.  Mr. Neches analyzed Dr. Washington’s earning trends before and after termination and testified regarding his conclusions on Dr. Washington’s historical and future lost earnings.  Result:  the jury found plaintiff’s employment contract was not valid, hence the issue of damages was not reached.

 

Bella Rosa, LLC, et al. v. Derek A. Van de Water, et al.  (Barry Van Sickle, Kirk G. Downing – Law Offices of Kirk G. Downing).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States District Court, Central District of California, on behalf of counter-claimants in this trademark infringement matter. Counter-claimants, who operated a window covering installation business in Orange County, California under the common law trademark “Bella Blinds,” claimed Bella Rosa’s use of the name infringed and diluted its trademark, resulting in customer confusion, lost sales and lost profits.  Mr. Neches analyzed Bella Blind’s historical sale trends, profits and factors that affect them.  He testified regarding his calculations that Bella Rosa’s acts damaged Bella Blinds by  $52,000 in historical lost profits and $63,000 future lost profits.  Result:  the court awarded damages of $50,000, injunctive relief, costs and attorney’s fees.

 

Juicy Whip, Inc. v. Orange Bang, Inc.  (Wayne M. Barsky, Jason C. Lo – Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States District Court, Central District of California, on behalf of defendant in this patent infringement matter.  In a previous trial, a jury found that Orange Bang, a manufacturer and distributor of whipped and non-whipped juice beverage concentrates, infringed Juicy Whip’s patent for dispensers provided to distributors and retailers who sold the beverages to the public.  A second jury awarded Juicy Whip a reasonable royalty.  Mr. Neches testified in the third trial, in which Juicy Whip claimed $3,435,547 in lost profits, that Juicy Whip’s claims were unsupported and grossly overstated.  Result:  the jury awarded Juicy Whip $446,621 in lost profit damages.

 

Autocourse, Inc. v. Caterham Cars, Ltd., et al.  (Virginia Sampson – Law Offices of Virginia Sampson).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Orange County, on behalf of plaintiff in this breach of contract, fraud and trade libel matter.  Autocourse, a small business devoted to marketing, assembling and selling kit cars, claimed that Caterham, which manufactured and sold kit cars worldwide, breached an agreement for Autocourse to be its exclusive dealer for the Caterham Kit car in California and disparaged Autocourse to other dealers and potential customers.   Mr. Neches testified regarding the profits Autocourse would have earned assuming that but for defendants’ wrongful acts Autocourse would have sold 50 kit cars per year or 30 kit cars per year.  Result:  the jury found that the defendants breached the contract and committed fraud but that the plaintiff was not harmed.

 

Dermal Research Laboratories, Inc. v. Naturopathic Laboratories International, Inc.  (Jeffrey A. Schwab – Abelman, Frayne & Schwab).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States District Court, West District of Missouri, on behalf of defendant in this patent infringement matter.  Dermal claimed Naturopathic’s “Joint-Rite” product, an analgesic skin lotion, infringed its patent for “Pharmaceutical Composition of Complex Carbohydrates and Essential Oils and Methods of Using the Same.”  Plaintiff’s damages expert calculated a reasonable royalty of $4.1 million, calculated as 8% of Naturopathic’s $51 million sales of “Joint-Rite” during the claimed infringement period.  Mr. Neches testified that Dermal’s analysis of Naturopathic’s profits and application of the Georgia-Pacific factors were fatally flawed and that, assuming liability, the appropriate reasonable royalty was a one-time payment of $32,000 based on Naturopathic’s costs to develop a non-infringing alternative. Result:  the jury found Naturopathic had willfully infringed Dermal’s patent and awarded a reasonable royalty of $1.9 million.  The judge overturned the jury’s verdict, ruling that Dermal did not prove infringement under the guidance provided by the court.

