Dan Kappes
Partner
Overview
Dan Kappes is a San Francisco litigation attorney who focuses in the areas of commercial liability, healthcare litigation, unfair business competition, fraud, complex business disputes, intellectual property (IP), and corporate and governmental investigations.
Mr. Kappes is an experienced and nimble litigator who focuses his practice on the defense of corporate clients. He has represented numerous Fortune 500 companies and businesses faced with complex business disputes, consumer class actions and regulatory enforcement matters. Mr. Kappes has spent a decade delivering creative arguments and innovative solutions for clients with the goal to resolve matters expeditiously. He is a trusted advisor to many businesses.
Mr. Kappes has extensive experience representing large healthcare organizations and individual hospital systems. He is an experienced advocate and has litigated pricing disputes, False Claims Act cases, rate cases, privacy breaches, government investigations and other complex healthcare disputes.
Mr. Kappes also represents corporate clients faced with complex business disputes involving contractual breach claims, fraud, unfair and deceptive business practices, business torts, and actions brought by consumers, state attorneys general and government bodies.
Additionally, Mr. Kappes represents clients in copyright, trademark and trade secret matters as well as various related contractual and complex business disputes involving business torts. He has represented and counseled clients in a variety of industries regarding their IP rights, including aviation, apparel, technology and music.
Mr. Kappes has also made public service and charitable work an important part of his practice. He is a member of the San Francisco office's Diversity Committee, mentoring team and Auction for a Cause. In the community, Mr. Kappes is a parent-volunteer at Piedmont Unified School District, the Alameda County Community Food Bank and the Homeless Advocacy Project. In his free time, he enjoys cycling and fly-fishing.
Representative Experience
- Defended one of the nation’s largest automobile companies in an unfair business practices dispute brought by the California Attorney General office
- Defended multiple parties in a post-judgment action by a judgment creditor to add new parties to an existing judgment exceeding $50 million
- Represented a resort developer and owner in a state court action against a resort operator arising from under indemnity provisions of the property management agreement
- Represented an insurance broker in a successful motion to dismiss tort and contract causes of action brought by a large private equity firm
- Led the investigation and defense of a company in a multiparty case that included the use of extensive electronic discovery tools to prove that the plaintiff forged and falsified records
- Represented an international company in an action against the U.S. government regarding the termination of a government contract
- Represented numerous business entities in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking discovery for use in foreign litigation, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782
- Defended a food and beverage company in a false advertising and unfair competition case brought in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- Defended a large financial institution against a class action complaint alleging unfair business practices and against Lanham Act claims
- Represented a venture capital firm in a misappropriation of trade secrets case brought by competing firms
- Represented one of the nation's largest hospitality companies against contract breach claims
- Defended the largest entertainment company hosting combat sporting events against unfair competition law claims and automatic renewal law claims under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 and § 17602
- Defended and represented a leading hotel operator and management company in numerous contractual disputes with hotel owners
- Defended a private equity company and principals against breach of fiduciary duty clams
- Advised California’s largest public healthcare district on an innovative structural reorganization to partner with a newly created nonprofit management services organization
- Secured dismissal of a False Claims Act (FCA) case against a healthcare company in federal court related to drug pricing
- Represented a large healthcare system in a FCA investigation and negotiated a favorable settlement on behalf of the hospital client
- Defended a large national pharmacy against state attorney general claims that medications and pharmacy drugs were improperly stored and maintained
- Secured dismissal of lawsuit filed by disgruntled physician groups against healthcare system
- Secured dismissal of unfair business practices lawsuit against a healthcare system brought by a competing hospital in California state court
- Represented a pharmaceutical company against a FCA investigation brought by a state attorney general
- Represented a large Northern California healthcare provider in an antitrust, trade secrets and pricing dispute case
- Represented an information technology firm against multiple claims in a multiparty action concerning the development of a state healthcare exchange
- Defended a hospital system in a FCA investigation by California Department of Justice
- Represented a clothing designer against misappropriation of name, image and likeness claims brought by a well-known celebrity
- Represented a wine and beverage producer in a trademark dispute against a competing producer
- Represented the nation's largest publisher of continuing education materials for healthcare professionals in a copyright and trade secrets dispute
- Represented an advertising agency against breach of contract claims involving the development of an application to run on mobile devices
Credentials
- Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College, J.D.
- University of Idaho, B.S., Geological Sciences
- California
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- Bar Association of San Francisco
- Lewis & Clark Law School, Public Interest Law Project Scholar
- University of Idaho, Dean's List