Source: http://www.markowitzherbold.com/attorneys/Paul-Bierly
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 04:27:56+00:00

Document:
What do Peter Parker, Clark Kent and Paul Bierly have in common? They all disguise their superpowers behind a mild-mannered, congenial demeanor. In the world of litigation where the stakes are high, deadlines are tight, and cases are often won or lost on written briefing, Paul is an unflappable force and potent weapon.
Paul focuses his practice on brief writing for complex litigation and appeals. He has authored countless briefs and motions that resulted in favorable opinions and outcomes for clients. Paul has also consistently obtained favorable appellate judgments for clients in the Oregon and Washington Courts of Appeal, as well as in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is part of Markowitz Herbold’s Appellate Group.
Representing a family-owned ranch in Southern Oregon against claims by minority shareholders; successfully obtained a reversal in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Representing a widow who sued for benefits under an accidental death insurance policy; successfully obtained a reversal in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Representing a construction company in its efforts to obtain insurance coverage for an on-site accident; successfully obtained a reversal in the Washington Court of Appeals.
Representing one faction of a closely-held family company after the family entered into a settlement agreement; successfully obtained an affirmance in the Oregon Court of Appeals that the agreement was enforceable.
Representing a prominent commercial real estate appraiser against claims for professional negligence related to a business property appraisal; successfully settled the dispute on terms favorable to client before a ruling by the Oregon Court of Appeals.
Representing a widow in a suit against an insurance company that had denied claims under a life insurance policy; insurer paid policy limits after oral argument in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Paul is also the firm’s go-to lawyer when clients need advice on insurance disputes. He literally wrote the book, the Oregon Bar’s Continuing Legal Education binder, on how insurance policies should be construed in Oregon.
After obtaining his law degree, Paul clerked for the Alaska State Courts, and then for Judge H. Russell Holland of the United State District Court for the District of Alaska. While there, he gained experience on such diverse matters as Indian sovereignty rights, admiralty law, savings and loan defaults and corporate bankruptcies. Before joining the firm in 2000, Paul practiced at another leading Northwest law firm where he worked on a wide variety of cases, ranging from the Exxon Valdez case and tobacco litigation to small pro bono disputes. In addition to his regular practice, Paul served as a member of the Oregon Board of Bar Examiners from 2001 to 2004.
Away from the office, Paul has enjoyed participating in Olympic-style weightlifting for over a decade. In addition, he is a certified judge for the USA Weightlifting Federation. He organizes and runs meets, and judges Olympic-style weightlifting competitions several times a year in the Pacific Northwest.
Leslee Scallon, et al. v. Henry Enterprises, Inc.
Represented a small, family-owned ranch and vineyard in Southern Oregon. Minority owners of the closely-held company brought shareholder derivative claims against the company and some of the majority shareholders. The majority members exercised their statutory right to buy out the plaintiffs' shares in the company. The trial court concluded that the statutory buy-out remedy did not apply in shareholder derivative suits. We obtained a reversal of that ruling in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that the statutory buy-out remedy applies in both direct shareholder suits and derivative shareholder suits.
Represented utility company in a series of multi-million-dollar customer disputes over billing, compliance with rate schedule and electricity exchange program. Resolved prior to trial.
Rex R. Scoggins, et al. v. Douglas A. Nidiffer, et al.
Successfully defended President and Chief Executive Officer of C&K Market, Inc. against claims for breach of fiduciary duty and alleged minority shareholder oppression, among other things. Case successfully settled in favor of our client.
Markowitz Herbold successfully defeated all legal malpractice claims against its client in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. Plaintiff alleged that it suffered $60 million in damages when an arbitrator enforced an oral, unsigned settlement agreement which led to the dismissal of Lanham Act, warranty, contract, and tort claims in California. Judge Hernandez dismissed the legal malpractice claim with prejudice on all counts, ruling that the claims had no merit because plaintiff could not prove causation as a matter of law.
Trustmark Insurance Company v. C&K Market, Inc.
Defended C&K Market against contract rescission claims brought by its self-funded pension plan’s stop loss insurance provider. Case was successfully settled.
Mlodinoff v. Sony Online Entertainment et al.
Represented three Sony companies and Best Buy against multi-million dollar product liability claims for design defect and failure to warn arising from on-line computer game. Settled after defendants filed summary judgment motions.
