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Partners Jeremy Stamelman and Ben Barron Secure Defense Jury Trial Victory
Keller Anderle Scolnick (KAS) Partners Jeremy Stamelman and Benjamin Barron secured a defense victory at trial for their client, entrepreneur Brandon Burkhart, in a high-stakes commercial dispute. Stamelman and Barron successfully defended Burkhart against more than $70 million in claims after undermining experts.
The case, Route Four LLC v. Burkhart et al., arose in 2018 following the sale of Mr. Burkhart’s retail hydroponics business to Route Four LLC. Route Four alleged that Burkhart breached a non-competition provision in the parties’ Asset Purchase Agreement through his involvement with two pre-existing businesses—Luxx Lighting, a lighting manufacturer, and Athena Products, a plant-nutrient manufacturer—and sought more than $70 million in damages based largely on profits allegedly attributable to those companies.
While defending Mr. Burkhart and his businesses against the claims, Stamelman and the team pursued a cross-complaint against Route Four and its managing members, including breach of contractual obligations requiring Route Four to pay Mr. Burkhart for the sale of the business through monthly consulting fees, as well as claims arising from the conduct of Route Four’s managing members.
On August 19, 2026, less than two weeks before the scheduled trial, Barron’s deposition and cross-examination led to the exclusion of two experts and the evidence the plaintiff relied on. This pretrial success substantially undermined Route Four’s ability to pursue damages and materially altered the posture of the case.
On October 28, 2026, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Mr. Burkhart, while also finding Route Four’s CEO and managing member knowingly made false statements to procure the Asset Purchase Agreement.
The team also successfully secured on Mr. Burkhart’s cross-complaint $828,000 in damages, the full amount Mr. Burkhart was seeking.
Guardant Health Inc. v. Natera Inc.
Achieved one of the largest Lanham Act false advertising verdicts in history — $292.5 million — for Guardant Health. Guardant maintained that an advertising campaign by Natera falsely denigrated its product in order to boost sales of Natera’s rival product. The jury agreed and added $175.5 million in punitive damages. KAS’s opposing counsel was a large team from Quinn Emanuel.
MGA Entertainment Inc. v. Clifford T.I. Harris et al
Represented MGA Entertainment in a trademark and intellectual property lawsuit involving its highest grossing doll line. MGA sued OMG GIRLZ for declaratory relief and a finding that it is not infringing on OMG’s mark. OMG filed a counter-claim against MGA and its founder for $100 million alleging violation of the Lanham Act. The jury returned a complete verdict in favor of MGA in less than two hours.
Anthony Rapp et al. v. Kevin Spacey
Successfully defended Kevin Spacey in a $40 million civil sexual battery case brought by actor Anthony Rapp with a unanimous jury verdict in Southern District of New York.
Jane Doe v. Calvin Broadus et al.
Plaintiff withdrew her lawsuit accusing rapper Snoop Dogg of sexual assault after Keller/Anderle brought two motions to dismiss.
Sherrill Schoepe v. Fluidmaster and Robert AndersonSchoepe
Represented plaintiff minority shareholder in privately-held Fluidmaster against her brother and some of the Board of Directors in a lawsuit for breach of fiduciary duty and shareholder oppression. Obtained a very favorable confidential settlement for our client.
Little Tykes
Successfully represented Little Tykes toy company in trademark infringement case in United States District Court. A confidential settlement was reached in favor of our client.
CashCall Inc. v. Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Successfully represented CashCall Inc. in legal malpractice lawsuit brought against Katten Muchin. Damages exceeded $850 million. A confidential settlement was reached on eve of trial.
Ariana Kukors Smith v. Mark Schubert, USA Swimming, Pacific Northwest Swimming, et al.
Successfully defended former head of USA Swimming and Coach of US Olympic Swim Team in civil lawsuit alleging negligent supervision of an assistant coach. Lawsuit was dismissed by plaintiff against our client.
Core Health & Fitness, LLC v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA
Achieved a complete defense victory on summary judgment for a subsidiary of AIG in a bad faith case brought by a fitness equipment supplier.
Christina Chavez v. MassMutual Life Insurance Co.
Defense jury verdict in Los Angeles for MassMutual Life Insurance in $100 million bellwether class action lawsuit. Case was named a 2018 Top Verdict by CVN and the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals.
Yellowstone Women’s First Step House, Inc. v. City of Costa Mesa
Defense jury verdict for the City of Costa Mesa in a landmark zoning lawsuit brought by sober living home operators and network. Given 2018 CLAY Award (California Lawyers of the Year) in Municipal Law for the victory.
St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company v. Aspen Specialty Insurance; National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA, et al.
Obtained a summary judgment on all claims in successfully defending a subsidiary of AIG and a night club in a bad faith subrogation lawsuit.
Anita Busch v. Michael Ovitz, Anthony Pellicano, et al.
Successfully defended Michael Ovitz (founder of the Creative Artists Agency and former Chair of the Walt Disney Company) against defamation allegations brought by a former LA Times journalist. Confidential settlement reached.
Broadwood Investment Fund LLC v. United States of America
Successfully represented tech billionaire Henry Nicholas (Broadcom co-founder) in tax case against the United States, which had disallowed his deductions for distressed Chinese debt. The United States Attorney’s Office entered into a settlement on the eve of trial granting our client an approximate $40 million deduction. This was the first time such a deduction has been permitted by the Government.