Alana Rotter, a partner at GMSR, is a go-to lawyer for civil appeals and writ petitions in a wide range of substantive areas. Clients and trial lawyers seek her out for her clear writing, thorough research, and efficiency. Alana respects client relationships, and is adept at working hand-in-hand with trial lawyers.
Certified by The State Bar of California as an appellate specialist, Alana helps clients—including plaintiffs, defendants, and litigators—defend victories and reverse adverse rulings in the California appellate courts and the Ninth Circuit. She excels at developing new legal arguments, and at drafting incisive briefs and writ petitions that resonate with appellate judges. Clients also hire Alana to provide guidance in the trial court, where she assists with dispositive motions and advises lawyers on preserving issues for appeal. Such early interventions by a leading appellate lawyer can be critical to appellate success.
Alana has an insider perspective on the appellate system, having clerked for Judge Kermit Lipez of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She received her law degree from Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal.
Quincy Jones v. MJJ Productions, Inc. (May 5, 2020, B285986) 2020 WL 2140759 [nonpublished opinion]
Court of Appeal reverses adverse jury verdict in dispute between Quincy Jones and MJJ Productions, reducing judgment by $6.8 million
Court of Appeal reverses adverse jury verdict in dispute between Quincy Jones and MJJ Productions, reducing judgment by $6.8 million
Quincy Jones sued MJJ Productions, claiming it owed him money related to three Michael Jackson albums he produced in the 1970s and 1980s. A jury awarded Jones $9.4 million. As co-counsel for MJJ on appeal, GMSR challenged $6.8 million of the award, arguing they were unsupported by Jones’s producer agreements. The Court of Appeal agreed, holding that, as a matter of law, the contracts were not susceptible to Jones’s interpretation. The Court of Appeal also rejected Jones’ cross-appeal, holding that the trial court properly denied leave to add a financial elder abuse claim and that Jones was not entitled to prejudgment interest.
Estate of Jackson (May 16, 2019, B282375) 2019 WL 2136114 [nonpublished opinion]
Court of Appeal rejects claim that Michael Jackson gave away 15% of his business at a middle-of-the-night meeting
Court of Appeal rejects claim that Michael Jackson gave away 15% of his business at a middle-of-the-night meeting
Four people claimed that Michael Jackson promised them 15% of The Michael Jackson Company in a middle-of-the-night meeting in 2006. After a long bench trial, the probate court rejected those claims on multiple grounds and confirmed that Jackson wholly owned the company. The Court of Appeal affirmed. Agreeing with GMSR’s arguments on behalf of the Jackson estate, the court held that the claimants forfeited their factual arguments by failing to accurately describe the evidence in their opening brief; that the claimants forfeited all arguments raised for the first time in their reply brief; and that the probate court correctly found that Code of Civil Procedure section 366.2’s statute of limitations for claims against a decedent barred the ownership claims.
Pacific Western Bank v. Far Out Productions, Inc. v. Audio Visual Entertainment, Inc. (Dec. 31, 2018, B278076, B278122) 2018 WL 6839451 [nonpublished opinion]
Court of Appeal affirms summary judgment entitling bank to collect on defaulted loans
Court of Appeal affirms summary judgment entitling bank to collect on defaulted loans
GMSR’s client, a bank, sued borrowers and a guarantor to collect on long-outstanding loans. The borrowers and guarantor attempted to avoid liability by challenging the admissibility of the bank’s evidence of the loans, chain of title, and outstanding balance. The trial court granted summary judgment for the bank, and awarded it attorney’s fees. The Court of Appeal affirmed in full. Adopting GMSR’s arguments, it held that the borrowers and guarantor had forfeited their evidentiary objections by failing to adequately brief them on appeal, that in any event the trial court was well within its discretion in overruling the objections, and that the bank had proved its case.
Wind Dancer Production Group v. Walt Disney Pictures (2017) 10 Cal.App.5th 56
Court of Appeal revives profit participation claims by television show creators and producers
Court of Appeal revives profit participation claims by television show creators and producers
GMSR’s clients, the creators and producers of the hit television show Home Improvement, sued Disney for underpaying their profit participation. Disney obtained summary judgment on the basis of an “incontestability clause” in its contract with plaintiffs that, Disney claimed and the trial court found, absolutely barred claims filed more than two years after Disney sent a profit participation statement. This, despite the plaintiffs’ factual showing that it was impossible for them to determine whether they had a claim under a particular participation statement without conducting an audit—and that Disney routinely delayed audits for many months or even years, so that it was impossible for plaintiffs to discover a claim within the two-year incontestability period.
The Court of Appeal reversed. It found triable fact issues as to whether Disney had agreed to toll the two-year incontestability period and as to whether, because of its consistent delays of plaintiffs’ audits, Disney waived or was estopped to assert the two-year period.
Breeden v. Superior Court, 2014 Cal.App. Unpub. LEXIS 7216
Reversed erroneous denials of summary judgment
Reversed erroneous denials of summary judgment
Summary judgment is a double win for defendants: Not only does it dispose of the case, it also saves the time and expense of a trial. Alana has successfully petitioned the Court of Appeal to reverse erroneous denials of summary judgment and to order the entry of judgment in her clients’ favor—in Breeden, based on the occupational assumption of risk doctrine, and in Coffee House, based on a lack of evidence on causation.
Celador Internat., Inc. v. American Broadcasting Cos., Inc. (9th Cir. 2012) 499 Fed.Appx. 721
Protected $269 million damages award
Protected $269 million damages award
Obtained affirmance of $269 million damages award for the creators of the hit television show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, successfully arguing that the creator was contractually entitled to 50% of net profits and that substantial evidence supported the award.
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