In 2011, Stuart Gross formed the firm that would become Gross Klein PC, after successful tenures at an international corporate law firm, in New York, and a complex plaintiff’s side law firm, in Burlingame, California.
Since then, the firm has established a track record of taking on, and winning, complex and difficult cases, frequently against the nation’s largest law firms and most prominent offices of the United States Attorney and states’ attorneys general. Examples include:
PG&E Manufactured Gas Plant Contamination - Successful prosecution of contamination cases, in the Northern District of California, on behalf of numerous homeowners and commercial fishers against PG&E arising out of historical manufactured gas plant (“MGP”) contamination in the Marina and Fisherman’s Wharf neighborhoods of San Francisco and areas offshore thereof. The cases have resulted in: the recovery for homeowners of tens of millions of dollars in consideration; a multi-year PG&E-funded joint investigation of the subject contamination; two consent decrees that together will result in the cleanup of the subject offshore and onshore contamination and that required PG&E pay $4.2 million to fund environmental programs to mitigate the harm the contamination causes, including a highly successful herring permit retirement program; and an order establishing PG&E’s responsibility for the contamination from a certain MGP, for which it has denied responsibility for more than 100 years. Published decisions include: 501 F. Supp. 3d 774 (N.D. Cal. 2020); 81 F. Supp. 3d 847 (N.D. Cal. 2015).
Fund.com Inc. v. Advisorshares Investments, LLC – Successful prosecution of freeze-out claims, in New York Supreme Court’s complex division, on behalf of a seed investor in a financial services company. Attained a settlement worth over $5 million during the pendency of cross-motions for summary judgment.
Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians v. Crosby — Successful representation of Indian tribe in actions, in the Eastern District of California, against former executives, including the tribe’s former treasurer, arising from an over decade-long scheme to embezzle tens of millions of dollars from the tribe. Representation included close cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice and resulted in criminal sentences of 57 months for two former officials and 41 months for another and the recovery of millions in restitution.
Crooked Goat Brewing v. Barlow Star — Successful prosecution, in Sonoma Superior Court, of claims by multiple businesses against their landlord for failure to provide legally required flood protection. The case settled for several million dollars after the firm’s defeat of a motion for summary judgment based on exculpatory provisions in client leases.
Cramer v. Elements Mountain Company — Successful prosecution, as co-lead counsel on behalf of a class of Tahoe Donner homeowners, of price-fixing claims, in Nevada County Superior Court, related to snow removal services. The case settled for several millions of dollars in consideration for class members.
Bair v. Caltrans | Lotus v. Caltrans – Successful prosecution, in parallel federal and California state court actions, of environmental law claims arising out of plans to expand a United States Highway through ancient redwoods of Richardson Grove State Park. Published decisions include: 867 F.Supp.2d 1058 (N.D. Cal. 2012) and 223 Cal. App. 4th 645 (2014).
Iness Solutions v. Cisco Systems — Successful defense of a former executive and his wife, in Santa Clara Superior Court, against claims by his former employer, Cisco Systems, arising out of alleged procurement misconduct. Working closely with the executive’s criminal defense attorneys, we leveraged the civil case to attain a highly favorable result for the executive in a related criminal proceeding in the Northern District of California and settled the civil claims by Cisco against the executive and his wife for very favorable terms.
Kwak v. French Laundry Partners — Successful prosecution, in JAMS arbitration, of freeze-out claims of a former partner of Thomas Keller and the French Laundry in a consumer products business. Arbitration award required return to our client of canceled interest in the venture; subsequent favorable confidential settlement reached.
In re Gerova Securities — Successful defense of former executive in multi-district securities class action, consolidated in Southern District of New York, arising out of hedge fund redemption-related transactions. Achieved dismissal of the executive from the suit at the pleading stage and successfully negotiated his final, complete, class-wide release from all claims and insurance coverage for civil and criminal defense.
Paskenta Enterprises Corporation v. Cottle — Successful prosecution, in the District of Utah, of fraud claims by a tribal business against a healthcare company and its former executive. The case resulted in a substantial settlement for the tribal business.
Souza v. Caltrans – Successful prosecution of federal environmental claims against Caltrans and the National Marine Fisheries Service, in the Northern District of California, arising out of plans to expand a United States Highway along the Smith River in Northern California. The Smith River is the nation’s longest designated Wild and Scenic River, is the only major river in California that has never been dammed and is home to California’s healthiest runs of Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead. The litigation has resulted in the project’s halt since 2014.
Pac Rim Cayman v. Republic of El Salvador — Successful representation of El Salvadoran local communities, as amici curiae, in a suit at the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes by a Canadian mining company’s U.S. subsidiary against the government of El Salvador under the international investment provisions of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Achieved first-ever consideration of amicus curiae submission by CAFTA panel, which supported an ultimately successful jurisdictional motion by the government of El Salvador.
Hunt v. Martin — Successful representation of technology company founder in freeze-out litigation, in Delaware Chancery Court. The case resulted in the retraction of for-cause termination of the founder and return to him of ownership interest.
Behera v. Ark.com — Successful defense of wrongful termination and wage and hour claims originally seeking $500,000 in damages, resulting in zero-dollar settlement during the pendency of summary judgment briefing.
Huani v. Donziger — Successful defense of New York attorney in defense of action brought by South American claimants, in the Southern District of New York, challenging distribution of proceeds from environmental litigation. Achieved complete dismissal on motion to dismiss.
JATAM v. Republic of Indonesia — Successful representation of Indonesian local communities and international environmental organizations in defense of a ban on open-pit mining in Indonesia’s protected forests in the face of threats by international mining companies. Litigation before the Indonesia Constitutional Court resulted in the partial overturning of the government’s reversal of the ban.
Gross Klein PC provides its clients with intelligent, efficient, result-oriented representation. Our representation of both plaintiffs and defendants provides the firm’s attorneys with broad experience and a unique perspective on the litigation process. We know what motivates our opponents, and this informs not just our courtroom strategy, but also our approach to negotiation and settlement. This unique perspective, as well as a tenacious commitment to achieving our clients’ objectives, is the foundation of our firm’s representation, resulting in highly successful outcomes for our clients.