 

Sunny Chow v. Applied Micro Circuits Corporation, et al.  (Luan K. Phan – Richardson & Patel).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Count, San Diego County, on behalf of plaintiff in this wrongful termination and breach of contract matter. Mr. Chow claimed he was terminated from his position as Far East Marketing Director for AMCC, a publicly-held computer and electronics manufacturer, in retaliation for his objections to certain accounting transactions at AMCC.  Mr. Neches testified that Mr. Chow’s historical lost earnings were $353,562 and future lost earnings would total $1,551,394.  Mr. Neches also testified regarding amounts due Mr. Chow under two alternative interpretations of an ambiguous agreement between Mr. Chow and AMCC requiring AMCC to reimburse Mr. Chow for additional taxes he incurred because of his assignment in Japan.  Result:  the parties settled the case after plaintiff closed its case-in-chief.  The terms of the settlement are confidential.

 

Ik Nam You v. Chang Yol Kim  (David S. Kim – Law Offices of David S. Kim & Associates).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Count, Los Angeles County, on behalf of plaintiff in this fraud and breach of contract matter. The Yous purchased a grocery store from the Kims. Subsequently, it was determined that the store lacked the necessary permits to operate and had structural defects the Kims failed to correct, and the Yous vacated the premises.   At the initial trial, at which no damages expert testified, the jury found liability and awarded the Yous $330,000 compensatory damages. The Court of Appeal reversed the compensatory damage award and remanded for a new trial solely on compensatory damages.  Mr. Neches testified that plaintiffs’ lost investment was $120,000 and lost profit was $391,000.  Result:  the judge ruled plaintiffs were not entitled to lost profit and awarded $150,000 in damages.

 

Luis Maldonado v. Disney, Corp.  (Richard G. Hyppa – Law Offices of Richard G. Hyppa).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Count, Orange County, on behalf of plaintiff in this wrongful death matter.  Plaintiff’s wife slipped and fell while visiting a gift shop in Disneyland. Three weeks later she died from an aneurism plaintiff claimed was the result of her injuries.  Mr. Neches was retained to determine plaintiff’s economic damages.  He testified that lost historical and future earnings of plaintiff taking into consideration the person consumptionof decedent, totaled $634,000.  Result:  the jury did not find defendant liable, hence the issue of damages was not reached.

 

In re:  Richard Terrance Knight, Debtor   (John A. Weil – Weil & Weil). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Arizona, on behalf of debtor in this bankruptcy matter.  Mr. Knight, once manager of the rock group Grand Funk Railroad, owned the copyrights for many of the band’s earliest compositions.  The value of these copyrights in a hypothetical Chapter 7 liquidation was the subject of a Chapter 13 proceeding.  Mr. Neches testified that the recent the reunion of the band and re-release of all of the band’s albums resulted in a one-time spike in historical revenues that would quickly diminish, and therefore the value of the copyrights was $164,000. Creditors’ expert, who opined that royalty levels would remain at current level with slight increases for the next 50 years, valued the copyrights at between $1 million and $2 million.  Result:  the judge determined the liquidation value of the royalties to be $280,500.

 

Norman Barken v. Century Business Services, Inc.   (Jack I. Samet – Baker & Hostetler).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, San Diego, on behalf of defendant in this breach of contract matter.  Mr. Barken claimed that he and Century made an oral agreement in which Century agreed to reimburse Mr. Barken in 2000 for his taxes on a payment it made to Barken in 1999, and then reimburse Mr. Barken in 2001 for his taxes on the 2000 payment, and then reimburse Mr. Barken in 2002 for his taxes on 2001 payment, and so on.  Mr. Barken claimed damages of approximately $300,000.  Mr. Neches testified that business practices, accounting principles and his review of evidence in the case demonstrated that there was no such oral agreement.  Result:  the jury returned a unanimous defense verdict in 30 minutes.

