Kristen Bird

Biography

Kristen Bird joined Quinn Emanuel in 2001 and became a partner in 2006. She handles a broad range of complex commercial litigation in federal and state courts – with particular experience in antitrust and unfair competition, structured finance and securities, intellectual property, mass torts, entertainment, and trade secrets.

Representative Clients

In antitrust, pricing, and unfair competition cases, Ms. Bird has represented J.G. Wentworth, The Scotts Company, Shell Oil and various of its gasoline and natural gas subsidiaries, and The Coca-Cola Company, among others.
Other clients include PG&E, PIMCO, Western Asset Management, MassMutual Life Insurance Company, Sempra Energy, San Diego Gas & Electric, The Hudson Group, TOUSA, Inc., Elvis Presley Enterprises, Ticketmaster, and Enron.

Notable Representations

Represented PG&E in defense of mass tort action involving claims of subrogated insurers, government entities, and homeowners asserting over $2 billion in claimed property and other damages; successfully resolved over 2,800 homeowners’ lawsuits seeking uninsured losses.
Obtained reversal and dismissal of all claims for punitive damages from the California Court of Appeal in Pacific Gas and Electric Company v. Superior Court, following denial by the trial court of a summary judgment motion.
Obtained dismissal at the pleading stage of a monopolization and Lanham Act case against J.G. Wentworth and Peachtree Financial Solutions in the Central District of California stemming from J.G. Wentworth’s acquisition of Peachtree and subsequent marketing practices; dismissal was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit in Novation Ventures, LLC v. The J.G. Wentworth Company, LLC.
Represented PIMCO, Western Asset Management, and dozens of other investors asserting securities claims in the Southern District of New York against Brazilian oil company Petrobras relating to the revelation of a bribery and corruption scandal; successfully resolved all claims as part of $353 million reported settlement.
Represented MassMutual Life Insurance Company in over a dozen cases against banks and mortgage companies related to misrepresentations in the sale of approximately $1.5 billion in residential mortgage-backed securities.
Represented San Diego Gas & Electric and Sempra Energy in defense of over $2 billion in property damage claims arising from 2007 San Diego Wildfires, settled over $1 billion of subrogation claims by 120 property insurers and over 2,000 homeowners' lawsuits for uninsured losses and related damages; and obtained more than half a billion dollars in settlements from three cross-defendants before trial.
Defeated class certification of two proposed classes (one with more than 500,000 potential claimants) in actions arising from the San Diego Wildfires; obtained affirmance of both rulings on appeal, and won related appeal preventing any class-action tolling for follow-on individual claims.
Represented oil company in a jury trial in California Superior Court against claims of fraud and punitive damages after remand by the Court of Appeals following a prior $60 million punitive damages verdict; on retrial, jury denied punitive damages and awarded only compensatory damages in exact amount our client conceded was due plaintiff.
Obtained favorable settlement for natural gas entity in California antitrust class action and related opt-out cases relating to claims of conspiracy to manipulate natural gas and electricity markets following a related CFTC investigation and fines.
Obtained appellate ruling that client had not waived attorney-client privilege by disclosing information to U.S. Attorney and other federal agencies because the disclosure was coerced by the government.
Obtained judgment in favor of the Academy of Television and Sciences following a three-week arbitration involving the Academy’s right to award Emmy Awards to online programming.
Obtained judgment as a matter of law for wholesale price discrimination claims following a four-week jury trial in federal court in California.
Defended oil company against claims by over 50 franchise dealers alleging fraud, violations of Business & Professions Code Section 17200, secret rebates, and price discrimination.
Obtained a preliminary and permanent injunction for Elvis Presley Enterprises to stop the production and distribution of a nine-volume expose on the life of Elvis Presley, affirmed by the Ninth Circuit in Elvis Presley Enterprises, et al. v. Passport Productions.
Obtained summary judgment on antitrust claims brought against a major lawn and garden manufacturer, and obtained affirmances in both the Sixth and Ninth Circuit.
Obtained emergency stay of injunction from the Ninth Circuit in litigation arising from California energy crisis.
Obtained preliminary injunction prohibiting client's competitor from soliciting its customers.
Represented motion picture studio during highly publicized three-month trial in connection with a $580 million claim brought by a former executive.