Michelle Doolin

Cooley advised VNGR Beverage (doing business as poppi), a fast-growing prebiotic soda brand, on its acquisition by PepsiCo (Nasdaq: PEP) for $1.95 billion, including an additional potential earnout consideration subject to the achievement of certain performance milestones within a specified period after closing.

Cooley won a high-profile jury trial in Los Angeles, successfully defending the Kardashian-Jenner family against claims brought by Blac Chyna, whose legal name is Angela White, for defamation and intentional interference with her E! network talent agreement. The plaintiff sought more than $100 million in damages. Partners Michael Rhodes and Michelle Doolin led the Cooley team.

Secured a victory for Beverages and More in a class action alleging that the company violated California's Song-Beverly Credit Card Act by requesting customers' "personal identification information" when they purchased items over the internet, using their credit cards, for in-store pick-up. We successfully moved to dismiss the plaintiff's original complaint and again successfully moved to dismiss the amended complaint with prejudice. The dismissal was affirmed on appeal.

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Cooley advised Sony Computer Entertainment America and Sony Network Entertainment International on the dismissal of a nationwide class action lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California regarding an alleged violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).

The suit, which began in 2011, alleged that the companies violated the VPPA by retaining personally identifiable information (PII) longer than permissible and disclosing the PII between the entities. In 2012, the Cooley team successfully obtained dismissal of the complaint and amended complaints in the lower court on the grounds that the VPPA does not provide a private cause of action for the retention claim, and that the VPPA permits disclosure between related corporate entities during the ordinary course of business.

The decision was appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, where in a case of first impression, the Court held that no private right of action exists under the VPPA for unlawful retention. The published opinion also affirmed the district court's holding that plaintiff had failed to state an unlawful disclosure claim against the two entities – a complete win for SCEA and SNEI.

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Obtained a major victory for The TJX Companies, as well as all retailers doing business in California, in a published appellate decision in a class action brought under the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act which limited the statute's reach to purchase transactions and a one-year limitations period.

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