 

Thomas Carter v. KFC National Management Company   (Jeffrey H. Dasteel – Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in mediation/arbitration in Great Neck, New York on behalf of defendant in this personal injury matter.  Mr. Carter, an owner of a locksmith company and an alarm company, slipped and fell, fracturing his ankle.  Mr. Neches testified that Mr. Carter’s economic damages totaled $185,500, including historical and future lost wages and medical expenses.  Plaintiff’s expert calculated Mr. Carter’s damages were $2,628,000, and plaintiff had sought an additional $2 million in damages for pain and suffering.  Result:  the parties settled the matter for $1,500,000.

 

Anthony Kelly v. United Parcel Service   (Brian A. Sun, Luan K. Phan – O’Neill, Lysaght & Sun).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of plaintiff in this wrongful termination matter.  Mr. Kelly, a billing supervisor at UPS, claimed lost earnings for wrongful termination.  Mr. Neches testified that Mr. Kelley’s damages totaled $839,000, including historical and future lost wages, work benefits and retirement benefits.  Defendant’s expert testified that Mr. Kelly’s damages were at most $268,000.  Result:  the jury awarded plaintiff $629,000.

 

Gilmore Associates v. Prudential Construction and Management  (William W. Steckbauer – Shumaker, Steckbauer, Weinhart & Sragow).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in arbitration in Los Angeles on behalf of plaintiff in this construction contract dispute.  Gilmore, a developer of rehabilitated residential/commercial structures in downtown Los Angeles, claimed PCM diverted funds from specified cost categories to pay for cost overruns in other categories, forcing plaintiff to contribute excess funds to finish the project.  PCM, in turn, demanded payment for the cost overruns.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his analysis of PCM’s claims.  Result:  the arbitrator awarded each party a portion of the amounts claimed.

 

Debbie Dennis-Johnson, M.D. v. Magan Medical Clinic, Inc.  (Don S. Lemmer – Coudert Brothers).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in arbitration in Los Angeles on behalf of plaintiff in this wrongful termination matter. Plaintiff, an Obstetrician/Gynecologist, claimed she was wrongfully terminated from the clinic, resulting in lost earnings and significant excess expenses.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his determination of plaintiff’s lost earnings and expenses incurred.  Result:  the arbitrator awarded plaintiff damages but did not explain the rationale for the amount of the award.

 

NEI Direct, Inc. v. First USA Bank, et al.  (Arnold G. Regardie – Law Offices of Arnold G. Regardie and Scott E. Shapiro – Gurovich Shapiro Law Offices).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of plaintiffs in this breach of contract and fraud matter.  Plaintiff NEI, which operated and marketed discount and benefits programs to the general public, entered into an agreement with defendant banks under which the banks agreed to provide plaintiff with names and telephone numbers from its computerized database of card holders for use in plaintiff’s telemarketing program. It return, NEI agreed to pay the bank a commission on every sale plaintiff obtained from leads in the database.  NEI contended that defendant banks breached an obligation to provide plaintiff with 3 million high-quality leads in a timely manner.  In fact, only 650,000 leads were provided over a period of several months.   Mr. Neches testified regarding his calculations of plaintiff’s lost sales and lost profits. He testified that NEI’s past lost profits totaled $1,742,767 and projected future lost profits total $674,688.  Result: The jury awarded NEI $1,756,737 in damages.    (Click here for more information.)

 

Fidelity Commercial Enterprises v. Managed Resources, Inc.  (Perry L. Hirsch – Law Offices of Perry L. Hirsch).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in arbitration in Los Angeles on behalf of plaintiff in this breach of contract matter. Fidelity had acted as a marketing agent for MRI, which sold accounting systems and services to health care providers.  Fidelity claimed MRI failed to pay commissions due over a period of several years.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his determination of commissions due Fidelity.  Result: the arbitrator awarded Fidelity damages consistent with Mr. Neches’s testimony.

 

Howard Karlitz v. Viewpoint School, et al.  (Barbara Brown — Brown Law Firm).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in civil arbitration in Los Angeles on behalf of plaintiff, the former headmaster of a private school, in this wrongful termination matter.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his determination of plaintiff’s lost earnings.  Result: the arbitrator awarded damages consistent with Mr. Neches’s testimony.