Successfully obtained a permanent injunction for iovation, enforcing a noncompetition provision in an employment agreement.
Successfully represented Boyd Coffee Company in a wage and hour class action in Washington State.
Represented widow to recover death benefits on life insurance policy in claim against insurer. Prevailed on appeal.
Oregon Public Employees' Retirement Board v. Simat, Helliesen & Eichner, et al.
Represented Oregon public employee pension fund in claims against financial investment advisor for malpractice and against developers for fraud and piercing the corporate veil arising from multimillion dollar investment in aircraft maintenance facility. Financial investment advisor settled prior to trial. Trial court entered judgment against developer for the pension fund, and Court of Appeals affirmed $34.5 million judgment to pierce the corporate veil based on corporate assets. Settled on petitions for review to Oregon Supreme Court.
Represented insurer against claims for long term disability benefits under ERISA. Obtained summary judgment in favor of insurer overcoming arguments that the California insurance commissioner had disapproved of discretionary clauses in insurance contracts.
Obtained declaratory judgment that union's grievances over 401(k) losses sustained from the collapse of Enron were not subject to grievance and arbitration procedures. The Oregon Court of Appeals dismissed the IBEW's appeal.
Columbia Helicopters, Inc. v. Carson Helicopters, Inc.
Represented Columbia Helicopters in a case to enforce a contractual indemnity obligation involving the tragic death and maiming of 14 men when a helicopter operated by Carson Helicopters crashed in the Shasta National Forest during firefighting operations. We obtained a summary judgment ruling that required Carson to indemnify Columbia for defense costs associated with lawsuits arising from the crash. Carson appealed the ruling on its indemnity obligation and the Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s opinion.
Mukesh R. Patel, et al. v. Alkesh Patel, et al.
Digimarc Corporation v. IV Digital Multimedia Inventions, LLC, et al.
Represented Digimarc Corporation in an arbitration concerning disputes relating to calculation of potential profit sharing payments under Digimarc’s patent license with licensee Intellectual Ventures. The parties resolved all matters pending in the arbitration. The terms of the settlement are confidential.
Represented clients in a bench trial on a petition to reopen the estate of the clients’ deceased brother, who they suspected had been financially abused by the personal representative of the estate. The court held that the personal representative’s conduct “shocked the conscience” and local prosecutors then used the trial record to secure a felony conviction against the personal representative.
Represented an accomplished appraiser of commercial real estate in the Oregon Court of Appeals. Client had been hired by a prospective purchaser of a large tract of land to review an appraisal of the property. When the prospective purchaser declined to buy the land, the seller sued client for intentional interference with business relations and breach of contract under a third-party beneficiary theory. Another law firm represented our client in the trial court, and referred the case to the firm for the appeal. We found a favorable way to resolve the dispute before the Court of Appeals issued a ruling.
In a related suit, Markowitz Herbold sued the appraiser’s insurance brokers after they failed to procure appropriate liability insurance for him. The insurance dispute was resolved quickly on favorable terms through an informal document exchange and mediation.
Defended community bank against contract, negligence and Uniform Commercial Code claims arising from $5 million embezzlement by plaintiff's financial controller. Successfully defeated negligence claims on summary judgment. Obtained jury verdict for the bank on all remaining claims after three-week trial.
Kassab v. Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance Co.
Represented estate to recover death benefits on life insurance policy in claim against insurer. Settled following appellate argument.
Represented Digimarc and asserted breach of contract claim in federal court against Verance related to Verance's alleged failure to make payments under a patent license agreement. Successfully opposed defendant’s motion to compel arbitration and defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment. After the court granted, in part, client’s motion for partial summary judgment and while a second motion for summary judgment in favor of Digimarc was pending, successfully settled the case with Verance agreeing to pay Digimarc $8 million for amounts due under the patent license plus continuing royalties.
Truck Ins. Exchange v. BRE Properties, Inc.
Represented construction company to obtain insurance coverage for worksite injury from insurer. Prevailed on appeal.
Represented Boyd Coffee Company in a jury trial defending a three million dollar claim for breach of contract, tortious interference and theft of trade secrets by a marketing company providing volume purchasing services to ExxonMobil dealers in the western United States. Representation resulted in a defense verdict in a bifurcated trial and a favorable settlement on the remaining claims after trial.

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