David R. Carpenter

Representative Appellate Matters

• In the products liability context, represented Johnson & Johnson in post-trial motions and on appeal, overturning a $417 million verdict in a widely-publicized case alleging that talcum powder causes ovarian cancer. Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Cases (Cal. Ct. App. 2019). David also has experience representing life-science defendants in other California JCCP proceedings and with appeals in asbestos cases. 
• Successfully represented on appeal the executive producer of the television show Hot Bench in a dispute over rights to the show—a case recognized in AmLaw’s Litigator of the Week column and featured in the article, A Hot Fight Over Hot Bench. Douthit v. Jones (Cal. Ct. App. 2020).
• In the consumer class action context, prevailed in the Ninth Circuit in a class action challenging the marketing of home goods, Razo v. Ashley Furniture Indus. (2019) and in the California Court of Appeal in a putative class action challenging vehicle fuel economy, Reynante v. Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. (2018). Successfully represented a pharmaceutical manufacturer on appeal and in briefing dispositive motions in putative class actions challenging the marketing of a prescription drug. Teamsters v. AstraZeneca Pharm. L.P. (Del. 2016), DePriest v. AstraZeneca Pharm. L.P. (Ark. 2009), Weiss v. AstraZeneca Pharm. L.P. (Cal. Ct. App. 2010), Prohias v. AstraZeneca Pharm. L.P. (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2007).
• In the employment context, represented a national pharmacy/retail chain before the California Court of Appeal and Ninth Circuit in defeating class certification of claims alleging California Labor Code violations. Christensen v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc. (Cal. Ct. App. 2017); Howard v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc. (9th Cir. 2016). Also represented defendants in employment discrimination actions and in defeating class certification of claims alleging misclassification of technology support specialists and insurance claims adjusters.

Appellate Counsel at Trial

• Obtained a complete defense verdict after a two-week jury trial on behalf of a major sports apparel and athletic shoe company in a third-party investor lawsuit relating to alleged misrepresentations over a retail operation agreement.
• Represented a major studio in a four-week trial in a dispute over royalties for a musical work for hire.  
• Represented a mortgage bank asserting claims for data theft, misappropriation of confidential information, and breach of contract, among others, resulting in a multi-million-dollar verdict against a former loan officer and competing mortgage bank.

Pro Bono Supreme Court Matters

• Filed an amicus brief on behalf of 82 scholars who study the transgender population in R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. EEOC, 590 U.S. __ (2020), a momentous case in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that employers are prohibited from firing employees on the basis of homosexuality or transgender status. 
• Represented the Children’s Defense Fund, Fair Elections Legal Network and the Union for Reform Judaism et al. in an amicus brief in Evenwel v. Abbott (2016), involving whether the “one-person, one-vote” principle under the Equal Protection Clause allows States to use total population, rather than voter population, when apportioning state legislative districts.
• Represented respondent in Kerry v. Din (2015), addressing the constitutional rights of a U.S. citizen to challenge the denial of a visa to her spouse.  

• David chairs the Sidley Los Angeles Summer Committee and Committee on Associate Training and Development, for which he has developed programs on effective legal writing and research techniques.
• David is currently a board member of Sound Mind Live, a non-profit organization that seeks to reduce the stigma that surrounds mental health issues through the power of music. 
• David was part of a Sidley team that earned the 2017 Pro Bono Service Award from Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles for work on a voting rights case that helped changed the election process for Fullerton city council.