McKnight, Frederick L.

Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Rick McKnight's practice focuses primarily on complex business litigation, including successful bench and jury trials involving antitrust, contract, securities, oil and gas, health care, fraud, intellectual property, business tort, ERISA, entertainment, product liability, bankruptcy, environmental, and tax matters. He has tried cases in such venues as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, Miami, Wilmington, Palm Springs, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Rick also has been active in alternative forms of dispute resolution and has both recovered and defeated substantial punitive damages awards.

In Tellez v. Dole, Rick was the lead lawyer for Dole Food Company in the five-month trial of the claims of Nicaraguan banana workers who alleged their sterility was caused by their exposure to pesticides on Dole's farms during the 1970s. Of the original 42 plaintiffs selected from thousands of claimants worldwide, only four were awarded damages and their aggregate award was less than plaintiffs' costs.

Rick is currently aiding the defense of Yamaha Motor Company in a series of product liability claims throughout the United States relating to alleged rollovers of a recreational utility vehicle.

Rick is Partner-in-Charge of the Los Angeles Office. He frequently lectures on trial and pretrial practice and procedure for the Federal Practice Institute, the Los Angeles Barristers, the Federal Bar Association, the Bankruptcy Judges Conference, the American Bar Association Corporate Counsel Program, and the Los Angeles Complex Court Symposium Program. Rick serves on the board of directors of St. Vincent Medical Center.

Areas of Practice

• Trial Practice
• Securities Litigation & SEC Enforcement
• Antitrust & Competition Law
• Product Liability & Tort Litigation
• Alternative Dispute Resolution & Mediation

Representative Cases

• Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority secures multimillion dollar settlement in dispute over consolidated rail line
• California Health Plan wins summary adjudication defeating Blue Shield's preliminary injunction in contract dispute , (2009)
• Client remains in home of 25 years following a failed unlawful detainer action brought by his landlord
• Desert Hospital wins jury trial in breach of fiduciary duty litigation against two former board of directors , (2009)
• Dole defends against multiple cases alleging pesticide link to field workers' infertility , (2009)
• Dole resolves shareholder class action litigation , (2009)
• Dole successfully defends against trade secret theft claims involving hybrid pineapple , (2009)
• Eileen Roddenberry prevails in jury trial involving "Star Trek" profit participation
• Herrick & Campbell wins summary judgment in litigation arising from purchase and sale of budget motel chain
• LA County wins summary judgment in multi-billion dollar False Claims Act case involving Medicaid funds , (2009)
• Leonard Breslaw wins directed verdict in jury trial
• Los Angeles MTA achieves favorable settlement in contractor dispute , (2009)
• Mellon Bank prevails in $33 million breach of contract action arising from sale of $770 million portfolio of credit card accounts
• PepsiCo obtains summary judgment in action arising from failed investments in South African bottling company
• Yamaha defends nationwide litigation of product liability cases and claims involving the Rhino side-by-side ("SxS") vehicle , (2009)

West Practice Categories

Alcoholic Beverages, Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Antitrust Law, Apparel, Asbestos, Bankruptcy Litigation, Business & Commercial Law, Capital Markets, Chemicals & Cosmetics, Class Actions, Commodities, Complex Litigation, Deceptive Trade Practices, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Claims Court, Federal Trial Practice, Firearms, Food & Agricultural Products, Foreign Investment, International Antitrust, International Trade Litigation, Litigation & Appeals, Machinery & Tools, Medical Products & Devices, Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures, Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures, Military & Veterans Appeals, Motor Vehicle Defects, Multidistrict Litigation, Patent Litigation, Pharmaceutical Products, Private Placements, Products Liability Law, Public Offerings, Recreational Products, RICO Act, Securities Fraud & Insider Trading, Securities Law, Securities Regulation, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, Tax Litigation, Tobacco, Trade Regulation, Unfair Competition, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Supreme Court

Bar Admissions

• California
• New York

Education

• Princeton University
• U of California - Berkeley

Published Works

• The Top 100 and How They Got There, Daily Journal Corporation, 2008

Address

555 South Flower Street
Fiftieth Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071-2300

Phones

1.213.243.2777 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.213.243.2539 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com