John C. Hueston

Hueston left Irell & Manella LLP in January 2015 with law partner Brian J. Hennigan to form their trial law boutique with a client roster featuring Walt Disney Co., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Pizza Hut Inc., Waste Management of Hawaii Inc., T-Mobile USA Inc. and William Koch. Earlier in his career, Hueston was co-lead trial prosecutor in the federal fraud and insider trading cases against top Enron executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling.

In August, Hueston filed a major pollution suit for his Navajo Nation client against the Environmental Protection Agency and other potentially responsible parties. The litigation arose from the August 2014 Gold King Mine 3 million-gallon toxic sludge spill, resulting in the pollution of waters upstream of Navajo lands. "The defendants caused a Colorado mountain to fill up with toxic waste, which predictably exploded into the Animas and San Juan rivers," Hueston said. The complaint did not specify damages. Hueston previously represented Navajo Nation and others in winning a $5.15 billion pollution settlement in another toxic tort case. In the Gold King matter, Hueston said he tried to settle without going to court, adding, "After a year of negotiations, the defendants offered pennies on the dollar. It was time to move forward to repatriate funds for reparations." Navajo Nation v. United States of America Environmental Protection Agency, 1:16-cv-00931 (D. N.M., filed Aug. 16, 2016).

Earlier, the State Bar retained Hueston to defend the agency and its former president, Craig Holden, in former Executive Director Joseph L. Dunn's whistleblower retaliation and wrongful termination suit. "We have won a series of demurrers but a number of claims survived," Hueston said. Arbitration is set for February 1, 2017. Dunn v. State Bar of California, 1100083130.

Hueston said this year he's defeated Broadcom Corp.'s efforts to obtain restraining orders and injunctions in a trade secrets case pending in Orange County. The complaint alleges Hueston client Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, hired former Broadcom workers to obtain proprietary technology. Broadcom Corp. v. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., 30-2016-00842373 (Orange Super. Ct., filed March 23, 2016).

In what has been described as a near-complete win for client Sumner Redstone, Viacom Inc.'s 93-year-old billionaire controlling shareholder, Hueston helped oust CEO Philippe Dauman. For actor Alec Baldwin, he's dickering with a gallery owner and artist suspected of pulling a paint-and-switch that left Baldwin holding a copy of the original oil painting he sought. "We've built a national name in fine collectibles and consumer fraud litigation," Hueston said, referring to a $12 million fine wine counterfeiting jury verdict he won for Koch and had affirmed on appeal last year.

— John Roemer