Jeanne A. Fugate

Trade Secrets and Non-Compete Matters

• Defeated an application for preliminary injunction to prohibit an executive from competing against a former employer for a health care client
• Defeated an application for a TRO based on theft of trade secret claim for a health care client
• Obtained a TRO to require defendant to honor choice-of-law and forum-selection provisions in a former executive’s employment agreement
• Defeated a preliminary injunction to prevent competitor company from recruiting, soliciting and hiring plaintiff company’s employees
• Obtained a $6.15 million jury verdict for a leading aircraft supply company after a three-week trial on trade secret misappropriation and other tort claims against a former employee and other competitors
• Successfully defending a former pharmaceutical executive from claims of trade secret misappropriation, defeating a preliminary injunction
• Defended former employees against an internet affiliate company seeking to enforce noncompete agreement. Obtained a writ of supersedeas blocking enforcement of preliminary injunction, motivating settlement

Business and Securities Disputes

• Represented a start-up technology company in lawsuit against component manufacturer alleging $200 million in damages; after serving as lead trial counsel in a two-week trial, obtained a favorable resolution on the eve of post-trial motion briefing
• Represented a health care company in founders’ dispute; after defeating plaintiff-founders’ TRO application and successfully moving the case into arbitration, the case resolved
• Represented former Countrywide president in multidistrict litigation arising from mortgage-backed securities. Obtained the dismissal, with prejudice, of a number of lawsuits at the motion-to-dismiss stage
• Successfully recovered nearly 100 percent of the losses suffered by 23 victims of a Ponzi scheme run through a brokerage firm. Since 2009, Jeanne has represented a group of 23 plaintiffs who were victims of a Ponzi scheme. In 2015, she obtained a favorable settlement from a national brokerage firm in the days before trial. Most recently, she sought and obtained default judgments of more than $3 million for our clients
• Obtained a directed verdict for a registered financial company after a five-day jury trial on a fraud claim arising out of an investment loss
• Handled a class action on behalf of investors who lost money in a complex Ponzi scheme, obtaining more than $17 million in settlements with two major financial institutions and an accounting firm that were alleged to have aided the operators of the financial scheme
• In a corporate embezzlement case against a former employee, successfully recovered approximately $1 million for the client in less than one week

Employment Matters

• On the team that conducted an independent investigation into allegations of abuse and sexual misconduct in the National Women’s Soccer League, as commissioned by the U.S. Soccer Foundation. The report concluded that owners and coaches at all levels of the NWSL had turned a blind eye toward years of reports of abuse from players. Jeanne led the team investigating the role of SafeSport, the group tasked with handling certain player complaints
• Represented six individual defendants in a lawsuit alleging breach of employment obligations and breach of the duty to act fairly and honestly under Russian employment law, seeking $670 million. The court granted dismissal with prejudice. Jeanne’s clients were awarded almost $600,000 in attorneys’ fees.
• Preserved a settlement agreement in a suitable seating PAGA action against a major retailer, defeating a motion for sanctions
• Secured the dismissal of a suitable seating action against major retailer.
• Successfully resolving multiple wrongful termination cases for media clients before trial or arbitration commenced
• Represented a company in an investigation of fatality at work and resolved OSHA investigation into the incident
• Defended employment discrimination claims for an outdoor advertising company, resulting in settlements before any litigation was filed

Family Law

• Represented client in novel action brought under Marvin v. Marvin, 18 Cal. 3d 660 (1976); case resolved on eve of trial after favorable pretrial rulings

Entertainment and Intellectual Property

• Obtained summary judgment in a trademark matter in the Middle District of Florida that was affirmed by the Eleventh Circuit. The court agreed with Jeanne’s argument that the "Elimidate Ironman Challenge" did not infringe the Ironman Triathlon trademarks because the term "ironman" is commonly used to describe persons of unusual endurance and thus the plaintiffs’ marks were entitled only to limited protection
• Defeated summary judgment brought by the Associated Press in litigation relating to Shepard Fairey’s 2008 campaign poster of Barack Obama on behalf of Fairey's exclusive licensee, Obey Clothing, leading to successful resolution of the dispute
• Obtained the affirmance of a judgment after a ten-day bench trial for an outdoor advertising company, allowing the company to continue to operate a billboard and including an award of almost $500,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs
• Achieved a complete defense judgment on behalf of Academy Award-winning actor Robert De Niro. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., which insured the film Hide and Seek in 2003, accused Mr. De Niro of intentionally withholding information about his cancer diagnosis during a cast medical examination. The case was dismissed in favor of Mr. De Niro

Criminal Matters

• Secured the release of an Orthodox Jewish rabbi who had been incarcerated after refusing to testify before the grand jury against other Jewish persons—a case that drew international attention. The rabbi cited the rule of mesira, which imposes on the ultra-Orthodox the religious obligation to refrain from testifying against other Jews. The government eventually agreed to the rabbi’s release seven months after he was incarcerated, a fraction of the maximum eighteen-month term
• Won a complete dismissal of all charges in a groundbreaking and published decision against the client, who was charged in federal court with "harboring" her fugitive husband. The court ruled that federal prosecutors had arrested the client without probable cause to believe a crime had been committed. The client was released and all charges were dismissed seven days after the case was filed by the United States Attorney’s Office

Jeanne Fugate is a go-to partner on trade secrets issues, including all issues surrounding employee mobility, ranging from drafting enforceable employment agreements, to advising clients as to appropriate on-boarding and off-boarding practices, and ultimately to litigating any disputes that may arise from the termination of an employer/employee relationship. In order to litigate trade secrets, non-competes, and other employee mobility claims, lawyers are often called upon to respond quickly to demand letters and to immediately move to draft and/or defend against requests for TROs and preliminary injunctions. Jeanne, a journalist before law school, excels at this fast-paced practice. 

Jeanne is a first-chair trial lawyer, handling all phases of litigation in state and federal courts and in domestic and international arbitration. Jeanne has a stellar record of success on TROs, injunctions, summary judgment, trial, and appeal, including obtaining a multi-million verdict as lead trial counsel in a three-week trade secret misappropriation and unfair competition trial. Jeanne has successfully defended jury and bench verdicts before courts of appeal on numerous dispositive motions including motions to dismiss, summary judgment motions, and anti-SLAPP motions. 

Jeanne served as the editor-in-chief of UNC-Chapel Hill’s daily newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel.