John B. Quinn

Los Angeles

Litigation

John B. Quinn made headlines last year when he and co-counsel filed an antitrust suit against the PGA Tour on behalf of several professional golfers and its new competitor, LIV Golf Inc. The lawsuit accused the PGA of monopolizing the market for pro golfers. The two businesses reached a settlement in June. Jones v. PGA Tour Inc., 5:22-cv-04486 (N.D. Cal., filed Aug. 3, 2022).

That same month, attorneys with Quinn's global business litigation firm won an important victory in the multidistrict mass tort litigation that blames military earplugs sold by a 3M subsidiary for allowing servicemembers' hearing to be damaged. The subsidiary had filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to resolve 260,000 pending claims. Quinn's attorneys defeated the company's request for an injunction to block any litigation against parent 3M.

"Given the fact that 3M was guaranteeing the obligations of the subsidiary, it didn't qualify for bankruptcy," Quinn said of the unusual victory. Aearo Technologies LLC, 1:22-bk-02890 (Bankr. S.D. Ind., filed July 26, 2022).

Quinn Emanuel is one of the leading firms representing plaintiffs suing 3M in what has been described as the largest federal multidistrict litigation in history. In re 3M Combat Arms Earplug Products Liability Litigation, 3:19-md-2885 (N.D. Fla., filed April 3, 2019).

What is perhaps less well known is that the litigation grew out of a patent case 3M filed against one of Quinn's clients about eight years ago. After that suit was dismissed, the firm sued 3M for bringing a frivolous case. In discovery, the company "produced a document, which basically was a confession that the earplugs that they had sold to the government ... did not work to the standards they had represented," he said.

Quinn filed a qui tam False Claims Act case against 3M, which the Justice Department took over. U.S. ex rel. Moldex-Metric Inc. v. 3M Co., 3:16-cv-01533 (D. S.C., filed May 12, 2016).

After the department issued a press release, "the plaintiffs' bar then twigged to the existence of this claim, and the rest is history," he said.

Quinn scored another victory in December. Representing Patrick Soon-Shiong and his companies in arbitration, he brought in a $174 million award against a competitor. Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. v. Soon-Shiong, 19STCV11328 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed April 3, 2019).

Meanwhile, Quinn has continued to grow his law firm around the world. It recently opened an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, expanding its presence in the Middle East. He said the firm will be making an announcement soon regarding the United Arab Emirates. "I think in some ways the Persian Gulf ... is certainly one of the most exciting and dynamic areas of the world."

The firm is also "looking very closely at Singapore" and at India. "I've spent almost a month there over the last six months. We are big believers in the Indian story," he said.

-- Don DeBenedictis