Luanne Sacks concentrates in consumer and employment class action defense. She is also a skilled trial lawyer and has handled diverse complex commercial litigation matters. Ms. Sacks provides both litigation and counseling services to clients in many industries, including computer hardware and software, consumer retail sales, medical devices and manufacturing. She has also advised and represented financial institutions and consulting companies regarding litigation matters related to mergers and acquisitions and privacy matters.

Ms. Sacks has extensive experience in formulating cost-effective resolution strategies for avoiding and defending against class action litigation premised upon state and federal consumer protectionist statutes. She is co-chair of DLA Piper's Class Action practice and served as vice chair of the Insurance Industry Committee of the ABA Section of Antitrust Law for 2005 and 2006. From 2005 to 2007, she was head of Litigation for DLA Piper's Northern California offices. Currently, she is a member of the San Francisco Bar Association's Cy Pres Committee.

The respected research publication Legal 500 recommends Ms. Sacks, noting that she is regarded as an "accomplished lawyer" for class action cases. Ms. Sacks has been named a Northern California Super Lawyer in every year since 2005 as the result of a joint research project conducted by Law & Politics and San Francisco magazines. She has also been listed in The Best Lawyers in America from 2007 to 2009 and again in 2012.

Recent Matters

• Representation of an identity-theft protection company in the settlement of a nationwide consumer class action alleging fraud and misrepresentation
• Representation of a group of transportation service companies in a class action alleging violation of wage and hour laws under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). DLA Piper achieved a significant victory by winning a motion to dismiss the complaint in its entirety
• Representation of a proxy advisory firm and obtained clause construction award in AAA arbitration proceedings precluding the plaintiff from pursuing classwide relief in a putative class action alleging misclassification of employees
• Representation of restaurant franchise company seeking affirmance of trial court order denying class certification in employee misclassification case. Appellate Court affirmed trial court decision in all respects
• Representation of a video-game hardware and software distributor in nationwide class actions alleging that a software update improperly disengaged features on video game consoles. Court granted motion to dismiss with prejudice and entered judgment for defendant
• Representation of a video-game hardware and software distributor in consolidated nationwide class actions alleging that software updates caused video game consoles to experience playback issues; settlement entered on individual plaintiff basis
• Defended nationwide class action concerning long term care insurance. Class certification denied
• Secured dismissal at the pleading stage of class action complaint against computer hardware manufacturer on deceptive advertising and breach of express warranty claims
• Secured dismissal at pleading stage of class action against insurance company based on failure to exhaust administrative remedies
• Secured dismissal of claims against software developer-distributor in a class action alleging violation of securities laws and breach of contractual and fiduciary duties
• Secured reversal by the California Court of Appeal 4th District of order certifying a nationwide class action in Hapner v Sony Electronics Inc.
• Multiple nationwide and California class actions involving breach of warranty, Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), and Unfair Competition Law (UCL) claims against distributors and manufacturers of computer hardware and software products, electronic game consoles, and home theater components
• Class and representative actions alleging various violations of the UCL and of California Proposition 65 related to the use of mercury in dental amalgam
• Class action involving allegations of product defect and unfair business practices against a major domestic telecommunications company
• Class actions involving alleged violations of federal and state employment laws, including wage and hour, misclassification, discrimination and harassment claims
• Multiple "private attorney general" representative and class actions alleging consumer fraud in sales of life insurance products
• Defended alleged violations of federal and state energy regulations and antitrust claims against a glass manufacturer
• Price fixing and market allocation antitrust claims in Nevada state court against a telecommunications provider
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a manufacturer of steel processing equipment against claims of breach of warranty, fraud, and product defects in federal court in Illinois
• Won a directed verdict in Arizona state court in a shareholder action challenging a company's acquisition of another publicly traded entity
• Secured dismissal at the pleading stage of federal price fixing and market allocation antitrust claims against members of the bicycling industry
• Obtained summary judgment against claims of federal and state law price fixing and group boycott in an action in federal court in California against a member of the life insurance industry
• Recently achieved successful result in San Francisco Superior Court in real estate partnership dispute after 2 week bench trial

Recent Reported Decisions

• Sony PS3 Other OS Litigation, No. C-10-1811 RS (EMC), 2011 WL 672637 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 17, 2011) (granting motion to dismiss)
• Lizarraga et al. v. CBC Restaurant Corp., Case No. G043743, 4th Appellate District, California (2011) (Appellate Court affirmed trial court decision in all respects)
• Dodd-Owens v. Kyphon Inc., No. C 06-3988 (JF), 2007 WL 3010560 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 12, 2007) (granting motion to strike class allegations)
• Hoey v. Sony Electronics Inc., No. C-07-02106 (RMW), --- F. Supp. 2d ---, 2007 WL 2972915 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 10, 2007) (granting motion to dismiss class action complaint)
• Dodd-Owens v. Kyphon Inc., No. C 06-3988 (JF), 2007 WL 1670338 (N.D. January 2012 DLA Piper | 10 Cal. Jun. 6, 2007) (granting motion to dismiss class FEHA claims with prejudice)
• Arabian v. Sony Electronics Inc., No. 05-CV-1741 (WQH), 2007 WL 627977 (S.D. Cal. Feb. 22, 2007) (denying motion for class certification)
• Sony Electronics Inc. v. Superior Court, 145 Cal. App. 4th 1086 (2006) (reversal of trial court order certifying class) (depublished by 2007 Cal. LEXIS 2671)