Areas of Practice
Complex litigation with an emphasis on antitrust

Representative Experience
Litigation in state and federal courts including Alaska, California, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Washington, D.C. and Washington

Representation of clients before state and federal antitrust enforcement agencies

Representative Cases
East Portland Imaging Center and Body Imaging v. Providence Health System and Providence Health Plan, et al. (9th Cir. 2008). Lead counsel for Providence Health System and its health plan in an antitrust case brought by two outpatient diagnostic imaging centers that were terminated from the plan in favor of two diagnostic imaging joint ventures formed by Providence and community radiologists. The district court granted summary judgment for Providence and the Ninth Circuit affirmed.

Gibson and Weiller v. Providence Health System – Oregon (Multnomah County Circuit Court, Oregon). A putative class action was filed in the Circuit Court of the State of Oregon for Multnomah County in February 2006 against Providence alleging that the theft of backup tapes and optical discs from the car of an employee was negligent and a violation of the Oregon Unfair Trade Practices Act. Plaintiffs sought to certify the case on behalf of a class of 365,000 current and former Providence patients whose patient information was stored on the stolen material. In November 2007, the court granted a motion to dismiss with prejudice and all claims were dismissed.

Hearst Communications, Inc. v. Seattle Times Co. (King County Superior Court, Washington). Lead counsel to the Seattle Times Company in litigation filed by the Hearst Corporation regarding the Joint Operating Agreement under which the Seattle Times Company publishes both the Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The case resulted in a significant opinion in favor of the Times from the state Supreme Court. Hearst Communications, Inc. v. Seattle Times Co., 154 Wn.2d 493, 115 P.3d 262 (2005). The remaining issues were resolved by settlement.

Shannon E. Moran, et al. v. Providence Health System – Washington (Civil, Alaska). Represented Providence in a class action brought claiming that the hospital’s charges to the uninsured were too high. A motion to dismiss with prejudice was granted in 2007.

Turner v. Legacy Health System and Block v. Providence Health System (Multnomah County Circuit Court, Oregon). Represented Legacy and Providence in separate class actions filed in Oregon claiming that the hospitals’ charges to the uninsured were too high. Both cases were settled on favorable terms.

Mill v. Virginia Mason Medical Center (King County Superior Court, Washington). Lead counsel to Virginia Mason in a class action challenging the imposition of a facility fee at its downtown outpatient clinic. Following entry of summary judgment in Virginia Mason’s favor on the claim that such fees were unlawful, the remaining claim regarding disclosure of the fees was settled.

Renton v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan et al. (W.D. Wash. 2001). Represented Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and various other Kaiser entities in a purported class action filed on behalf of Kaiser members nationwide claiming that Kaiser breached fiduciary duties owed under ERISA by failing to disclose to enrollees how physicians are compensated and the internal procedures used to determine the costs of health care. In late 2001, class certification was denied. Plaintiff’s counsel dismissed the complaint with prejudice thereafter.

Daeree, et al. v. Microsoft Corporation (Multnomah County Circuit Court, Oregon). Represented Microsoft Corporation in an antitrust suit defending against a class action brought by purchasers in Oregon of Windows 98. The case was dismissed in June 2000, on Microsoft’s motion to dismiss filed one month after the case was filed.

Van Waters & Rogers v. Shell Chemical Co. (W.D. Wash.). Represented Shell Chemical Company in an antitrust action brought by a former national distributor of Shell’s surfactants alleging that Shell engaged in tying, monopolization and exclusive dealing. Summary judgment was entered in 2000 for Shell on principal claims. Plaintiff then dismissed the remainder of the action without payment by Shell.

Kottle v. Northwest Kidney Centers (9th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1140 (1999). Represented Northwest Kidney Centers (NKC) in an action brought by a physician who sued NKC for monopolization after NKC opposed his application for a certificate of need that would have allowed him to provide competing dialysis services. The district court granted NKC’s motion to dismiss the complaint on grounds that the actions of NKC were protected from the antitrust laws by the First Amendment’s right to petition. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed.

Eureka Urethane, Inc. v. Professional Bowlers Association (E.D. Mo. 1990), aff’d (8th Cir. 1991). Obtained summary judgment for the PBA on all claims in advance of trial. At issue was the question of whether broadcasters and sports organizations must allow professional bowlers participating in a televised sports broadcast to display advertisements on their equipment or apparel. The court ruled that the PBA and NBC could properly prohibit such displays.

Government Investigations
Represented a wide variety of clients in different industries in investigations by the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and various state Attorneys General for possible antitrust violations. Publicly revealed investigations include:

• represented the Seattle Times in a two-year investigation conducted by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice into allegations that the Times had attempted to monopolize the newspaper market in Seattle (the investigation was closed by the Division in 2005 and a press release explaining the Division’s non-action was issued);
• antitrust counsel in Washington to BankAmerica in its acquisition of Security Pacific;
• antitrust counsel to PayLess Drug Stores in its acquisition of Pay ‘N Save Drugstores;
• antitrust counsel to Shell Oil Company in litigation filed by the Attorney General seeking to block the sale of Shell’s western Washington operations to Texaco.

Prior Experience
Three years in the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C.

Professional Recognition
Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers (General Commercial Litigation), 2007; 2008

Named as one of the "Best Lawyers in America" in Health Care Law by Woodward/White, 2001-2008

Selected to "Super Lawyers," Washington Law & Politics, 1999-2008

Professional Activities
Co-Chair, Committee Operations, ABA’s Antitrust Section (supervising activities of all the Section’s committees), 2005-present

Chairman, Health Care Committee, American Bar Association, Antitrust Section, 2001-2004; Vice-Chairman, 1995-2000

Chairman, Consumer Protection and Antitrust Section, Washington State Bar Association, 1995-1996; Executive Committee, 1992-1997

Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Washington Law School, teaching antitrust portion of an advanced law school course

Education
J.D., Columbia School of Law, 1978

• Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar

B.A. in Economics, summa cum laude, Tufts University, 1975