Christine A. Scheuneman
Partner

Ms. Scheuneman is a litigation partner who represents many of the nation's leading corporations, financial institutions, and real estate companies, as well as many preeminent international companies.

A litigator and experienced trial attorney, Ms. Scheuneman has an extensive practice in complex business, class action, and commercial matters. Her practice includes financial services, antitrust and unfair business practices, and securities litigation. She has represented real estate and finance clients in matters involving investment disputes, regulatory investigations and actions, loan and asset workouts, insolvency, real estate development, and construction issues.

Her practice also focuses on the use of litigation to improve client leverage, to analyze and close transactions favorably or actualize asset exit strategies.

Ms. Scheuneman has served a number of public and private entity clients as outside counsel supervisor of their litigation and other matters nationally. She has served on the national arbitration panel of neutrals for the American Arbitration Association. In 2007, she joined an elite group of real estate and finance professionals and business leaders as a member of the Advisory Board for the Center for Real Estate at the University of California - Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business.

• Representing a major financial institution in a consumer class action alleging violations of California's gift card law, Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law in connection with the Bank's Visa^®-branded gift cards.
• Representing a major financial institution in a consumer class action alleging, among other things, unfair business practices and violations of Consumers Legal Remedies Act in connection business checking account rewards programs.
• Representing a national retailer in a consumer class action alleging violations of California’s gift card law, Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law in connection with its gift card program.
• Representing the target defendant owner/investor against fraud and real estate securities claims brought by 338 California plaintiffs who purchased interests in property located in Texas.
• Representing developers/investors and investment participants in large-scale real estate and construction litigation, including purported class action cases.

• Defending the world’s leading independent television and movie industry trade association from claims by a competitor about its services to its member clients to collect secondary royalties for retransmission of their works worldwide.
• Representing an international energy company in litigation establishing a pattern of fraud by a retailer.
• Protecting several medical device companies from unfair business practices and damaging statements by their competitors.
• Recovering damages and obtaining injunctive relief for the owner of an international on-line service, which was a victim of below cost sales violations.
• Providing strategic advice to a medical device manufacturer to address unfair competition concerns.
• Defending a major international manufacturing company in unfair competition litigation involving its semi-conductor business.

• Representing several major financial institutions in litigation matters arising from fraudulent transactions by mortgage brokers and loan originators in schemes involving multiple lenders/investors and subprime lending practices.
• Defending a major financial institution against lender liability and fraud claims by the borrower/debtor arising from the debtor’s failed bankruptcy plan.
• Representing former officers and directors of a bank in actions by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation relating to commercial real estate loans.
• Representing target currency exchange defendants in Commodities Futures Trading Commission litigation of alleged fraudulent activity.
• Representing an international trading company in the Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of possible channel stuffing activities by a third party.
• Representing a major financial institution in bankruptcy litigation in a matter involving an elaborate “Ponzi” scheme financed by real estate transactions.
• Defending a major securities firm in several related securities fraud matters, including federal litigation and arbitration.
• Representing a publicly traded company to favorably determine the validity and enforceability of stock option claims.
• "Mitigating Disaster" for an investor/owner following a multi-million dollar punitive damages award (another law firm tried the case). Punitive damages were eliminated in post-trial motions and on appeal.
• Providing risk and asset analysis for major investment portfolios for some of the nation's largest institutional investors, asset managers and investment advisors.
• Representing an investment advisor supervising litigation brought by one of the world's largest retailers against the institutional investor owners of 16 major shopping center properties in 10 states.