John C. Hueston

Active” describes Hueston’s recent schedule. “I’ve now done four separate trials in nine months,” he said.

On July 26, Hueston and co-counsel obtained a defense victory for PricewaterhouseCoopers following a bench trial on wrongful termination claims by a former senior manager. A magistrate judge found the manager failed to prove his case. Botta v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC, 18-cv-02615 (N.D. Cal., filed May 3, 2018).

“Mr. Botta waged an international public smear campaign against PwC, claiming to be a whistleblower retaliated against practices to light,” Hueston said.

In January in Texas, Hueston won a $25 million jury verdict for an incubator firm that provides innovations for the semiconductor and telecom market. The company sued a major chip-maker for infringing its patented processes; the jury agreed. Acorn Semi LLC v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., 2:19-cv-00347 (E.D. Tex., filed Oct. 23, 2019).

La Jolla-based Acorn patented inventions that cover methods to reduce contact resistance between metals and semiconductors, increasing device efficiency. They have become more important as devices have shrunk.

“We showed that Samsung turned a blind eye to its use of Acorn’s patents,” Hueston said. “In my rebuttal argument I called it an if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it approach.”

In November 2020, Hueston won on all claims defending Amazon.com from eBay Inc.’s suit asserting that Amazon employees conspired to infiltrate eBay’s internal messaging systems to poach sellers. eBay Inc. v. Amazon.com Inc., 18-cv-336315 (S. Clara Co. Super. Ct., filed Oct. 17, 2018).

Hueston defended the Houston Astros in a suit by former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Mike Bolsinger over the Astros’ cheating scandal. Bolsinger, asking that children’s charities get $31 million in the bonuses given Houston for winning the 2017 World Series, said he was cut from his team after he gave up four runs to Houston in a third of an inning in 2017, allegedly thanks to Houston’s sign-stealing scheme. His complaint sought damages for economic interference, negligence and a violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law. Bolsinger v. Houston Astros LLC, 20STCV05242 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Feb. 8, 2020).

Agreeing with Hueston’s improper forum arguments, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert S. Draper dismissed the case in March, noting that Bolsinger lives in Texas, the Astros are based in Texas and the events that triggered the suit occurred in Texas.

Hueston has more trials coming. “We’re gearing up,” he said. “There’s great esprit in our firm and our lawyers are getting plenty of exposure.”

- John Roemer