MoFo Accused of 'Skullduggery' in Divorce of Google Search Engine Programmer
Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur Allison Huynh says the firm cheated her out of millions after she filed to divorce Scott Hassan, a robotics executive and principal programmer of the Google search engine.
July 29, 2020 at 09:47 PM
3 minute read
The wife of Scott Hassan, robotics entrepreneur and principal programmer of the Google search engine, is suing Morrison & Foerster for being a "willing architect and facilitator" of Hassan's scheme to "cheat" her out of millions of dollars after she filed for divorce in 2015.
In a suit filed Tuesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court, Allison Huynh alleges that Morrison & Foerster violated its ethical and fiduciary duties when the firm picked sides after representing the couple individually in separate business matters.
"History teaches that corporate corruption, financial fraud, and economic skullduggery cannot be perpetrated without the willful conniving of lawyers," write attorneys from Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack in Los Angeles. "The same is true when a scheming spouse with money and power in an adverse proceeding is intent on cheating his spouse out of her rightful share of community property."
The complaint alleges that Paul "Chip" Lion, a Palo Alto MoFo partner, and the firm continued to represent Hassan and some of the couple's jointly owned businesses even after a family court judge disqualified them from advising him on the dissolution of their marriage.
"We deny all the allegations made by the Plaintiff against the Firm and its representatives and we will address them in the proper forum," a firm spokesperson said via email.
Huynh says the firm "orchestrated a fire-sale" of the assets of robotics company Suitable Technologies, which she has a half interest in, according to the complaint. She alleges the deal was an effort to score a personal tax benefit of more than $90 million for Hassan.
"Although Plaintiff was successful in thwarting the sale—the Court of Chancery found that the sales process 'inspire[d]' concern, was driven by Hassan's desire to obtain a personal tax benefit, and that 'there's good reason to believe that Suitable Technologies' asset value approximates or even exceeds $100 million—she incurred substantial professional fees in doing so," Huynh's attorneys write. "These fees, which she was unable to recover in the dissolution action, total more than $1.1 million."
Huynh is suing Lion and the firm for breach of fiduciary duty, and negligent and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage.
"Morrison & Foerster is a sophisticated, international law firm and a prominent presence in the Silicon Valley legal community," the lawsuit alleges. "Lion has been practicing in the field for nearly 40 years. They should know better. The only deterrent for such reprehensible betrayal of a client is a significant award of compensatory and punitive damages."
And if ethics and a court order don't do the trick for the firm, "a massive financial penalty might just get its attention," the complaint states.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllAs AI-Generated Fraud Rises, Financial Companies Face a Long Cybersecurity Battle
Ruling Provides Lessons for Investors: Mind Your Business (Affairs)!
6 minute readVisa CLO-Turned-Vice Chair Seeing Payoff From Expanded Role
Ex-CFO of San Francisco Law Firms Pleads Guilty to $1.3M Embezzlement Scheme, DOJ Announces
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Call for Nominations: The Recorder and Law.com's California Legal Awards 2025
- 2The Week in Data Dec. 13: A Look at Legal Industry Trends by the Numbers
- 3Antitrust Class Actions Against CVS, Other Pharmacy Benefit Managers Are Piling Up
- 4Judge Grinds NY's Cannabis Licensing Regime to a Halt Again
- 5On the Move and After Hours: Barclay Damon; VLJ; Barnes & Thornburg
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250