Forrest Hainline, a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department, is one of the country’s most experienced trial lawyers. He has tried cases before courts and juries throughout the United States, as well as before the Federal Trade Commission and other administrative agencies in Washington, D.C. Mr. Hainline joined Goodwin Procter in 2006.
WORK FOR CLIENTS
Mr. Hainline has tried cases in wide-ranging areas of the law, including products liability, environment, antitrust, securities, employment issues, false advertising, construction, patent, trademark and media law. Many of his cases have involved the presentation of complex scientific and/or economic evidence. Mr. Hainline has often been retained as trial counsel in “crisis litigation” – where a case has been initially handled by others. He has appeared in the Supreme Court of the United States and has argued before seven United States Courts of Appeals.
Some of Mr. Hainline’s recent trial work includes:
- Represented the former CEO and the former Chief Wine Maker of Joseph Phelps Vineyards in a dispute over his clients’ ownership in the winery. Mr. Hainline obtained an award of more than $24 million for his clients.
- Currently representing Four Seasons in disputes concerning the management of two Four Seasons hotels.
- Represented the major canned tuna manufacturers (Del Monte/Starkist, Bumblebee and Chicken of the Sea) in a case brought by the California Attorney General under California’s Proposition 65 concerning warnings for mercury in tuna. The court issued its ruling finding that Proposition 65 warnings for canned tuna were preempted by federal law, and that in any event, the levels of methyl-mercury in canned tuna did not violate Proposition 65. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s judgment.
- Currently representing Pepperidge Farm in a series of cases around the country in which distributors are challenging the Pepperidge Farm consignment agreement.
- Represented Campbell Soup Company in a patent case claiming ownership of Campbell’s IQ Maximizer shelving system. In public statements to investors, Campbell had identified the IQ Maximizer as an essential element in its plan to regain the profitability of Campbell’s soup business. After the court allowed Campbell to file a Walker Process counterclaim, based upon Mr. Hainline’s deposition of the plaintiff, the matter settled for nuisance value, with Campbell’s ownership of the patent secured.
- Represented Roxane Pharmaceuticals in a case challenging the Novartis patent for the branded form of oxcarbazepine.
- Representing DealerTrack in a patent infringement case against two of the company’s competitors in the auto-finance industry.
- Representing Silgan Container Corporation in several cases arising from environmental issues connected to an Indiana site that Alcoa sold to Silgan.
- Represented Gillette in a false advertising case against Philips/Sonicare, which had advertised that Gillette’s Braun Oral-B electric toothbrush was more abrasive than the Sonicare, and that the Braun Oral-B increased bacteria beneath the gumline. After a four-week jury trial, all Sonicare’s challenged advertisements were enjoined and Sonicare recovered nothing on its counterclaim. Although Gillette had record profits on the Braun Oral-B during the pendency of the false ads, the jury awarded Gillette more than $4 million in damages.
- Represented Campbell Soup Company in state court in South Carolina in a case brought by local growers suing for the substantial value of their investments after the company closed its poultry processing plant. The case was tried to a jury, which returned a verdict for Campbell on both plaintiffs’ claims and on Campbell’s counterclaim for plaintiffs’ breach of the integration clause in the contract.
- Represented Casera Foods in a fraud and breach of contract case brought in state court in Miami by a Cuban-American refugee. The jury returned a verdict for Casera on all plaintiff’s claims.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Mr. Hainline is the Chair of Standing Committee on Professional Conduct for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He is also a member of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association, and the Food and Supplements Subcommittee.
BAR AND COURT ADMISSIONS
Mr. Hainline is admitted to practice in California, Michigan and the District of Columbia.
RECOGNITION
Mr. Hainline has been recognized as a “California Super Lawyer,” and is listed in The Legal 500 as a leading lawyer, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and The Best Lawyers in America.
Mr. Hainline believes that a trial lawyer has to combine the skills of a priest, poet and prize fighter. At Notre Dame, he studied theology under John Dunne and Henry Nouwen and philosophy with Joseph Evans. At SUNY Buffalo, he studied poetry with Robert Creeley, Irving Feldman and Lionel Abel. Mr. Hainline has studied the Japanese martial art of Aikido for thirty years, and has a third degree black belt. He apprenticed as a trial lawyer under Moses Lasky.