Biography

Joseph C. Gjonola practices in the areas of general business litigation, complex commercial litigation, and intellectual property. His record reflects his versatility in legal substance and procedure - from advocating for individuals in mediation to confronting large corporations in Federal Courts of Appeals.

Mr. Gjonola seeks to protect businesses from insurance companies who breach their contracts or act in bad faith, which can increase costs and drain profits. He has successfully litigated suits for breach of contract and business torts ranging from conversion to unfair business practices.

Mr. Gjonola also fights to secure his clients’ intellectual property rights and their right to compensation for the movies, television shows, and books they have created. This includes copyright, trade mark, and “idea theft” litigation.

Prior to joining RPNA, Mr. Gjonola was an associate at Girardi | Keese, where he represented individuals against some of the most powerful industries in the country.

• Successfully appealed the dismissal of his client’s “idea theft” case. An en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit found that federal copyright law did not preempt the implied contract claim. Montz v. Pilgrim Films & Television, Inc. --- F.3d ----, 2011 WL 1663119 (9th Cir., 2011).
   
• Won dismissal of a breach of contract case with multiple tort causes of action, during the pleading stage.
   
• Prevented a defendant’s attempt to remove a case to Federal Court and secured a dismissal of the defendant’s appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
   
• Defeated an attempt to “attach” a client’s real property in satisfaction of future judgment and successfully litigated the case to settlement.
   
• Litigated and assisted in the successful appeal of a district court’s refusal to remand for lack of complete diversity, confronting the “fraudulent misjoinder” doctrine―a matter of first impression in the Eighth Circuit. In re Prempro Products Liability Litigation, 591 F. 3d 613 (8th Cir., 2010).
   
• Participated in the successful mediation and arbitration of cases for both plaintiffs and defendants.
   
• Litigated and assisted in resolving various cases of idea submission / idea theft, copyright, trade mark, and patents.

• Member: Beverly Hills Bar Association.
   

• Admitted to practice: California, 2006; U.S. District Court, Central District of California; U.S. District Court, Northern District of California; U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, 2008; U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, 2009.
   
• Pepperdine University, J.D., 2005.
   
• California State University, Northridge, Northridge, B.A. in Economics, 2002.
   
• Honors: Witkin Awards for Academic Excellence: Conflict of Laws, Criminal Law, and Property.

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