Fred Norton

Partner
Oakland

t: 510 874 1007
f: 510 874 1460

fnorton@bsfllp.com

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Areas of Practice

Litigation

Antitrust

Class Actions

Intellectual Property

Investigations / Corporate Governance

Pro Bono

Education

New York University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1999; Order of the Coif; Senior Articles Editor, NYU Law Review

University of Dayton, B.A., cum laude, History, 1993

Clerkships

Hon. M. Blane Michael, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1999-2000

Admissions

California

United States Courts of Appeals: Ninth Circuit

United States District Courts: Central, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of California

Fred Norton is a partner at the Firm. His main practice area is complex civil litigation in a broad range of subject matters, including antitrust, intellectual property, securities, First Amendment, and general commercial disputes.

Mr. Norton's representative clients include American Express, Oracle, Goldman, Sachs & Company, Alliance Films Inc., salesforce,com, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Varian Medical Systems. The notable successes that he has achieved for the Firm's clients include -

Successful representation of Oracle America Corporation in trial of copyright infringement against SAP AG, resulting in a jury verdict of $1.3 billion, the largest copyright verdict ever by a factor of ten (Oracle America Corp. v. SAP AG).
Successful defense of American Express in the trial of a nationwide consumer class action seeking over $500 million for alleged unfair business practices, breach of contract, and conversion in connection with travel insurance services that American Express offers to cardholders (Hoffman v. American Express). After a 14-week bench trial, the court entered judgment in favor of American Express on all claims and ordered the class representatives to pay American Express almost $400,000 in costs.
Successful defense of hedge fund Copper River Partners and its principals against claims of securities fraud and defamation brought by Internet retailer Overstock.com (Overstock.com, Inc. v. Gradient Analytics, Inc. et al.) . At the close of fact discovery, the case settled for the cost of the remaining defense.
Successful representation of individual plaintiff on claims that her late father, other family members, and family advisors had looted a trust established for her sole benefit worth over $100 million, and related litigation in federal court in California and New York, bankruptcy court in Texas, probate court in California, and private arbitration. The case settled on confidential, favorable terms.
Successful defense of the Firm's client in a three-week jury trial in California state court against claims of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of contract arising from the sale of a business. The verdict was a complete victory for the Firm's client, which was also awarded 100% of its attorneys' fees.
Representation of individual in a securities fraud case against a major bank that resulted in the successful Second Circuit appeal,Caiola v. Citibank, N.A., 295 F.3d 312 (2d Cir. 2002) (redefining a "security" to include synthetic options)
As appointed pro bono counsel on appeal, represented a former pre-trial detainee who was deprived of the right to engage in group worship services while held in a California jail. Mr. Norton won reversal of summary judgment on the plaintiff's claims under the Free Exercise Clause and the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (Greene v. Solano County Jail, 513 F.3d 982 (9th Cir. 2008)), continued to represent the plaintiff on remand, and settled on highly favorable terms.

Mr. Norton was named a Northern California "Super Lawyer" in 2011 and a "Rising Star" in the 2009 and 2010 editions of Northern California Super Lawyers. He is a member of the ABA Litigation Section.

Selected Publications and Presentations

Assisted Reproduction and the Frustration of Genetic Affinity: Interest, Injury, and Damages, 74 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 793 (1999)