• Feld Entertainment, Inc., produces the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which appears annually in San Jose. The show has been the subject of hostile demonstrations each year by activists. MF attorneys have helped Feld Entertainment to continue to operate its show peacefully and successfully, and defeat a series of attempts to undermine its strong reputation. In 2001, MF attorneys represented the show’s star performer and animal trainer, Mark Oliver Gebel, at the highly publicized Elephant Trial, where Mr. Gebel was falsely accused of violating section 596.5 of the California Penal Code. A San Jose jury acquitted Mr. Gebel in record time. In 2004, MF attorneys represented Feld Entertainment in a lawsuit filed by activists in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.  The case against Feld was dismissed at the outset of the litigation. Additionally, with the help of MF, Feld Entertainment has been able to work with the City of San Jose annually to meet all requirements and obtain all necessary permits, to ensure a fun and safe environment for circus patrons. 

• In an intellectual property case, MF’s client, a Silicon Valley company, brought an action against a competitor for misappropriation of trade secrets. After significant litigation, the case settled shortly before trial.

• MF represented a public company in a dispute with its landlord, Moffett Office Park Investors, over responsibility for removing tenant improvements upon the termination of a lease. The case was settled at mediation relatively early in the litigation.

• MF represented a public company in a dispute with a landlord regarding the term of a lease. The case was venued in Placer County and settled in mediation just before trial.

• MF represented 12 former law partners in a limited liability partnership in litigation arising from the alleged breach of an office lease following the collapse of the law firm. The landlord sued former general partners of the firm, who in turn sued former “limited liability partners.” The former general partners settled with the landlord in mediation.  Litigation continues between the former general partners and the limited liability partners over what liability, if any, the limited liability partners have for lease obligations.

• MF represented a public company in a case involving the responsibility of a landlord for defective windows in a high-rise office building occupied by the company. The dispute was resolved short of litigation. Another case involved a dispute with a Canadian software vendor that failed to deliver as promised on the client’s project. The dispute was resolved without litigation in mediation.
  
  
• MF successfully defended a prominent Silicon Valley law firm against a claim of legal malpractice, at the same time obtaining a judgment for the firm on its cross-complaint for attorney's fees.

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