 

PMC, Inc. and Winkler Forming, Inc. v. Paul Winkler, et al.   (Skip Miller, Sean Riley, Joie Gallo – Christian, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil & Shapiro).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of plaintiffs in this breach of fiduciary duty and interference with economic advantage action.  Plaintiffs claimed that Paul Winkler and other executives of Winkler Forming, a company that manufactures plastic thermoformed products, misappropriated proprietary documents and engaged in other wrongful acts when they left Winkler Forming to start a competing business, wrecking a pending sale of the company for $58 million.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his determination of the lost proceeds on the sale of Winkler Forming.  Result:  the first trial in the matter resulted in a hung jury.  In the second trial the jury found liability but awarded no damages.

 

Vladimir Brkic v. Price Waterhouse LLP.    (Timothy P. O’Brian – Girardi & Keese).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of plaintiff in this breach of fiduciary duty action.  Plaintiff, who had retained Price Waterhouse for investment consulting, claimed he was overcharged and provided faulty advice, in particular involving a tax shelter plan.  Price Waterhouse, in turn, demanded payment of its unpaid bills.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his findings that plaintiff’s investments were poorly considered and that the tax shelter would have been disallowed by the Internal Revenue Service.  Result:  the judge ordered plaintiff to pay invoices currently due.

 

Gunther-Wahl Productions, Inc. and Candy Wahl v. Mattel, Inc.  (Mark W. Hansen — Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of plaintiffs in this fraud and breach of contract action.  Plaintiffs claimed that Mattel wrongfully manufactured and marketed a successful series of Barbie dolls featuring plaintiffs’ concept.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his determination of Mattel’s sales of the dolls at issue in the litigation and his calculation of a royalty amount on these sales. Result: after four days of deliberation, the jury returned a defense verdict by a vote of 9 to 3.

 

Long Beach Million Air, Inc. v. Petrowings, Ltd.   (Christopher J. Arndt — Arndt & Doyle).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of plaintiff in this declaratory relief action.  Plaintiff, a company providing services to commercial and private aircraft at Long Beach Airport, sought a declaration from the Court that it owed defendant no rent moneys in the form of “fuel flow fees.”  Defendant previously had claimed unpaid fuel flow fees in excess of $1 million.  Mr. Neches testified that plaintiff would have lost money if it had to pay a fuel flow fee and that he found no contemporaneous business records indicating that defendant expected payment of fuel flow fees prior to this litigation.  Result: the judge ruled that defendant had waived the flow fees for the period of time Petrowings did not pursue or bill Million Air for the fees.

 

Worldwide Promotional Productions, Inc. v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company  (Ronald B. Coulombe, The Coulombe Law Firm). Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States District Court, Central District of California, on behalf of plaintiff in this insurance bad faith matter.  Plaintiff, a company that developed advertising and promotional campaigns for banks and auto dealerships, contended that defendant insurance company in bad faith delayed payment for insured losses due to a fire in plaintiff’s office.   Mr. Neches testified that defendant’s actions cut of plaintiff’s cash flow, forcing plaintiff to lay off personnel and suspend marketing activities, resulting in lost profits in excess of $1,000,000. Result: the Court granted defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law.

 

Floyd D. Hansen, et al. v. McLane Company, Inc., et al.  (William H. Lancaster, Damon C. Anastasia, Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather & Geraldson).   Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, San Bernardino County, on behalf of defendant in this personal injury matter.  Plaintiff, a dentist, claimed that injuries he received in an automobile accident forced him to close his practice.  Plaintiff’s damages expert testified at trial that lost earnings were $516,600 or $1,049,300.  Mr. Neches testified in rebuttal that the projected earnings in plaintiff’s damages analysis were unreasonable and unreliable and that plaintiff failed to mitigate his damages.  Result: the jury awarded no economic damages.

 

Elliette Ellis v. Carmenita LSG Express Delivery, et al.  (Paul L. Tetreault, Kenneth M. Von Helmolt — Agajanian, McFall, Weiss & Tetreault).   Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of defendant in this personal injury matter.  Plaintiff, the owner of a company specializing in the design and manufacture of Mother-of-the-Bride clothes, claimed that injuries she received in an automobile accident forced her to liquidate the business.  Plaintiff’s expert testified that economic damages were between $3 million and $5 million.  Mr. Neches testified that plaintiff’s business had been failing for several years and that plaintiff’s economic damages were at most $47,000.  Result: the jury awarded $47,000 in economic damages.   (Click here for more information.)

 

Professional Audio Concepts, Inc. v. Conrad Viva, et al.  (Christopher J. Arndt — Arndt & Doyle, H. James Keathley, Davis, Punelli, Keathley & Willard).   Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Orange County, on behalf of defendant and counter claimant in this breach of fiduciary duty matter.  Plaintiff, the minority shareholder of Professional Audio Concepts, a manufacturer of custom wood speaker enclosures, claimed defendant, the majority shareholder, mismanaged the company by taking excess compensation.  Defendant counter-claimed that plaintiff’s actions to assume control of the company were taken in bad faith and disrupted the operations of the business, resulting in excess expenses and lost profits.  Mr. Neches testified regarding the damages the company incurred as a result of the alleged bad-faith acts of the minority shareholder.  Mr. Neches also testified that defendant’s compensation was reasonable.  Result: The jury found no liability against the defendant and found damages on defendant’s counter-claim totaling $350,000.

 

Hypersearch Unlimited, Inc. v. Rip Curl International, PTY Limited  (Bruce O. Baumgartner, Angela C. Agrusa — Baker & Hostetler).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Orange County, on behalf of defendant and counter claimant in this breach of contract matter. Hypersearch claimed that the failure of its business, the manufacture and distribution of mountain ware licensed by Rip Curl, was due to lack of promotional and other support allegedly promised by Rip Curl. Rip Curl counter-claimed that Hypersearch’s failure denied Rip Curl promised royalty payments and promotion fees.  Mr. Neches testified regarding Rip Curl’s damages and rebutted the testimony provided by Hypersearch’s damages expert.  Result: the judge found no liability on both the complaint and cross-complaint.

 

Fightertown Entertainment, Inc. v. Robertson, Stephens & Company  (Thomas V. Girardi — Girardi & Keese, Walter J. Lack — Engstom, Lipscomb & Lack).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Orange County, on behalf of plaintiff in this breach of contract matter.  Plaintiff provided networked, virtual-reality flight simulation to the general public from a single site in Orange County. Plaintiff contended that defendant, a nationally-known investment banking firm, orally guaranteed Fightertown it would perform an initial public offering (“IPO”) which would allow Fightertown to expand to multiple sites, and that defendant subsequently reneged on its guarantee, leaving plaintiff in a precarious financial position after expending significant funds and efforts preparing for the IPO.  Mr. Neches testified regarding plaintiff’s damages, calculated as the profits plaintiff would have earned if the IPO had gone forward less actual profits earned.  Result: the jury awarded $7,000,000 in damages.  The judge subsequently found no liability and overruled this verdict.

 

XXX Engineering, Inc. v. YYY Insurance, et al. (Christopher J. Arndt — Arndt & Doyle, David B. Davis).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, San Bernardino County, on behalf of plaintiff in this insurance bad faith matter.  Plaintiff, a manufacturer of precision-machined products, contended that defendant insurance companies in bad faith failed to defend and indemnify plaintiff, which had been named a potentially responsible party by the EPA.  Plaintiff claimed that defendants’ actions resulted in lost sales and additionl expenses.  Mr. Neches testified that damages exceeded $10,000,000.  Mr. Neches testified also during the punitive damages phase of the trial regarding the values of defendant insurance companies.  Result: the jury awarded damages consistent with Mr. Neches’ testimony.  The parties settled before the issue of punitive damages was put to the jury.  Settlement terms included a confidentiality agreement.  (Click here for more information.)

