Bartko Pavia Obtains Defense Win in Uber Trade Secret Case

San Francisco, CA — The Bartko team, led by Patrick M. Ryan and Sean McTigue, scored a major win in trade secret, tort, and breach of contract case entitled Bama Commercial Leasing LLC v. Uber Technologies, Inc., CGC-19-579763 (S.F. Super. Ct., filed Oct. 3, 2019).

As quoted in the January 24, 2024 Daily Journal article, Patrick stated: “We took a sweeping trade secret, fraud and breach of contract case and through tenacious motion practice whittled it down to a tiny breach of contract case.” Patrick and his team greatly limited the remaining breach of contract claims by winning a rarely granted Section 437c(f) Motion for Summary Adjudication on Issues of Duty arising from a contract. Bama Commercial Leasing LLC v. Uber Technologies, Inc., CGC-19-579763 (S.F. Super. Ct., filed Oct. 3, 2019). In early December 2023, “within one month of Uber’s victory on that motion, the plaintiff dismissed its entire case with prejudice.”

Patrick said tenacity and meticulous trial preparation are key. “When your adversary knows you’re always working toward trial, it gives you leverage and keeps the pressure on. Most litigators aren’t really trial lawyers—they try to win on the papers because trial scares them. So, it’s a natural advantage when you really want to get into the courtroom. People sense it.”

About Bartko LLP

Bartko, established more than 45 years ago, is a boutique law firm specializing in national and international complex litigation and investigations, as well as real estate and franchising transactions. It is a 45+ lawyer firm dedicated to strategic cutting-edge representation of clients in California, nationally, and internationally. Bartko’s practice areas include representing both plaintiffs and defendants in complex business, intellectual property, antitrust and competition claims, trade secret litigation, anticounterfeiting, complex employment litigation, employment/labor strategic advice and collective bargaining, and real estate litigation, among others.

Contact: Patrick M. Ryan | pryan@bartkolaw.com | 415.291.4540