Biography

Paul Riehle is a partner in Sedgwick’s San Francisco office, chairs the firm’s Antitrust & Unfair Competition Practice Group and co-chairs its Franchise, Dealer and Distributor Practice Group.  Since 2010, Mr. Riehle has been a member of the Executive Committee of the California State Bar’s Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section.  He currently serves as the Section’s Unfair Competition Law Vice-Chair.  He is a member of Sedgwick’s class action, healthcare and hospitality task forces.  He has been selected as a 2013 Northern California Super Lawyer for Antitrust Litigation.

Mr. Riehle was Student Body President at the University of Notre Dame and Editor-in-Chief of the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly.  He is a founding board member of an international humanitarian nonprofit organization and is President of the Board of Directors of its United States affiliate.  He also serves as a judicial arbitrator and as a mediator.

Litigation Matters

• Dismissal of drug pricing overcharge claims. County of Santa Clara v. Astra USA, Inc., 563 U.S. _, 131 S.Ct. 1342 (2011) (rejecting third party beneficiary contract claims) reversing 588 F.3rd 1237 (9th Cir. 2009) modifying 540 F.3d 1094 (9th Cir. 2008); see also 257 F.R.D. 207 (N.D.Cal. 2009) (denying class certification); 428 F. Supp. 2d 1029 (N.D. Cal. 2006)(dismissing breach of third party contract, unfair competition, False Claims Act and other causes of action); and 401 F. Supp. 2d 1022 (N.D. Cal. 2005) (finding federal question jurisdiction though plaintiff pled only state law claims). 
• Summary judgement regarding claims of industry wide price-fixing under California's Cartwight Act and Unfair Competition Law affirmed on appeal.  Clayworth v. Pfizer, Inc., A131804 (August 22, 2012) petition for review denied, S205726 (November 28, 2012).  In 2010, the California Supreme Court reversed summary judgement based on the pass-on defense, an issue of first impression under California antitrust and unfair competition law. Clayworth v. Pfizer, Inc., 49 Cal.4th 758 (2010) reversing 165 Cal.App.4th 209 (2008). In 2011, after remand, the trial court again granted summary judgement, this time ruling that defendants' evidence showed that prices were independently determined and plaintiffs failed to raise a triable issue of fact regarding the existence of the alleged conspiracy, and the Court of Appeal affirmed. 
• Dismissal of antitrust claims of antitrust claims brought by a surgical group and its physicians against two health management/maintenance associations (Cook County Superior Court, November 6, 2012).  
• Dismissal of Lanham Act claim with prejudice.  Off Lease Only, Inc. v. Carfax, Inc., 2012 WL 1966372 (S.D.Fla. May 31, 2012).
• After full briefing, hearings and the court's tentative rulings on motions to dismiss plaintiff’s claims against an automobile manufacturer under the CLRA, UCL, federal and state warranty law and for fraudulent concealment, and for lack of personal jurisdiction over the foreign parent, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed his nationwide class action before the court could issue its final opinions on the motions.
• Final approval granted for nationwide class settlement of claims brought under the UCL, CLRA, False Advertising Law, breach of warranty and misrepresentation. 
• Dismissal of third amended complaint without leave to amend as to a putative class action brought against an automobile manufacturer alleging unfair competition, breach of express and implied warranties, violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, concealment and misrepresentation. Currently on appeal.
• Defense verdict in a distributor termination case tried in Silicon Valley where the plaintiff asserted punitive damages and tens of millions of dollars in compensatory damages against a Fortune 500 company.
• Summary adjudication of antitrust and other claims brought by a distributor against an international furniture manufacturer.
