Mr. Benedict is an experienced trial and appellate attorney who has conducted multiple jury and bench trials in state and federal courts. He has also done extensive arbitration work in both domestic and international arbitration cases.

Mr. Benedict has represented clients in diverse industries including retail, food services, transportation, aviation, telecommunications, cable, entertainment, manufacturing, banking, insurance, and real estate development. He has litigated a wide range of complex and high stake matters, including labor disputes, professional negligence, business torts, unfair competition, commercial contract disputes, defective product cases, consumer protection and fraud actions.

Significant recent experience includes:

• Prevailed on behalf of a real estate developer in an arbitration concerning a US$1.5 billion development project in Las Vegas, NV;
• Obtained an order vacating a temporary restraining order in a federal class action that would have barred the sale and marketing of phone services nationally. The client, a prominent cable provider of voice-over IP telecommunications services, was wrongfully accused of "slamming," fraud and violations of RICO. The case was ultimately dismissed at the pleading stage on primary jurisdiction grounds;
• Won dismissal of the majority of charges against a foreign sovereign in a contract and business tort case for damages in excess of US$800 million. The lone remaining fraud claim was disposed of on summary judgment in favor of the client;
• Representation of a semiconductor chip manufacturer in its defense of a disk drive customer's warranty claims in excess of US$1 billion. The case settled on the eve of trial, with a net gain of US$25 million to the client on a cross-claim filed against the plaintiff for unpaid invoices;
• Defense of a class action lawsuit against a prominent non-profit charitable corporation against allegations of various wage and hour violations;
• Defended an international bakery giant against a class of delivery drivers who, claiming they were employees of the company and not independent contractors, sought more than US$70 million in damages for breach of contract, unfair competition, and other torts. After extensive discovery revealed weaknesses in their claims, many drivers settled. The matter concluded with the Court granting a motion for nonsuit, which dismissed the case in its entirety.

Bars and Courts
California State Bar
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
CA Bankruptcy Apellate Panel ("BAP")
US District Courts for the Central, Northern and Southern Districts of California

Education
JD, Pepperdine University School of Law, 1999
BS, Nazareth College of Rochester, 1995

Professional Associations and Memberships
American Bar Association
Los Angeles County Bar Association
Association of Business Trial Lawyers
ABTL Young Leadership Committee
Trial Advocacy Program ("TAP") Alumni

Publications
"Caution: Are Your Employees Blogging?," California Litigation Report, September 22, 2006

Languages
English

Citizenship
United States