Nathaniel Haas, Partner — Watstein Terepka LLP

Partner

Nathaniel Haas

Founding partner of the firm's Los Angeles office, USC law professor, and former Ninth Circuit Clerk. High-stakes commercial litigation and appeals — on both sides of the v.

Work with Nathaniel (213) 526-1880 Email LinkedIn
Founding Partner
Los Angeles Office
9th Circuit
Clerkship
Ex-Kirkland
& Ellis Partner
USC Gould
Lecturer in Law

Overview

Nathaniel Haas is the founding partner of Watstein Terepka’s Los Angeles office. He represents high-profile clients in state and federal courts, and in arbitrations across the country.

He has extensive experience handling class actions, mass torts, breach of contract claims, intellectual property disputes, appeals, and bankruptcy-related litigation. His class action work spans a variety of subject matters, including consumer fraud, landlord-tenant, antitrust, and securities. In addition to litigation, Nathaniel advises clients on compliance and risk management matters, informed by his experience in internal and government investigations. He represents clients on both the plaintiff and defense sides, giving him a well-rounded perspective on complex disputes.

Nathaniel actively maintains his pro bono practice. He secured a favorable verdict in a weeklong jury trial on behalf of a tenant asserting COVID-19 eviction protections, obtained a $75,000 settlement against the Los Angeles Police Department in a civil rights case, and recovered $140,000 for the Los Angeles Boys and Girls Club in contested receivership proceedings involving fraud. For his service, he received the organization’s 2022 “Thank You For Your Service” award.

In addition to his practice, Nathaniel serves as a Lecturer in Law at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and sits on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Debate League. Before joining Watstein Terepka, he was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis and clerked for Judge Morgan B. Christen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Class Actions & Mass Torts Antitrust Litigation Intellectual Property Disputes Appeals Internal & Government Investigations

Representative Matters

Antitrust

Represented Newrez in Optimal Blue antitrust litigation, a putative antitrust class action in which plaintiffs alleged that various mortgage originators conspired to use algorithmic pricing to fix mortgage interest rates in violation of the Sherman Act.
Represented Thoma Bravo in RealPage multidistrict litigation, a putative antitrust class action in which plaintiffs allege that various owners, property managers and landlords conspired to use algorithmic pricing to fix apartment rental prices in violation of the Sherman Act.
Represented Wynn Resorts in putative antitrust class action against several Las Vegas hotel operators, arising from allegations of the use of algorithmic pricing software to engage in price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act.

Intellectual Property

Represented State Farm in patent and trade secret misappropriation action against Amazon, arising from allegations that Amazon willfully infringed State Farm patented technology and misappropriated trade secrets at the heart of Elder Care Technology to launch a competing product. This marked the first time State Farm has filed a patent infringement lawsuit.
Represented Ajinomoto Foods in post-judgment proceedings arising from alleged misappropriation of trade secret fried rice recipes.

Landlord-Tenant

Represented Tricon Residential in Fair Housing Act putative class action, in which plaintiffs allege "disparate impact" discrimination in connection with screening for criminal history and eviction history among applicants to rent single family homes.
Represented Home Partners of America in defending several class actions in state and federal courts around the country in which plaintiffs allege consumer fraud and similar claims arising from HPA's rent-to-own contracts with tenants/purchasers.
Represented property manager in class action litigation alleging violations of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act.

Bankruptcy

Represented Rite Aid in restructuring and numerous associated adversary proceedings.

Mass Tort

Represented Johnson & Johnson in nationwide mass tort litigation around the country, in which thousands of plaintiffs alleged that the use of talcum-based baby powder caused mesothelioma and ovarian cancer.
Represented Abbott in California mass tort litigation, in which plaintiffs alleged that Abbott's Similac Special Care formula products caused Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC).
Represented Amplify Energy Corp. in parallel civil and criminal proceedings stemming from an October 2021 oil spill off the coast of Southern California. Amplify reached a $96.5 million settlement with the shipping companies related to their containerships' anchor strikes of Amplify's pipeline.

Compliance, Internal Investigations, and Government Investigations

Advised owner of thousands of single family residential units regarding compliance with price gouging restrictions that went into effect after the Pacific Palisades wildfires.
Represented Knighted Ventures, LLC in licensure proceedings seeking approval of a state gaming license, culminating in a nine-day evidentiary hearing before the California Gambling Control Commission.
Assisted court-appointed compliance and ethics monitor of prominent investor-owned utility company.

Securities Fraud

Represented Wynn Resorts in securities class action arising from allegations that the Company and its Directors and Officers misled investors in response to a January 2018 Wall Street Journal article.
Represented Torrid in putative securities class action arising from allegations that the Company misled investors in connection with its Initial Public Offering, securing dismissal of all claims with prejudice.
Represented a pharmaceutical company in securities class action arising from allegations of anticompetitive conduct concerning the pricing and market for certain generic pharmaceutical products.

Arbitrations

Represented a software company in arbitration arising from a compensation dispute with a former executive.
Represented a multinational corporation in arbitrations arising from the terms of use of an e-commerce platform.
Represented several Asia-based corporations in arbitrations arising from breach of international commercial agreements.

Other Matters

Represented a domestic distributor in litigation over licensing agreements for imported consumer goods that spanned arbitration, state court, and federal court. In 2021, secured closure of the arbitration and dismissal of the state court claims. In 2022, secured dismissal of the federal claims.
Represented an Alaska corporation in ongoing shareholder litigations over access to books and records, director qualifications, and various corporate governance issues.
Represented fraternities and sororities in litigation alleging that recruitment restrictions violated their First Amendment rights to free association.

Experience includes matters prior to the formation of Watstein Terepka LLP. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

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