• Mr. Riehle successfully defended an insurer in three cases alleging bid rigging and illegal payments to an insurance broker.  A putative class action in federal court alleging antitrust and RICO violations and a state court case alleging unfair competition were each dismissed without payment.  A third case brought on behalf of the California Insurance Commissioner was settled on favorable terms.
• Menjivar v. TP, LLC, 2006 WL 2884396 (N.D. Cal. 2006) (dismissing RICO and fraud claims).
• Tate v. Pacific Gas & Elec. Co., 94 Fed. App. 529 (9th Cir. 2004), 2004 WL 626551 (C.A.9(Cal.)) affirming 230 F. Supp. 2d 1072 (N.D. Cal. 2002) (dismissing all but one antitrust claim and all RICO claims) and 230 F. Supp. 2d 1086 (summary judgment on remaining antitrust claim of attempted monopolization).
• Hyper Corporation v. TUV Rhineland of North America, Inc., 2004 WL 5494878.  Mr. Riehle and Sedgwick were brought in to try the punitive damages phase of an unfair competition and antitrust case involving Bluetooth technology after the jury returned a $7.5 million verdict and a unanimous finding of fraud, malice and oppression.  In the second phase of the trial, the jury awarded only 1.3% of the compensatory verdict.  The trial court then granted Mr. Riehle’s new trial motion and the Court of Appeal affirmed, thereby wiping out the verdict in its entirety.
• Ferris v. Gatke Corp., 107 Cal. App. 4th 1211 (2003) (affirming nonsuit regarding claims for market share liability and civil conspiracy to defraud through the manipulation of scientific literature).
• Chavers v. Gatke Corp., 107 Cal. App. 4th 606 (2003) (affirming jury verdict under civil conspiracy theory of liability).
• Coast Marine and Industrial Supply, Inc. v. DBC Marine Safety Systems, Inc., 2003 WL 23874049 (dismissing Robinson-Patman Act, contract, implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, tortious interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with business expectancy, equitable estoppel and tortious termination of contract claims).
• In re Methionine Antitrust Litigation, MDL 1311.  As California counsel, Mr. Riehle was part of a team that defended a leading amino acid manufacturer in a consolidated multidistrict class action litigation alleging that defendants conspired to fix the prices for methionine-based products in the United States and internationally.
• Successful defense of a national automotive tool manufacturing company in more than 50 cases brought by dealers alleging violation of the Seller Assisted Marketing Plan Act and other claims.
• Vasen v. Asbestos Defendants, 2001 WL 35817327 and 2001 WL 35817328 (summary judgment on behalf of  two different friction manufacturers regarding products liability, market share liability and conspiracy claims).
• Summary judgment in favor of a distributor sued by a sales agent under the Independent Wholesale Sales Representative Contractual Relations Act.  Mr. Riehle also obtained reimbursement of his client’s attorneys’ fees from the plaintiff.
• In re Sorbates Antitrust Litigation.  Dismissal without payment of a defendant in consolidated class actions involving claims of an international price fixing conspiracy.
• Pharmaceutical Cases I, II and III, J.C.C.P. Nos. 2969, 2971 & 2972 (San Francisco Superior Court).  Defense of a pharmaceutical company that, along with many other pharmaceutical manufacturers, was sued for alleged antitrust violations with respect to the price of brand name prescription drugs.  California consumer class cy pres settlement.
• Obtained and collected on a $6.5 million Arizona federal court jury award in a fraud case transferred as a tag-along action to In re Washington Public Power Supply System Securities Litigation, MDL 551.
• Successful state court jury trial representing national franchisor in claims brought by franchisee relating to territorial exclusivity.
• Counseling with respect to antitrust issues and claims in the healthcare arena.
• Advice in connection with responding to subpoenas by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.
• In difficult cases under adverse circumstances, Mr. Riehle has been brought to handle post-trial motions (e.g., Hyper v. TUV, 2004 WL 5494878 (discussed above) and Chavers v. Gatke, 2000 WL 35545379) and appeals (e.g., Bierlich v. BW, Inc.,  2003 WL 22022030 (Cal.App. 2 Dist.)).

