Stephen E. Morrissey

Morrissey has a long history of representing individual entrepreneurs, investors, and smaller companies in “David v. Goliath” battles against big companies and their large teams of lawyers from some of the finest defense firms in the country.

• Lamar v. Beats Electronics, Dr. Dre. and Jimmy Iovine. Morrissey was co-lead counsel in a breach of contract case on behalf of entrepreneur Steven Lamar and his company, Jibe Audio, involving a claim for royalties on the iconic Beats headphones products.  In 2018, Morrissey’s trial team won a jury verdict that confirmed Lamar’s right to royalties on Beats headphones and would result in a judgment worth more than $50 million for past damages, interest, ongoing royalties, and attorneys’ fees. The case settled for a confidential amount in 2019.
• Peak Hosting v. Machine Zone. Morrissey was co-lead counsel to Peak Hosting in its breach-of-contract and business tort lawsuit against Machine Zone, Inc.—a Silicon Valley giant and purveyor of two of the most popular mobile games, “Mobile Strike” and “Game of War.” The matter was settled on confidential terms in late 2017.
• Masimo v. Tyco. Morrissey first won a $420 million jury verdict (after trebling) in an antitrust case based on Tyco Healthcare Group’s monopolization of the market for pulse oximetry products. After the trial court upheld the liability findings and ordered a new trial on damages, Morrissey and his team then won again, with the trial court entering a judgment for $43.5 million in damages (after trebling), plus attorneys’ fees, in June 2007. Masimo ultimately was awarded $58.9 million after another win affirming the judgment in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
• PSI v. IBM. Morrissey was one of the lead lawyers responsible for the representation of startup mainframe computer manufacturer Platform Solutions, Inc. in prosecuting multi-hundred million dollar antitrust claims against IBM, and in defending PSI against patent infringement, copyright, and trade secrets claims brought by PSI, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Morrissey also coordinated PSI’s prosecution of competition claims against IBM in the EU. In July 2008, the case settled on confidential terms in June 2008; as part of the settlement, PSI was acquired by IBM.

High-Impact Environmental Litigation

• Flint Water Crisis Litigation. Morrissey is a member of the Executive Committee and chairs the Expert Committee in complex litigation stemming from the contamination of the Flint, Michigan water distribution system with highly corrosive water following the April 2014 switch to a new water supply. On behalf of a proposed class of Flint residents, Morrissey has helped shape the legal strategy for challenging the conduct of private engineering firms and government officials and seeking compensation for the injuries resulting from lead poisoning, property damage, and other injuries resulting from the highly corrosive water. To date, Morrissey’s team has secured court-approved settlements valued at $626 million with multiple governmental defendants, including the state of Michigan. Litigation continues against other defendants, including two private engineering firms charged with professional negligence
• Cape Fear GenX/PFAS Litigation. Morrissey is Co-Lead Interim Class Counsel in a proposed class action lawsuit against DuPont and Chemours in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The case seeks relief on behalf of thousands of North Carolinians who have been harmed by decades of discharges by DuPont and Chemours of GenX and other toxic PFAS chemicals by DuPont and Chemours into the water supply in the Cape Fear River basin. Click here or here for coverage on this news.

High-Profile Class Actions

• Flo & Eddie v. Sirius XM. Morrissey is Co-Lead counsel for 1970’s music group, The Turtles, and a class of owners of pre-1972 recordings in a certified class action lawsuit against Sirius XM that settled less than 48 hours before the jury trial was scheduled to begin. Sirius XM agreed to pay at least $25.5 million (over $16 million after fees and expenses) and royalties under a 10-year license that is valued up to $62 million (over $41 million after fees and expenses) as compensation for publicly performing without a license Pre-1972 sound recordings. The settlement was approved by the Court, and has received widespread media coverage from publications such as The New York Times, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Law360, Rolling Stone, Variety, Reuters and Managing IP. An appeal that could result in additional compensation remains ongoing in the Ninth Circuit.
• Ferrick v. Spotify. In 2017, Morrissey was one of the lead lawyers that helped secure a $43.45 million cash fund (final amount after fees and expenses to be determined) and an agreement to pay future royalties estimated to be worth more than $65 million to settle a class-action lawsuit with Spotify brought on behalf of music copyright owners. The suit alleged that Spotify made music available online without securing mechanical rights from the tracks’ composers.
• White v. NCAA. Morrissey was one of the lead lawyers responsible for the pioneering litigation and settlement in this antitrust class action in the Central District of California that paved the way for subsequent antitrust challenges to NCAA restrictions on the rights of student athletes. The parties reached a settlement that was approved by the Court in August 2008 where the NCAA made $218 million over five years available to provide additional benefits for student-athletes, revised its rules to allow member schools to provide student athletes with comprehensive year-round health insurance, and created a $10 million fund to cover educational and professional development expenses incurred by members of the class.

Defense-Side Wins

• FSG Services LLC. v. Flutter Entertainment. Secured a favorable award for Flutter Entertainment when an arbitrator in New York nearly doubled the exercise price its opponent, FOX Corporation, sought for its option to acquire 18.6% of Flutter’s portfolio company, FanDuel Group. This high stakes, high profile arbitration resulted from FOX’s assertion that it should be entitled to the same price Flutter paid for its share of FanDuel two years before the arbitration took place – $2.1 billion, with an implied company valuation of $11.2 billion. The arbitrator, however, found that FOX’s payment must be based on a substantially higher FanDuel valuation of $20 billion it was hoping for, plus an additional 5% interest per year. At the time of the decision, this equated to a valuation for FanDuel of $22 billion and an option exercise price of $4.1 billion for FOX — nearly twice the amount that FOX argued it should be required to pay. The arbitrator also rejected FOX’s claim that Flutter had not provided commercially reasonable resources to the Fox Bet business. Read more.
• Parvin v. CNA. Morrissey was hired by CNA to take over the defense of a case in the District of Oregon three months before the scheduled trial. The plaintiff, who claimed that a breach of his medical malpractice insurance policy had resulted in tens of millions of dollars in business losses, had already defeated summary judgment. Morrissey successfully persuaded the court to reconsider its ruling and won the case on a renewed motion for summary judgment.