 

Lynda Burton v. First Interstate Bank (Barbara Brown — Brown Law Firm).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, San Diego County, on behalf of defendant in this wrongful termination matter.  Plaintiff’s damages expert calculated lost earnings of $530,000.  Mr. Neches testified that there were no economic damages because plaintiff’s new business provided more income than she would have earned if she had stayed at the bank.  Result: the judge ruled in favor of the bank.

 

Elizabeth Casey v. National General Insurance Company (Richard A. Jones, Richard R. Therrien — Parker Stanbury).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of plaintiff during the punitive damages phase of this insurance bad faith matter.  Mr. Neches testified that based on his review of financial statements submitted by National General to the Insurance Department of the state of California National General’s net worth was $25 million and its annual profits were $2.5 million. Result: the jury awarded $1.5 million in punitive damages.

 

Pioneer Liquidating Corporation v. San Diego Trust & Savings Bank (David J. Noonan, Steven W. Sanchez — Post Kirby Noonan & Sweat).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States District Court, Southern District of California, on behalf of the defendant bank in this fraudulent transfer matter.  Pioneer Liquidating Corporation, the successor in bankruptcy of consolidated entities known as Pioneer Mortgage, alleged that the defendant bank knew or should have known that Pioneer Mortgage engaged in a massive “check-kiting” scheme.  PLC claimed that the bank’s practice of providing provisional credit to Pioneer Mortgage by honoring checks written on uncollected funds created a series of short-term loans, resulting in 473 individual fraudulent transfers totaling $71 million.  Mr. Neches testified that there was no “kite” because there were sufficient funds in other Pioneer Mortgage accounts to cover allegedly “kited” checks, all of which were honored by the payor banks in the normal course of collection.  He testified also that the computer database and algorithms prepared by PLC to prove the dates and amounts of claimed fraudulent transfers were unreliable. Result: the trial ended with a hung jury after seven days of deliberation.  Subsequently the Court ruled in favor of the bank, granting defendant’s Motions for Judgment as a Matter of Law.  The matter was appealed and subsequently settled.  (Click here for more information.)

 

Image Technical Service, Inc., et al. v. Eastman Kodak Company (Maxwell M. Blecher — Blecher & Collins).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States District Court, Northern District of California, on behalf of plaintiffs in this antitrust matter.  The plaintiffs, eleven independent service organizations, contended that Kodak’s refusal to sell them parts for Kodak photocopier and micrographic equipment allowed Kodak to monopolize the servicing of its equipment and restrained competition in refurbishing and
selling used equipment.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his calculations of each plaintiff’s damages. Result: the jury awarded ten plaintiffs $23,948,300, which was trebled under antitrust law to $71,844,900.  The United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, affirmed as to all liability issues, affirmed services damages awarded to nine of the ten ISO’s and remanded for new trial used equipment damages.  The United States Supreme Court denied review of the Ninth Circuit decision.  The remaining issues were appealed and subsequently settled.(Click here for more information.)

 

Metcalf, et al. v. The Maryland Insurance Group (Brian S. Kabateck — Quisenberry & Barbanel).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in an arbitration in Los Angeles on behalf of respondent, an insurance company, in a personal injury matter involving a service technician for weigh scales.  Mr. Neches testified that claimant’s claimed damages were significantly overstated.  He prepared an alternative analysis using appropriate assumptions regarding past and future lost earnings and fringe benefits.  Result: the arbitrator found liability and assessed damages based on Mr. Neches’ damages calculation.

 

Steven Adler v. Guns N’ Roses (Morton G. Rosen — Haight, Brown & Bonesteel).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of defendant, the hard rock band Guns N’ Roses.  Steven Adler, the band’s ex-drummer, was expelled from the group in 1989 due to his heroin addiction.  He sued the band and managers, claiming that his share of the band should have been bought out.  Mr. Neches testified that plaintiff expert’s valuation of Adler’s share of the band at $4,000,000 was significantly overstated.  Result: Guns N’ Roses settled out of court for $2,500,000 a few hours before the case would have gone to the jury.

