David J. Zimmer

Mr. Zimmer’s recent U.S. Supreme Court representations include the following:

• Led briefing and presented oral argument before the Supreme Court in an immigration case concerning the correct interpretation of the stop-time rule for cancellation of removal. By an 8-1 vote, the Supreme Court agreed with our client, reversing the decisions of six courts of appeals, and allowing thousands of noncitizens to apply for cancellation of removal. Pereira v. Sessions, 138 S. Ct. 2105 (2018).
• Co-authored brief and served as second chair in the first Supreme Court case to consider the revised standards for patentability under the 2011 America Invents Act. The Court unanimously agreed with our client’s argument that an invention is “on sale” for purposes of the statute if it is sold or offered for sale, and that it does not matter whether the sales are public or make the invention “available to the public” more broadly. Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharm. USA, Inc., 139 S. Ct. 628 (2019).
• On behalf of a major banking client, co-authored the petition for certiorari and merits briefs that persuaded the Supreme Court to grant certiorari to resolve questions about the scope of the Fair Housing Act, adopt our client’s argument, and set aside the appellate decision applying a relaxed causation standard.

His other recent representations include the following:

• Developed appellate strategy and co-authored briefs that convinced the Federal Circuit to reverse the district court’s factual findings as clearly erroneous, and hold that the patent asserted against our client was invalid as obvious. The Federal Circuit’s decision cleared the path for our client to launch its generic pharmaceutical product. Bayer Pharma AG v. Watson Laboratories, Inc., 874 F.3d 1316 (Fed. Cir. 2017). 
• Co-authored winning briefs in a significant appeal in the Federal Circuit about the scope of “covered business method” review of patents by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Managing IP named the case one of 2016’s “Milestone Cases.” Unwired Planet, LLC v. Google Inc., 841 F.3d 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2016).
• Co-authored briefs that convinced the Federal Circuit to hold that substantial evidence did not support the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decision that our client’s patent was invalid as obvious.
• On behalf of a major mortgage lender, co-authored briefs persuading a California trial judge to grant judgment notwithstanding the verdict on a multimillion-dollar tort judgment against our client, and appellate briefs persuading the California Court of Appeal to affirm the trial court’s decision and the California Supreme Court to deny review.
• On behalf of four nationwide mortgage lenders, co-authored briefs persuading the Ninth Circuit to dismiss a False Claims Act lawsuit demanding a multibillion-dollar recovery.
• Successfully briefed and argued cases before the Second and Ninth Circuits on behalf of pro bono clients, convincing the courts to grant petitions for review from decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals finding our clients removable. The Legal Aid Society recently recognized Mr. Zimmer for this work, awarding him its 2018 Pro Bono Publico Award.