Joshua D. Branson

Representative Experience

• In re Determination of Royalty Rates & Terms For Making & Distributing Phonorecords (“Phonorecords IV”), No. 21-CRB-0001-PR (2023-2027) – Represented Amazon as lead trial counsel in Copyright Royalty Board rate-setting proceeding to establish statutory mechanical-royalty rates for interactive music streaming.  Case resolved on eve of trial.
• Atchley v. AstraZeneca UK Limited, No. 17-cv-02136 (D.D.C.)– Lead counsel representing U.S. service members, civilians, and their families in a civil antiterrorism lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, GE Healthcare, AstraZeneca, and Roche for bribing Jaysh al-Mahdi terrorists in Iraq.  Obtained unanimous D.C. Circuit decision reversing dismissal of claims.
• WNAC v. Verizon, No. 21-cv-10750 (D. Mass.) – Lead counsel defending Verizon against copyright-infringement lawsuit alleging unlawful retransmission of broadcast station signal.  Obtained threshold dismissal of most claims; discovery ongoing for remainder.
• Reid v. Doe Run Resources Corp., No. 23-1625 (8th Cir.) – Lead appellate counsel in interlocutory appeal from a mass-tort action involving lead emissions in Peru; appeal concerns the doctrine of international-comity abstention.
• Cabrera v. Islamic Republic of Iran, No. 19-cv-03835 (D.D.C.) – Lead counsel representing U.S. service members, civilians, and their families in a Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act lawsuit against Iran for proving material support to the Afghan Taliban.  Conducted bench trial on liability and bellwether damages in October 2021.  Obtained 126-page decision entering judgment on liability and awarding more than $100 million in damages to bellwether clients.
• Foley v. Lafarge S.A., No. 23-cv-05691 (E.D.N.Y.) – Lead counsel representing American families killed and injured by ISIS in a civil antiterrorism lawsuit against French cement conglomerate that made multi-million-dollar payments to ISIS in Syria.
• Cabrera v. Black & Veatch, No. 19-cv-03833 (D.D.C.) – Lead counsel representing U.S. service members, civilians, and their families in a civil antiterrorism lawsuit alleging that large Western contractors paid protection money to the Afghan Taliban.
• Tenny Journal Communications, Inc. v. Verizon New Jersey, No. 19-cv-19183 (D.N.J.) – Represented Verizon as lead counsel in lawsuit alleging overbilling for payphone service.  Secured complete dismissal of all claims, as well as final judgment awarding Verizon its full damages on all counterclaims.
• ControlCase Attestation Services LLC v. ControlCase LLC, No. CL2020-19720 (Va. Cir. Ct.) – Represented SOC 2 auditor as lead counsel defending breach-of-contract and tortious-interference lawsuit brought by former joint-venture partner.  Obtained complete dismissal of all claims.
• Mississippi v. Tennessee, et al., No. 143, Orig. (U.S.) – Conducted trial of original-jurisdiction claims concerning interstate water dispute over the Middle Claiborne Aquifer.  Obtained full dismissal of claims before Special Master and unanimous affirmance from the U.S. Supreme Court.
• In re Aearo Technologies, LLC, No. 22-2606 (7th Cir.) – Represented Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors Related To Use Of Combat Arms Version 2 Earplug in high-profile bankruptcy case concerning scope of automatic stay for largest MDL in U.S. history.  Led drafting of Official Committee’s merits brief, which represented the interests of hundreds of thousands of U.S. military veterans harmed by 3M’s defective earplugs. Case settled for $6 billion after oral argument in the Seventh Circuit.
• In re Bestwall LLC, No. 17-31795 (W.D.N.C. Bankr.) – Represents Official Committee of Asbestos Claimants in Fourth Circuit and Supreme Court appellate matters arising from the nation’s first “Texas Two Step” bankruptcy case.
• Roy Moore v. Tiana Lowe, No. 20-cv-00124 (N.D. Ala.) – Represents journalists against defamation claims brought by former U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore.  Delivered oral argument on motion to dismiss and obtained dismissal of all claims in district court.
• Mattil v. Department of State, No. 2020-1322 (Fed. Cir.) – Represented whistleblower as lead counsel in appeal from adverse Merit Systems Protection Board decision.  Case settled on favorable terms after appellate briefing in the Federal Circuit.
• CenturyLink Communications, LLC v. Verizon Services Corp., et al., No. 18-33 (FCC) – Represented Verizon as lead counsel in significant regulatory dispute with CenturyLink over special-access charges.  Obtained full dismissal of CenturyLink’s claims after contested evidentiary proceeding.
• Midcontinent Communications v. MCI Communications Services, Inc., No. 16-cv-04070 (D.S.D.) – Represented Verizon as lead trial counsel in billing dispute with South Dakota-based cable company.  Secured final judgment in Verizon’s favor on both Plaintiff’s claims and Verizon’s counterclaims.
• CallerID4u, Inc. v. MCI Communications Services Inc., No. 15-35028 (9th Cir.) – Delivered oral argument in Ninth Circuit federal-preemption case concerning state-law equitable claims brought by competitive local exchange carrier.  Obtained published decision affirming favorable ruling below.
• Maxi Dinga Sopo v. U.S. Attorney General, No. 17-15426-EE (11th Cir.) – Delivered oral argument in Eleventh Circuit case concerning the constitutionality of indefinite civil immigration detention.  Obtained published decision reversing dismissal of claims below.
• Redbox Automated Retail, LLC v. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., et al., No. 18-cv-00677 (C.D. Cal.) – After fully briefing a motion to dismiss, successfully resolved antitrust claims against merchandising wholesaler alleging anticompetitive conduct in the DVD rental market.
• Roy Jones v. Party City Holdco Inc., et al., No. 15-cv-09080 (S.D.N.Y.) – Obtained full dismissal of securities-law claims against Party City for alleged misstatements in offering documents.
• Stephen Robertson, et al. v. John Franco, et al., No. 49C01-0812-MI-057122-001 (Ind. Cir. Ct.) – Successfully resolved fiduciary-duty claims brought against outside directors of liquidated Indiana life insurance company.
• Ronan Telephone Company, et al. v. Federal Communications Commission, et al., No. 05-71995 (9th Cir.) – Delivered oral argument in Ninth Circuit case concerning administrative-law challenge to a Federal Communications Commission declaratory rule.  Successfully avoided vacatur of the FCC’s rule to enable favorable resolution on remand.
• In re Bank of New York Mellon Forex Transactions Litigation, No. 12-md-2335 (S.D.N.Y.) – Represented Bank of New York Mellon in consolidated lawsuits alleging that BNYM overcharged its custody customers on foreign-exchange services.  Obtained full dismissal of parallel state False Claims Act claims brought in six States, alleging billions of dollars in damages.
• In re National Football League Players’ Concussion Injury Litigation, MDL No. 2323 (E.D. Pa.) – Represented retired football players in prominent MDL alleging that NFL was responsible for players’ head injuries.  Served as primary brief drafter, and assisted in oral argument, on NFL’s threshold preemption defense.  Case settled favorably after argument on the NFL’s motion to dismiss.