Theona Zhordania

Zhordania said that she would prefer to settle disputes before they get to litigation. But when they do end up there, she starts looking into her tool box for creative solutions.

Among her significant matters, Zhordania successfully defended GetFugu Inc., a startup technology company, its officers and directors in two related cases that ended last year.

One involved a lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. Davies v. GetFugu Inc., 09-CV-8724 (C.D. Cal., filed Nov. 25, 2009).

"My strategy in RICO was to eliminate the case through law and motion practice, arguing, among other things, that a litigant can't base a RICO violation on allegations of securities fraud," she said.

The court granted her motion to dismiss on behalf of all the defendants.

The plaintiffs then appealed the decision and refiled their case in state court, alleging derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duty and securities fraud, among other claims. Davies v. GetFugu Inc., BC446462 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Sept. 29, 2010).

Zhordania again dipped into her tool box.

"Under California law, if a litigant can establish that the defendant has a reasonable probability of prevailing on the merits, it can require the out-of-state plaintiff to post a bond," she said. "I had already won the RICO claim, so that helped."

The court ordered the plaintiffs to post a bond in order to proceed with the case.

"There were 25 or 30 defendants involved, and I won the first motion," Zhordania, who represented 17 of the named defendants, said. "The court was requiring plaintiffs to post tens of thousands of dollars of bond money on behalf of the defendants."

At that point, she said, the plaintiffs decided to call it quits.

In another case, Zhordania successfully used the state's anti-SLAPP statute, among other tactics, in defending client Allstate Insurance Co. in an insurance bad faith case involving an uninsured motorist claim. Marquez v. Allstate Insurance Co., KC059808 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Oct. 14, 2010).

The plaintiff also asserted various claims against other parties, including Allstate's in-house counsel. Zhordania then filed a special motion to strike, on the counsel's behalf, using the anti-SLAPP statue.

She raised what she called novel issues, including whether an attorney's conduct in connection with uninsured motorist arbitration proceedings was subject to the statute.

The court granted the anti-SLAPP motion and awarded $7,320 in attorneys fees.

The case is on appeal.

- PAT BRODERICK