Automotive & Mobility

Provided antitrust and licensing advice to an Asian car manufacturer concerning its global strategy for responding to Standards Essential Patent (“SEP”) licensing demands from patent pools and individual SEP holders. O’Melveny spearheaded the client’s licensing strategy in multiple jurisdictions including Japan, Germany, and the United States, and helped the client to achieve a successful resolution of patent infringement claims on very favorable terms. The stakes in the matter were enormous, involving billions of dollars in licensing fees and the future of automakers’ supply chain operations.

Serve as designated issuer’s or underwriters’ counsel to the financing arms of several major automakers, including American Honda Finance Corp. and Toyota Motor Credit Corp. Our lawyers have helped these companies raise more than US$40 billion in in the last five years alone. 

Counseled Faraday Future in its US$1 billion merger with the Property Solutions Acquisition Corp. SPAC.

Successfully litigated numerous high-stakes class action cases involving hundreds of thousands or millions of vehicles per case, ranging across virtually every model and most major systems in the vehicle, by employing a comprehensive defense strategies to attack and winnow claims at the dismissal stage, class certification, summary judgment, Rule 702 expert motion, and trial stages.

Guided Ford through one of the most difficult periods in the automaker’s 100-year history: the Bridgestone/Firestone controversy. We represented Ford in more than 200 class-action lawsuits, inquiries by both houses of Congress, an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and daily coverage in the media. We successfully blocked certification of a nationwide class in both federal and state courts and defended Ford in the only state-court class action that proceeded to trial.

Retained as appellate counsel and successfully overturned $2 billion trial court verdict in Ohio state court.

Favorably settled three wide-ranging lawsuits that state attorneys general from Hawaii, New Mexico and the US Virgin Islands brought related to Ford’s use of airbags produced by Takata Corporation. 

Guided GIC in its US$240 million investment in ChargePoint, the world’s largest network of EV charging stations.

Achieved a precedent-setting victory for Kia in first-of-its kind lawsuit over alleged defects in panoramic sunroof glass.  We convinced the district court to deny the plaintiff’s motion for class certification, then successfully defended that denial before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Successfully defended the global automaker in multi-year government investigations over the scope and timing of vehicle recalls.

Advised leading clean energy solutions provider SK E&S on its acquisition of California-based EverCharge, an electric vehicle charging solutions provider with some 4,600 installed and operational EV chargers across North America. The transaction marks the first-ever acquisition of a US EV charging business by a Korean buyer.

Advised Toyota North America in a multi-year sponsorship agreement designating Toyota as the Official Automotive Partner of the National Football League. The agreement enables Toyota to leverage the year-round NFL calendar as a powerful marketing platform to communicate its brand message to football fans across the US.