Cathleen S. Huang (顏適家)

顏適家 (Bio in Chinese) 

chuang@bowlesverna.com

Cathleen S. Huang is a partner at Bowles & Verna, LLP.  Her areas of practice include international business litigation, products liability, and intellectual property litigation.  She has represented manufacturers and businesses based in the U.S., Taiwan, China, Singapore, and Japan, from all industries, including electronics, computer technology, automotives, bicycles, food supplements, glass, power tools, and medical devices.      

Notable Achievements:

• Obtained a $3.5 million settlement on behalf of a U.S. national distributor of nutritional supplements against a Japanese public company in a breach of contract action;

• Obtained a $2.4 million settlement on behalf of a U.S. software company against a British public company in a breach of contract action;

• Successfully defended one of the largest glass manufacturers in the world in a $10 million breach of contract action;

• Obtained summary judgment in a product liability action alleging that a defective flammable gas cylinder caused severe burns.  The court granted the defense motion to preclude Plaintiffs’ experts from testifying on the grounds the expert opinions were not scientific or reliable.  The 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected plaintiffs’ request to hear the case; 

• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a national life insurance company against allegations of breach of contract and bad faith;

•  Obtained summary adjudication on constitutional claims against a state governmental agency on behalf of an advertising company, which was affirmed by the Court of Appeals;

• Successful defense of a Taiwanese manufacturer of power supply against patent infringement claim and negotiated a lucrative license agreement on behalf of the same company;

• Successful defense of a Taiwanese manufacturer of bicycle forks against $10 million breach of contract claim;

• Successful defense of a Taiwanese manufacturer of children furniture against alleged violation of Proposition 65.

• Shalaby v. Irwin Industrial Tool Co., et al, Case No. 07CV2107-MMA (BLM) (S.D. Cal. July 28, 2009)

Speaking Engagements:

• April 13, 2006, Taipei International Sporting Goods Show (TaiSPO), Taipei, Taiwan.  Topic:  U.S. Product Liability Law and Consumer Product Safety Commission.

• May 10, 2006, National Hardware Show, Las Vegas, Nevada.  Topic:  IP, CPSC and Products Liability Issues for Foreign Manufacturers.

• May 21, 2007, A moderator at the first annual International Consumer Product Safety Symposium at Beijing, China, which was co-sponsored by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) of the Peoples’ Republic of China and the International Consumer Product Safety and Health Organization.   

• October 2007 Separate Presentations to the Neihu Business Association, Taipei, Taiwan;  Taichung Industrial Park, Taichung, Taiwan. Topic: Effective Strategies for Preventing Lawsuits for Companies Selling Goods to the U.S.

• October 2008, Separate Presentations to TAITRA branches in Tainan and Kaohsiung, Taiwan and Chang An, China.  Topic:  Protecting Patent Rights in the US and Limiting Foreign Manufacture Exposure in the U.S.

• March 2009, Separate Presentations to TAITRA branches in Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan.  Topic: What You Need to Know about the 2008 CPSIA and Strategies for Preventing Lawsuits for Companies Selling Goods to the U.S.

• June 2, 2009, Sponsor Hangzhou Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau (CIQ).  Hangzhou, China.  Topic:  Sino-US Trade Related Laws and Regulations.

• November 10, 2009, Taipei Bar Association.  Taipei, Taiwan.  Topic: Representing Product Manufactures and Exporters:  What every Taiwanese Attorney Needs to Know About US Law.

Education:

Ms. Huang graduated from the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley with concentrations in corporate finance and marketing. Thereafter, she graduated magna cum laude from the Washington College of Law at the American University with an emphasis in international business law. While at law school, Cathleen worked as a judicial intern to Judge Vanessa Ruiz at the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.  During college, she also studied Japanese at the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan.

Languages:

Ms. Huang speaks fluently the Mandarin and Taiwanese dialects of Chinese.