Dean J. Kitchens

Dean J. Kitchens is a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Los Angeles office and is a member of the firm’s Litigation and Securities Litigation Practice Groups.  He is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and five-member Management Committee and serves as the firm’s General Counsel.  Mr. Kitchens is a past member of the Judicial Appointments Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.  He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. 

Mr. Kitchens was named a Litigation Star in California for 2010 through 2012 by Institutional Investor’s Benchmark Litigation Guide, based on interviews with private practice lawyers and in-house counsel.  He also has been recognized as a Leading Lawyer in Securities Litigation both nationally and in California in the 2007 through 2011 editions of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.  He is the author of the Chapter “Trial of a Securities Class Action” for the leading treatise on securities litigation, Practising Law Institute’s Securities Litigation:  A Practitioner’s Guide, published in 2006. 

Mr. Kitchens’ practice focuses on complex business and commercial litigation with an emphasis on securities litigation and auditor liability matters.  He represents issuers, accounting firms and individuals in securities and business related litigation in state and federal courts throughout the country.  His experience includes extensive involvement in securities class actions, shareholder derivative actions and insurer subordination claims involving alleged violations of securities laws.  He also regularly represents companies, accounting firms, audit committees and individuals in connection with a broad range of matters, including investigations by the SEC, Department of Justice and other governmental agencies and entities. 

Mr. Kitchens graduated with a bachelor of arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1974 and received his law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles Law School in 1978.  He served as Article Editor of the UCLA Law Review and was elected a member of the Order of the Coif.  He is admitted to practice before the California Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and all of the U.S. District Courts in California.

Representative Matters:

• Credit Crisis-Related Litigation:  Representation of numerous underwriters of Countrywide, Washington Mutual and IndyMac debt securities and mortgage-pass through certificates in state and federal class action litigation alleging violations of securities laws in connection with mortgage lending issues.  These representations are ongoing.
• CSK Auto:  Represented the Company and certain officers and directors in derivative and class action litigation arising out of an internal investigation which resulted in restatements of several years of a public company’s financial statements.  The derivative cases were dismissed in their entirety and the class action litigation was settled. 
• Computer Sciences Corporation:  Represented the Company and members of its Board in state and federal derivative litigation relating to alleged stock option backdating.  The federal cases were dismissed with prejudice (and were affirmed by the Ninth Circuit) and the demurrer to the state cases was sustained (no appeal was taken).
• KB Home:  Represented members of the Board of Directors and senior management of KB Home in class and derivative litigation relating to alleged stock option backdating.  These matters were favorably settled.
• Hewlett Packard:  Represented the Board of Directors of HP in class and derivative litigation arising from the Board’s decision to award severance and other termination benefits to its former CEO, Carly Fiorina.  The second motion to dismiss was granted with prejudice; the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal.
• Hewlett Packard:  Represented HP in connection with litigation filed by shareholders of EDS seeking to enjoin the proposed acquisition of EDS by HP.
• Homestore:  Represented a major accounting firm in a federal securities class action involving a large restatement of the financial statements of Homestore.  This case involved complex accounting issues and was litigated for three years prior to being favorably settled shortly before trial.

Mr. Kitchens has extensive trial experience in federal and state courts throughout the country.  Representative Jury Trials, Non-Jury Trials and Arbitrations include the following:

• In Re Coordinated Asbestos Insurance Coverage Cases:  Served as trial counsel in this lengthy, multiphase insurance coverage dispute tried in San Francisco Superior Court.  The case involved both jury and non-jury components.
• Trustees v. The Palmieri Co., et al.:  Served as trial counsel in a two-month jury trial of an ERISA dispute in Federal Court.  Obtained jury verdict in favor of our clients.
• Shoen v. Shoen:  Served as co-counsel in a two-week trial on a preliminary injunction relating to a contest for control of U-Haul Company.  The court ruled in favor of our clients and the decision was affirmed on appeal.
• Tanlo v. Naxos:  Served as lead counsel in the successful defense of a construction arbitration involving a dispute over funding of a $6 million loan.
• Nissan v. Gramcko:  Served as lead trial counsel for corporate plaintiff in an action against a former officer for breach of fiduciary duty in a bench trial in San Diego Superior Court.  Secured judgment in the amount sought of approximately $700,000.
• Mayer v. Sahara Resorts:  Served as lead trial counsel for the defendant in a three-week federal court jury trial in the Central District of California involving claims of breach of contract and fraud in a dispute over a finder’s fee.  Obtained a jury verdict in favor of our clients.
• TSA v. Budget Rent a Car, et al.:  Served as lead trial counsel in a two-month jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court in which the plaintiff sought over $7 million in damages for breach of contract and fraud.  The jury reached a verdict for our client, and we were then reimbursed for a substantial portion of the legal fees.
• Leonard Green & Partners v. Wachtell:  Served as lead counsel for this partnership dissolution case tried in a four-week period in two phases.   Successfully resisted the claim of a former partner for wrongful expulsion and a share of the Partnership’s future profits.
• Stephen G. Errico and Errico Technologies v. PriceWaterhouse LLP:  Successful commercial arbitration involving claims of breach of contract and fraud arising out of the licensing of a software product and the engagement of the claimant as a partner of Price Waterhouse.  This was a month long proceeding in which claimants sought over $100 million and were awarded less than $20,000.
• Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Lexington, et al.   Served as lead trial counsel in successful defense of an environmental insurance coverage case involving a major, multi-party dispute between PG&E and its liability insurers involving disputes dating back to the early 1900’s.  Following a three-month trial, but before the Court’s Statement of Decision, the matter was favorably settled.
• Brkic v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP:  Successful representation of PwC in an arbitration in which the plaintiff alleged PwC had been negligent with regard to the advice it had rendered on an international tax matter, and sought multiple millions of dollars in damages.  PwC filed a cross-claim for unpaid fees.  The arbitrator found against the claimant entirely and then awarded PwC approximately $500,000 in fees, the full amount sought.
• Unilever v. Roll International:  Successful representation of Unilever in a case that involved both complaints and cross-complaints alleging fraud and breach of contract in connection with a commercial dispute. Unilever won its affirmative claim on summary judgment.  The cross-complaint was then tried before a jury during a two-month trial, after which the jury rendered a verdict rejecting all of the fraud claims asserted, and awarded Roll a small fraction of the damages they sought on the remaining contract claim.