Pina, Hugo

Paul Fortino is a trial lawyer. Over the years,  he has been first chair at hundreds of jury trials, bench trials, injunctive proceedings and dispositive motions. In recent years, his focus has been on trial of complex business torts, intellectual property and patent cases, products liability claims, and resolution of large contract disputes.

Paul has been praised and recognized by his peers. He has been named to the Board of Regents of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers. Among numerous other honors, he has been recognized as one of the Lawdragon 500 ""Leading Litigaters in America,"" a top litigator in Oregon by Chambers USA, an ""Oregon Superlawyer"" and listed in The Best Lawyers in America for 10 consecutive years. He recently received the Learned Hand Award in recognition of his contributions to the legal profession.

Paul has served as President of the Federal Bar Association of Oregon, President of the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, State Chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and as a delegate to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. He has written and taught extensively on subjects involving trials, litigation and civil procedure.

 I. Representative Trials

United 811 MDL

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Defense of United and Boeing. Consolidated trials of claims of passengers who were aboard United flight 811 when it lost a cargo door in flight enroute from Honolulu to Aukland, NZ.

Semitool v. Applied Materials

U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

Represented plaintiff in three-week patent trial. Favorable settlement on eve of closing arguments.

Jacobs v. Genie

Mobile, Alabama

Defense of Genie Industries in products liability trial involving a material lift.

Lavis &; Navarro v. Cavenham Forest Industries

Clatsop County Circuit Court

Defense verdict in two-week wrongful death trial.

Layfield v. Teletronix

U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

Defense verdict regarding claims of breach of contract and business torts.

Boeing v. Cascade

U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

Represented Boeing in successful court trial of claims for cost recovery for environmental remediation under CERCLA § 113.

Lynde v. Patrick Lumber

Multnomah County Circuit Court

Defense of wrongful discharge claims.

OTB v. Magna Entertainment

Circuit Court of Washington County

Jury trial of claims related to suit for wrongful detainer.

II. Representative Injunction Cases with Evidentiary Hearings

Pape v. Powdr

U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

On behalf of plaintiff obtained preliminary injunction to prevent illegal sale of shares of Mt. Bachelor ski area.

Krause v. Sunwest, et al.

U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

Successfully defended against requested preliminary injunction related to claims of fraud, RICO, and breaches of fiduciary duty.

PacifiCorp v. Carnival Airlines

U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

Suit to recover A-300 Airbus and enjoin further use by debtor. Represented plaintiff. Injunction granted. Aircraft recovered.

Kollman v. Cell Tech, et al.

Klamath County Circuit Court

Successful defense of several requests for preliminary injunctions by large shareholder.

Informix v. ORACLE

Multnomah County Circuit Court

Defense of Oracle against claims of inevitable disclosure of trade secrets.

III. Representative Pending Cases

Klamath Tribes v. PacifiCorp

U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

Defense of PacifiCorp against claims that plaintiffs lost more than a billion dollars because of dams on the Klamath River. Summary judgment in favor of PacifiCorp. Case is currently on appeal.

Synectic Ventures, et al. v. Berkman, et al

Multnomah County Circuit Court

Representation of large pension fund in pursuit of claims against managers of an investment fund. Case is currently in the discovery stage.

Battenfeld v. Tonoloway

U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

Prosecution of declaratory judgment action seeking ruling of noninfringement of defendants' patents, trademarks and copyrights. Case is in the preliminary discovery stage.

Eugene Water v. California Department of Water Resources

Circuit Court of Lane County

Representation of the State of California in efforts to recover overcharges for electricity purchased during the California energy crisis in 2001. Case is currently in the discovery stage.