David L Aronoff

David Aronoff is head of the firm’s Los Angeles litigation practice. Mr. Aronoff focuses his practice on complex business litigation. For more than 20 years he has represented prominent corporations and individuals in their most challenging civil cases, at trial in federal and state courts throughout the country, before arbitration panels and in investigations involving the SEC, Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Product Safety Commission, U.S. bank regulators, and States Attorneys General. Mr. Aronoff has represented financial institutions, including Citigroup, Ameriquest, Pacific Mercantile Bank and UBS. He has also represented major national retailers including The Limited Brands, Oreck Corporation, Brookstone, Radioshack, the Sharper Image and Kroger, one of the largest retail food companies in the U.S. His individual clients include CEOs, government officials, professional athletes and entertainers. Many of his most important matters are resolved without public attention. Mr. Aronoff litigates multi-state and multi-district class actions involving securities laws and state and federal consumer protection and privacy statutes. He is nationally known for his experience in coupon and scrip settlements under the Class Action Fairness Act. He has also been recognized in publications for implementing innovative strategies to defeat class certification on behalf of his clients. Mr. Aronoff has served as outside counsel to audit and special committees of public and private companies in connection with regulatory issues and internal investigations. He also advises senior executives, CEOs and boards of directors in internal governance matters. In his representation of financial institutions, Mr. Aronoff regularly seeks and obtains, with and without notice, the appointments of receivers, trustees and examiners to protect his client’s interests wherever located. Mr. Aronoff represents banking institutions in all matters pertaining to regulatory compliance and best practices, including supervisory bank examinations conducted by all of the Federal bank regulatory agencies to assess compliance with applicable Federal banking laws, rules and regulations governing the operations such as institutions, as well as any residential or commercial lending arms of such institutions. Mr. Aronoff represents major sporting and consumer goods companies in connection with defense of nationwide complex product liability claims, both individual and class wide. Selected cases and matters: Major National Retailer: Mr. Aronoff successfully defended Oreck Corp in a widely publicized case Bodner v. Oreck Direct, LLC, WL 1223777 (N.D. Cal. April 25, 2007). In that case, the federal court for the Northern District of California denied class certification of a false advertising class action finding that the proposed class representative had been solicited by the plaintiff’s counsel and was not an adequate class representative. The case received national attention including reporting in The Wall Street Journal and National Law Journal. Major National Financial Institution: Mr. Aronoff represented a national bank in connection with the successful foreclosures of millions of dollars worth of commercial properties located throughout the US. Mr. Aronoff’s efforts resulted in the appointment of receivers, the issuance of injunctions and the liquidation of real and personal property. Major National Electronics Retailer: Mr. Aronoff represented the Sharper Image in high stakes competitor litigation resulting in a significant published opinion in the area of the “litigation privilege.” Sharper Image v. Target Corp., 425 F. Supp. 1056 (N.D. Cal. 2006). Mr. Aronoff was lead counsel for the Sharper Image in defense of counterclaims brought by a competitor. Sharper Image prevailed on summary adjudication obtaining dismissal of claims for intentional interference through application of the California “litigation privilege.” Community Bank: Mr. Aronoff successfully represented Pacific Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ: PMBC), in litigation against multiple borrowers on credit lines arising out of the development of luxury residential real estate in Hawaii. The case was tried to a California jury who returned a verdict in favor of Pacific Mercantile Bank on claims of breach of contract and fraudulent conveyance. Before the jury returned its verdict on the bank’s claims, Mr. Aronoff sought and obtained a non-suit of the borrowers’ lender liability counterclaims against the bank. Major Residential Real Estate Developer and Home Builder: Mr. Aronoff represented one of California’s most prominent and successful real estate developers and home builders in an arbitration placed with the American Arbitration Association. The arbitration involved close to one billion dollars in residential and commercial real estate. Mr. Aronoff obtained several substantial arbitration awards for his client. Former Owners of The San Francisco Examiner Newspaper: Mr. Aronoff represented the former ownership of The San Francisco Examiner newspaper, one of the oldest newspapers in the country. Mr. Aronoff was lead counsel on the litigation and successfully counterclaimed against the current ownership resulting in a significant out of court settlement for his client. Major National Retailers: Mr. Aronoff represented major national retailers, including Brookstone, the Sharper Image and Victoria’s Secret in counseling on cutting edge evolving application of state and federal consumer privacy rights laws. When necessary, Mr. Aronoff has successfully litigated issues related to the application of these new laws, concluding in favorable resolutions. Activities Mr. Aronoff is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, and the Association of Business Trial Lawyers. His community affiliations include the Alzheimer’s Association, the board of directors of the American Technion Society, and the San Francisco-Shanghai Sister City Committee. Education Mr. Aronoff received a B.A. in 1985 from the University of Southern California. He received a J.D. in 1990 from Southwestern Law School. Speeches and Publications Mr. Aronoff's presentations include: "Executive Compensation Litigation: New Risks and Latest Strategies," Winston & Strawn eLunch webcast, March 2013; and “The Structuring Coupon Settlements After CAFA: Figueroa v. Sharper Image and Beyond,” Practising Law Institute webcast briefing, September 2008. Mr. Aronoff’s publications include: “Ins And Outs Of Say-On-Pay Lawsuits,” Law360 (February 11, 2013); “Navigating the Minefield: Lessons of Figueroa v. Sharper Image and Defense Counsel’s Guide to Settling Coupon-Based Class Actions After CAFA,” Andrews Class Action Litigation Reporter, Vol. 15, No. 8, (September 2008); “Banking in Cyberspace,” Business Credit, Vol. 101, No. 9, (October 1999).