Barrett J. Anderson

Cooley represented the former board of directors of Sequenom, a molecular diagnostics company, in a nearly seven-year-long securities class action brought by the company’s former investors.

The US Supreme Court ruled on April 1, 2021 that the Federal Communications Commission was within its authority to repeal or modify three long-standing media ownership controls. The decision aligned with arguments Cooley made in amicus briefs submitted on behalf of Gray Television that, after years of challenges, the FCC’s modernized rules finally should be allowed to take effect because the agency issued them in full compliance with its obligations under Section 202(h) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court found no issues with the agency’s 2017 decision, which eliminated bans on broadcast-newspaper and television-radio cross-ownership, nixed restrictions on cross-station advertising agreements and dropped a diversity-of-viewpoints rule for local markets. Lawyers David Mills, Robert McDowell and Barrett Anderson led the Cooley effort.

Cooley successfully opposed a plaintiff’s demand to inspect a broad set of corporate records related to Gilead’s novel HIV/AIDS treatments and therapies. The trial court agreed with our argument that plaintiff had no standing to make the demand because inspection rights were limited to shareholders of record. On plaintiff’s appeal, the appellate court unanimously affirmed the trial court’s ruling.

On July 2, 2021, the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District unanimously affirmed the superior court’s denial of a shareholder-inspection demand brought under California law. In Ramirez v. Gilead Sciences, Inc., the court ruled that a shareholder who holds shares as a beneficial owner lacks standing to bring a claim under Section 1601 of the California Corporations Code and has no separate common-law right to inspect company documents. Cooley lawyers Shannon Eagan, Tijana Brien, Barrett Anderson and Christopher Vail led the winning effort on behalf of Gilead.

Cooley helped Hillel of San Diego secure a ruling by the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District allowing construction of the Beverly and Joseph Glickman Hillel Center, adjacent to the University of California, San Diego. Lawyers Summer Wynn, Barrett Anderson and Dylan Scott lead the Cooley effort.