THOMAS M.
FERLAUTO, born Long Beach, California, July 1, 1966; admitted to
bar, 1991, California and U.S. District Court, Northern, Southern,
Eastern and Central Districts of California; U.S. District Court,
District of Arizona. Education:
University of
Texas at Austin (B.S., with honors. 1987; J.D., 1990).
Member:
AAJ
American Association For Justice.
PRACTICE AREAS: State and
Federal Litigation; Consumer Class Action Litigation; Business
Litigation; anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public
Participation); Defamation; Employment Law; Insurance; Real Estate;
Intellectual Property; Entertainment.
Mr. Ferlauto is
currently representing a wide range of clients (including doctors,
lawyers, interior designers, construction companies, patients,
employees, insureds, home owners, etc.) in a wide variety of civil
litigation. He is also representing consumers in proposed class
action lawsuits against INTEL concerning anti-competitive behavior
harming the consumer, DIRECTV concerning the resolution and bit
rate of its high definition video broadcast service, and MENU FOODS
concerning the tainted pet foods that recently killed and injured
cats and dogs across the country. Mr. Ferlauto's prior successes
include the following:
•
Litigation and appeal concerning the terms of DIRECTV's customer
agreement. This lawsuit challenged the enforceability of the
arbitration provision located in DIRECTV's customer agreement which
prohibited class and representative actions. In Cohen v.
DIRECTV (2006) 142
Cal.App.4th 1442, the California Court of Appeals found the
arbitration provision was unconscionable and not enforceable. The
Court refused to enforce DIRECTV's arbitration provision,
permitting the proposed class action to proceed.
•
Litigation and negotiation of a settlement of a nationwide class
action lawsuit against RALPHS GROCERY COMPANY concerning its
defunct Great Escape Promotion. This lawsuit was based on Ralphs'
failure to give qualifying customers a free two night hotel stay as
promised under the terms of its promotion. This settlement provided
a remedy to over 300,000 customers across the State of California,
providing class members certificates worth $108 in free groceries
for each time they qualified under the promotion. Thus, the
settlement had a potential value to consumers in excess of
$30,000,000.00.
•
Litigation and negotiation of a settlement of a nationwide class
action lawsuit against APPLE COMPUTER, INC. concerning its
operating system Mac OS X. This lawsuit was based on Apple's
failure to adequately support the video graphic acceleration
hardware in Apple's Mac G3 computer systems. This settlement
provided a remedy to over 80,000 computer users across the country,
including a full refund of the purchase price of $129.00 per
person. Thus, the settlement had a potential value to consumers in
excess of $10,000,000.00.
• Litigation and trial of a Federal copyright lawsuit on
behalf of Plaintiff, a video producer. This jury trial resulted in
a verdict in favor of the Plaintiff and awarded him injunctive
relief and monetary damages.
• Litigation and negotiation of a confidential settlement of a
breach of contract and fraud lawsuit for a motion picture director
against the producers of the motion picture NATURAL BORN
KILLERS.
• Litigation and negotiation of a confidential settlement of a
breach of contract, fraud and business tort lawsuit against Frank
and SYLVESTER STALLONE on behalf of the producers of the motion
picture THE GOOD LIFE.
• Litigation and negotiation of a confidential settlement of a
high profile defamation lawsuit against self-proclaimed plastic
surgeon to the stars, DR. STEVEN M. HOEFFLIN. In connection with
this case, Mr. Ferlauto managed to have the Court's gag order
reversed in a published decision by the California Court of Appeal
(Hurvitz v. Hoefflin (2000) 84 Cal.App.4th 1232 , 101 Cal.Rptr.2d
558) This case is widely cited in California jurisprudence on the
Court's ability to restrict the free speech of
litigants.