 

Allan Haley v. Whitman & Ransom (Vito A. Costanzo — Whitman, Breed, Abbott & Morgan).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of defendant in an attorney malpractice lawsuit.  Plaintiff claimed the attorney misrepresented him in a dispute with the IRS that resulted in a substantial tax lien and other economic losses.  Mr. Neches testified that plaintiff’s original investment was a sham transaction properly disallowed by the IRS and that claimed consequential damages were, in fact, zero. Result: the jury found the attorney negligent, but found no liability due to the sham nature of the original transaction.  The judgment was affirmed by the Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District.  (Click here for more information.)

 

Jeffrey Kovach v. First Alliance Mortgage Company (Georgia Michell — Ganong & Michell).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in an arbitration in San Jose, California on behalf of respondent in a wrongful termination matter.  The claimant alleged that he was constructively terminated because he intended to disclose purported discriminatory loan practices (“red lining”) by First Alliance.  Mr. Neches testified regarding his statistical analysis of loans funded by First Alliance, which showed there was no statistical basis for allegations of red lining. Result: the arbitrator found on behalf of claimant.

 

Trinkfass v. Elliott, et al. (Richard A. Jones — Parker Stanbury).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Orange County, on behalf of defendant in a personal injury matter involving a structural ironworker.  Mr. Neches testified that plaintiff’s claimed damages were significantly overstated due to inappropriate assumptions regarding worklife expectancy, mitigating income and potential lost earnings. Result: the jury returned a defense verdict.

 

Warner-West, Ltd. v. Alpha Beta Company (Mark R. Stapke and Matthew J. Pero — Thorpe and Thorpe).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in a declaratory relief action in California Superior Court, Orange County, on behalf of Warner-West, Ltd., the owner of a shopping center in which Alpha Beta was the anchor tenant. Mr. Neches performed a financial analysis of the shopping center and testified regarding anticipated rates of return for the center as of the date the Alpha Beta lease was signed.  Result: the judge ruled that Alpha Beta was not obligated to operate its business continuously.

 

First Interstate Bank of California v. Fred Gledhill Chevrolet, Inc. (Jack I. Samet — Baker & Hostetler).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Long Beach, on behalf of First Interstate Bank of California.  Gledhill cross-complained that First Interstate mishandled Gledhill car loans, resulting in lost sales and damage to goodwill.  Mr. Neches testified that economic factors and business decisions, not First Interstate’s actions, caused the decline in Gledhill’s sales.  Result: the jury found no liability.  (Click here for more information.)

 

Mulligan v. Landay, et al. (Terry D. Avchen — Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil & Shapiro).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, on behalf of plaintiff in a civil action against an investment advisor.  He testified that four investment programs into which the advisor had placed the plaintiff were sham transactions lacking economic substance. Result: the jury awarded plaintiff $1,275,000 in damages.  (Click here for more information.)

 

Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. La Costa Hotel (Gloria A. Barrios — State of California Office of Attorney General).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in an administrative hearing of the Commission of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.  He analyzed payroll records and testified on behalf of the Department regarding the disparity in wages between male and female spa employees.  Result: the Commission ruled that the wage disparity was job related and not discriminatory.

 

State of Oregon v. Isom (James J. McLaughlin — State of Oregon Department of Justice).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in Circuit Court of the State of Oregon, Marion County, on behalf of the State in a trial for criminal contempt of a principal in an alleged fraud.  He testified to the funds disbursed to the defendant. Result: the defendant was found guilty of criminal contempt.  (Click here for more information.)

 

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Elmas Trading Corporation (Thomas J. Nolan — Howrey & Simon).  Mr. Neches testified as an expert in United States District Court, District of Nevada, on behalf of the receiver in a hearing concerning funds claimed by the receivership.  He testified regarding the circumstances of payments and amounts due the receivership.  Result: the court ordered that the testified-to funds be paid to the receivership. (Click here for more information.)

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