Accomplishments and Affiliations

Since 2010, Mr. Riehle has been a member of the Executive Committee of the California State Bar’s Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section.  He currently serves as the Section’s Unfair Competition Law Vice-Chair.  He is also a member of the American Bar Association, including the Antitrust and Litigation Sections; the Defense Research Institute; the Association of Business Trial Lawyers of Northern California; and the Bar Association of San Francisco.  He is admitted to practice before all California state courts, as well as the United States District Court for the Northern, Eastern, Central and Southern Districts of California, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Riehle is a founding member of the International Board of Directors of SurfAid International, a humanitarian relief organization that is the parent of SurfAid entities in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.  He also is Board President and a founding member of the Board of Directors of SurfAid International, USA, a federal non-profit corporation.  SurfAid is a community development organization that runs health, malaria eradication, disaster preparedness, and water and sanitation programs in the Mentawai Islands, 150 km off Indonesia’s West Sumatran Coast, and Nias Island, 125 km off the North Sumatran Coast.

Mr. Riehle is acknowledged with a peer review rating of AV, the highest rating in legal ability and ethical standards, as reported in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.  He has been selected as a 2013 Northern California Super Lawyer for Antitrust Litigation.

Publications & Presentations

• Mr. Riehle is a co-author of “Now Open: Floodgates to Price Advertisement Cases,” Law360 (June 2013).
• Mr. Riehle is an editor for the Spring 2013, as well as the Fall and Spring 2011 issues, of “Competition,” The Journal of the Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section of the State Bar of California. 
• Mr. Riehle is a co-author of the chapter, “Standing, Damages and Injunctive Relief Under the Cartwright Act,” California Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law, The State Bar of California, (Cheryl Lee Johnson, ed., Matthew Bender & Co., 2012).
• Mr. Riehle is co-author of the chapter, “The Insurance Industry and California Antitrust Law,” California Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law, The State Bar of California, (Cheryl Lee Johnson, ed., Matthew Bender & Co., 2012).
• “Sports and the Antitrust Playing Field,” The 22nd Annual Golden State Institute, San Francisco (October 25, 2012).
• Mr. Riehle presented on the topic, "The ABC’s of Antitrust and California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act,” The 85th Annual Meeting of the State Bar of California, Monterey (October 13, 2012).
• Mr. Riehle co-authored “‘Revisiting Materiality’ Is Revisionist History: An Express Warranty Defines Materiality Under the UCL and CLRA Absent and Unreasonable Safety Hazard” The Journal of the Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section of the State Bar of California, Vol. 21, No. 2 (October 2012).
• "Summary of Recent Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Decisions,” E-Brief for the Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section of the State Bar of California (October 18, 2012, July 26, 2012, April 3, 2012, January 18, 2012 and October 26, 2011).
• “Ninth Circuit Decertifies Nationwide Class Under California Unfair Competition Laws,” Sedgwick’s Class Action Alert (January 17, 2012) (discussing the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Mazza v. American Honda Motor Company, Inc., 666 F.3d 581 (9th Cir. 2012)).
• “Punitive Damages in Asbestos Litigation,” Perrin Conference, San Francisco (September 19, 2011).
• “A Primer on California Competition Law,” The 84th Annual Meeting of The State Bar of California, San Francisco (September 17, 2011).
• “National Class Action Suit Challenges Hotel Group’s Disclosure of Guest Newspaper Fees,” Sedgwick’s Hospitality Industry Alert (August 2011).
• “FDA Announces New Rules About Sunscreen Labeling,” Sedgwick’s Class Action Alert (June 2011).
• “Agencies Propose Antitrust Enforcement Policy for ACOs,” Sedgwick’s Healthcare Law Newsletter (Spring 2011). 
• “Kwikset: Labels Matter, But No Reset to Pre-Prop. 64,” Daily Journal, (March 28, 2011) (analyzing the California Supreme Court's decision in Kwikset and its implications for individual for individual and class action claims brought under California's unfair competition law and false advertising law).
• “The Meaning and Importance to MPL Insurers of the Antitrust Exemption Provided by the McCarran-Ferguson Act,” Physician Insurers Association of America, Corporate Counsel Section Meeting, San Diego (November 4, 2010).
• “Advanced Principles: UCL Remedies and Defenses,” California State Bar Antitrust and Unfair Competition Section, San Francisco (October 21, 2010).  Mr. Riehle presented the defense perspective on the limits to the extraterritorial reach of California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), how restitution is measured under the UCL, and the impact of Clayworth v. Pfizer, Inc., 49 Cal.4th 758 (2010) on the injunctive relief remedy under the UCL.
• “NFL Sacked by the Sherman Antitrust Act,” MediaLawLetter, Media Law Resource Center (September 2010)
• "Overview of Antitrust Issues For Health Insurers, Including the Impact of Pending Legislation," Sedgwick Annual Healthcare Seminar Series, Hartford, CT (September 22, 2010) and Los Angeles, Orange County and San Francisco (May 24-25, 2010).
• “FTC – Doctors' Group Settle Antitrust Charges,” Sedgwick’s Healthcare Law Newsletter (Winter 2009/2010).
• “Generic Biologics Legislation Moves Forward in the House and Senate,” Sedgwick’s Issue Tracker (September 22, 2009).
• “A Review of Developments in the Assault on Reverse Settlements, Including a Major Change in DOJ's Position,” Sedgwick’s Issue Tracker (July 31, 2009).
• “Products Liability for Third Party Replacement or Connected Parts: Changing Tides from the West,” University of San Francisco Law Review (V. 44, No. 1, Summer 2009), coauthored with Sedgwick attorneys.
• "California Supreme Court Lowers Bar for Bringing Class Actions Under Unfair Competition Law," Sedgwick's Class Action Alert, (May 21, 2009) (discussing  the California Supreme Court's  decision in In Re Tobacco II Cases, 46 Cal.4th 298 (2009)).
• “The Other Drug War,” Daily Journal, (March 4, 2009) (discussing the Obama Administration's plans for antitrust challenges of reverse settlements between brand name and generic drug manufacturers).
• “Exemption Exceptions,” Daily Journal, (March 3, 2009) (discussing the Obama Administration’s support of the elimination of the McCarran-Ferguson Act's antitrust exemption for insurance companies).
• Mr. Riehle authored the chapter “Negotiating for the Most Successful Settlement,” Antitrust Dispute Resolution: Leading Lawyers on Best Practices for Resolving Antitrust Matters Through Negotiations (Aspatore Books, 2007).
• “The Impact of Proposition 64 and the Class Action Fairness Act on California Unfair Competition Claims” (Co-Chair), Practicing Law Institute (May 10, 2005).
• “California Unfair Competition Law and How Proposition 64 Has Changed It” Seminars for High Technology and Energy Companies (2004-2005).
• In January 2005, Mr. Riehle was featured in articles in The Recorder, the Daily Journal and the San Francisco Chronicle regarding SurfAid’s tsunami relief effort.
• The Daily Journal published an article on July 6, 2007 about Mr. Riehle’s humanitarian work.

• Mr. Riehle was quoted and photographed in the ABC News story "Surf's Up on a Geologic Time Bomb." The article, appearing on March 27, 2008, profiled the critical role which SurfAid plays in the earthquake-afflicted Mentawai Islands.