David B. Farkas
Of CounselDavid B. Farkas is Of Counsel in the Los Angeles office and is a member of the Firm’s business litigation and class action practice groups. David is an experienced litigator who has represented a diverse group of clients (from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies) in high stakes commercial litigation in state and federal courts and arbitrations throughout the country. He assists clients in navigating all stages of litigation, from initial pleadings through trial and appeal. He collaborates with clients, their executives, and in-house counsel to formulate and implement customized litigation strategies that include a tailored approach to their business objectives.
A significant portion of David’s practice focuses on class action defense, and he has successfully defended several dozen class actions, including cases brought under California’s False Advertising Law, Consumer Legal Remedies Act, Unruh Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and the California Invasion of Privacy Law.
EXPERIENCE
- Key member of trial team that obtained a multi-million dollar judgment in March 2022, including treble and punitive damages and attorneys’ fees after a two-week jury trial in Downtown Los Angeles on behalf a U.S. subsidiary of a one of Korea’s largest conglomerates against one of the client’s former sales employees and his wholly-owned companies, who had established a secret fraudulent kickback scheme with some of the client’s suppliers and customers
- First-chaired a three-day arbitration and obtained a complete defense verdict and an award of attorneys’ fees on behalf of an international beauty product company in case alleging breach of distribution agreement and violation of franchise laws
- Obtained a precedent-setting victory for Hilton Grand Vacations Company (“HGV”) via an Eleventh Circuit decision upholding the district court’s summary judgment ruling in HGV’s favor in a putative class action seeking damages ranging from $1.75-$5.25 billion. The Supreme Court denied certiorari review in April 2021
- Represented several major American corporations in defending against putative class actions brought under California's Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), including Hilton Hotels, Best Western, Vantage Hospitality, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Road Runner Sports, Buyers Protection Group, and others for allegedly violating the statute by recording calls without notice. Also represent clients, including major international retailer and a third-party analytics company, in multiple putative class action lawsuits alleging violations of CIPA for purportedly intercepting website visitors’ internet activity. These novel cases are part of a wave of class actions filed by plaintiff firms to expand the reach of California’s and other states’ privacy statutes by targeting businesses for alleged "wiretapping" activity relating to the businesses’ use of various third-party analytics, payment processing, security services, fraud protection, cloud computing, and other services used to power businesses’ websites
- Represented several major American corporations against putative classwide Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) claims involving autodialed telemarketing calls, pre-recorded calls and texts
- After years of hard-fought litigation. settled a privacy class action filed in California against Omni Hotels with damage exposure of over $65 million, for no attorney fees paid and less than $10,000 in consideration to the class
- Obtained denial of class certification in a nationwide putative class action filed in California alleging violation of the TCPA for an international hospitality company
- Prevailed on a special motion to strike complaint brought by ex-husband of client alleging defamation, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, and civil conspiracy
- Successfully obtained summary judgment on behalf of private equity client in connection with a reimbursement provision in contract regarding failed acquisition deal
- Successfully defeated special motion to strike fraud and breach of contract complaint brought on behalf of client in connection with real estate development in New York and obtained favorable settlement of action
- Member of a trial team that obtained a jury verdict of non-infringement for the second-largest Internet content delivery service provider in a lawsuit alleging infringement of more than 100 claims in three patents
- Member of a team that represented an Alabama death row inmate and succeeded in having the trial court invalidate the underlying trial on Constitutional grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel
- J.D., New York University
- M.A., Binghamton University
- B.A., Binghamton University
Awards
- Southern California Super Lawyers – Rising Stars (2014 - 2017)
Seminars
Speaking Engagements
- Speaker, "Lawyer’s Guide to the State of Arbitration in 2020," August 2020
- Speaker, "Legal Ethics for Digital Technology," Global Cyber Institute, September 2019
Memberships And Affiliations
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
