John Nadolenco

John Nadolenco’s civil litigation practice focuses on high-stakes cases and class action defense, including defending consumer class actions, and employment and antitrust cases. John is handling several high-profile cases.

He has been lead counsel in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, which the United States Supreme Court decided in our client’s favor, making it harder for plaintiffs to bring no-injury lawsuits.

Some said the case implicated “the future of consumer class actions” because the case raised whether simply alleging the violation of a statute was sufficient to confer Article III standing, as many plaintiffs in Internet privacy, cybersecurity and numerous other types of cases allege. Indeed, John has spent much of his career developing creative defenses used to defeat class actions.

Along those lines, John recently represented Facebook in several cases alleging privacy violations under a state biometrics law. He also defended Volkswagen in dozens of putative class actions alleging the company improperly installed emissions-defeat devices on some of its diesel cars. And John represents the Country of Brazil in its effort to capture the infamous 840-pound Bahia Emerald. John’s efforts in that case have made international and national headlines.

More particularly, John has defended companies in cases alleging improper consumer charges and practices, false and misleading advertising, defective products, unauthorized call recording under California’s Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Internet privacy violations and improper tracking via computer-based cookies and improper use of smartphone and tablet applications (apps).

John has extensive experience defending wage-hour cases, including cases alleging meal-period, rest-period and off-the-clock violations, as well as claims alleging incorrect pay statements and waiting-time and other penalties.

John also has extensive experience drafting and enforcing consumer and employee arbitration provisions, privacy policies, terms of use and social-media policies. John served as co-editor of Mayer Brown’s The Social Media Revolution: A Legal Handbook.

Education :

• American University Washington College of Law, JD, summa cum laude
• University of Arizona, BA, summa cum laude

Admissions :

• California
• US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• US District Court for the Central District of California
• US District Court for the Northern District of California
• US District Court for the Southern District of California
• US District Court for the Eastern District of California

Activities :

• Los Angeles County Bar Association
• Member of the Board of Governors for the Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ABTL), Los Angeles, since 2005

Experience :

• In re Volkswagen.  Defended VW in dozens of California federal and state putative class actions alleging that the company improperly installed emissions-defeat devices on some of its diesel cars.
• In re Bahia Emerald. Representing the country of Brazil—before state and federal courts, and before numerous federal agencies—in its effort to repatriate the infamous 840-pound Bahia Emerald. The case has drawn a significant amount of international and national media attention.  Succeeded in working with U.S. Department of Justice to seize the Emerald pending criminal proceedings in Brazil.
• Smith v. Facebook, No. 16-1282 (N.D. Cal.): Defending Facebook in a case alleging that Facebook obtained their communications with various healthcare-related websites through the use of cookies, and then used that information for marketing purposes.
• Saunders v. StubHub, (S.F. Superior). Defending company against claims that it improperly recorded customer-service calls in violation of California’s Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA).
• City of Los Angeles v. AT&T (L.A. Superior). Defended company in bench trial over whether AT&T’s U-Verse television service violated California’s Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006 (DIVCA).
• Garland Center v. AT&T (L.A. Superior). Defended company against claims that it was required to pay for space and power in a telecommunications “carrier hotel.”
• Selby v. AT&T Mobility (Orange County Superior Court, Complex Panel). Obtained judgment on the pleadings, prior to certification stage, based on argument that AT&T did not seek to enforce the contractual clauses at issue against plaintiffs.
• Azoiani v. Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores (US District Court for the Central District of California). Defeated certification in putative nationwide consumer class action alleging violations of Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA).