News and Events

August 25, 2008
In a key victory vindicating the First Amendment rights of the press, John Tehranian and Peter Afrasiabi successfully moved to strike a high-profile suit against a leading celebrity news agency under California's anti SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) statute.  In the suit, a paparazzo sought to hold Turner Green's client liable for the alleged acts of two photojournalists involved in an assault and battery while in the course of obtaining photographs of singer Britney Spears.  Such a meritless suit, Turner Green argued, could chill the client's First Amendment news-gathering activities.  The court agreed, finding that the plaintiff's cause of action arose from the client's exercise of its free speech rights and that the plaintiff had not demonstrated a probability of prevailing on his claims.  As such, the suit was dismissed in its entirety and Turner Green's client was granted an award of its attorneys' fees and costs.

August 7, 2008
Todd Green, Peter Afrasiabi and Chris Arledge successfully opposed a motion to dismiss their client's defamation case against the History Channel relating to its documentary series "The History of Sex." The History Channel moved to dismiss under California's anti-SLAPP statute arguing that the defamation claim arose out of the History Channel's conduct in furtherance of its exercise of the right of free speech in connection with an issue of public interest. Turner Green argued, and the trial court agreed, that media defendants do not have an automatic right to avail themselves of the anti-SLAPP statute merely because they are in the business of discussing issues of interest to the public. Rather, the specific speech at issue must be an issue of public interest for the anti-SLAPP statute to apply. The court held that their was no public interest in the History Channel's statements about our client.

August 6, 2008
Peter Afrasiabi and Chris Arledge prevailed in securing a judgment of infringement in a patent infringement lawsuit for their music industry client and in securing a dismissal of the other side's federal antitrust claims.

July 16, 2008
Todd Green prevailed in an appeal before the California Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal reversed a ruling by the trial court dismissing Todd's client's complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction over the defendant, an Illinois company. Todd argued, and the Court of Appeal agreed, that the defendant was subject to specific personal jurisdiction in California because the claims arose from its contacts with California.

July 11, 2008
Peter Afrasiabi published an article on federal appellate litigation in the nationally distributed "Federal Lawyer Magazine." read here.

April 2008
Red County, a political magazine and website, published Chris Arledge's article "Keeping the Judiciary in Check" on its website. read here

April 2008
Peter Afrasiabi previously provided an Amicus Appellate Brief for critical national biomedical institutions such as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Hospital, the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois and Loma Linda University in a long-anticipated case pending before the California Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in that case today regarding entrustment of inventions and patents to third parties. This case is a great example of the importance of amicus "friend of the court" filings in high-profile cases involving intellectual property rights.

April 2008
Todd settled on favorable terms a claim against his client, a medical device company, for breach of a patent license agreement.

April 2008
Chris Arledge, Peter Afrasiabi and John Tehranian participated in a panel discussion at Chapman University Law School with Judge Carlos Bea of the Ninth Circuit to discuss recent landmark rulings of the court, including a case with important intellectual property and free speech implications.

March 2008
Chris Arledge and Peter Afrasiabi convinced the federal district court in Las Vegas to dismiss an unfair competition claim against their client, a financial services firm. That order led to the plaintiff's decision to dismiss the remaining trade dress infringement claim as well.

March 2008
Chris Arledge gave a presentation to the San Diego County Bar Association entitled "What Every Employment Lawyer Needs to Know About Copyright Law."

March 2008
As an Adjunct Professor at Chapman Law School, Peter supervised a team of students to argue an important immigration appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Panel of federal judges complemented the efforts of the team in the appeal.

February 2008
Peter prevailed in a trademark dispute on behalf of the firm's client Targus International, Inc.

February 2008
Todd was named a "Super Lawyer" in a survey of attorneys conducted by Super Lawyers Magazine.

February 2008
Todd settled on favorable terms a case against his client, a management consulting firm, involving claims for misappropriation of trade secrets and interference with contract.

January 2008
As an Adjunct Professor at Chapman Law School, Peter led a Ninth Circuit appeal where the Government stipulated to a remand of the case after Peter's team's Opening Brief was filed.

December 2007
Peter and Chris successfully resolved a significant copyright infringement dispute involving glass designs.

October 2007
Chris Arledge was elected to the Board of Trustees of California Baptist University.

October 2007
Peter was elected Secretary of the Federal Bar Association of Orange County.

September 2007 Peter and John successfully represented a prominent commercial artist in a major copyright infringement action.

June 2007
Peter and Chris successfully prevailed in an interlocutory patent appeal to the Federal Circuit.

August 6, 2007.
Rolling Stone Magazine details Turner Green's copyright infringement lawsuit on behalf of one of its artist clients. Read the article here.

August 3, 2007.
Turner Green LLP filed a Copyright Infringement lawsuit and Complaint on behalf of an artist, Victor Lopez Jr., whose musical composition was used without permission or compensation by hip-hop reggaeton superstar Daddy Yankee in his multi-platinum album, "Barrio Fino," and the recording label Universal Music who produced and distributed the album. A copy of the Press Release is available here.

April 11, 2007.
Chris Arledge was a guest on the nationally syndicated radio program "Women Aloud" to discuss what constitutional protection is afforded "hate speech" and whether the rules are different for media personalities.


April 2007
Peter was a guest lecturer at the Chapman University School of Law on Entertainment and Intellectual Property topics.


March 29, 2007
Chris Arledge was a guest on the nationally syndicated radio program "Women Aloud" to discuss defamation and privacy rights on the internet.


March 2007
Peter was appointed as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Democratic Foundation of Orange County.


February 2007
Chris Arledge publishes the article "Is the Supreme Court's Independence Under Attack?" in Communique, the official magazine of the Clark County (Nevada) Bar Association. In the article, Chris challenges retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's assertion that the high court's ability to perform its constitutional role is threatened because of new threats to judicial independence. Read the article here.


January 2007
Peter was a guest speaker at the Las Vegas Clark County Bar Association's "Intellectual Property - Patents" seminar, part of a trilogy of intellectual property seminars that Turner Green attorneys have presented at.


August 15, 2006
Chris Arledge convinced the California Court of Appeal to reinstate his client's defamation claim against Occidental College. The trial court had dismissed all claims, including the defamation claim, before Chris took over the case. The Court of Appeal's decision means that the defamation claim will proceed as if the order dismissing the case had never been issued. You can read the front-page article on the case from the Los Angeles Daily Journal here.


August 10, 2006
Peter Afrasiabi argued a patent infringement appeal in Washington D.C. before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

July 30, 2006
Chris Arledge was a guest on the Ken Gallacher Show on KFI AM 640 to discuss recent decisions in Washington and New York regarding same-sex marriage, and what the United States Supreme Court is likely to do with the issue. Listen to the discussion here.


July 2, 2006
Chris was a guest on the Ken Gallacher Show on KFI AM 640 to discuss the Supreme Court's decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, a case about whether the United States could continue to try Guantanamo detainees before military commissions. Listen to the discussion here.

June 19, 2006
John Tehranian publishes Aloha, Section 1981 in the Legal Times. The article examines the Ninth Circuit's pending en banc hearing in Doe v. Kamehameha Schools, a case of first impression addressing the permissibility of a Hawaiians-first admission policy at a private school. As John argues, the case will have significant implications on civil rights litigation and the scope of section 1981, especially as it pertains to remedial race-based policies adopted in the private sector.

May 30, 2006
Chris Arledge and Peter Afrasiabi debated politics for students in Fountain Valley High School's Advanced Placement Government class.

May 23, 2006
Chris Arledge and Peter Afrasiabi participated in a debate on the role of religion in the public schools at Whittier Law School. The debate was sponsored by the Constitutional Rights Foundation.

May 5, 2006
Peter Afrasiabi participated in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Brainstorming Session designed to address the issue of surging immigration caseloads at the federal appellate level. Peter has been a volunteer coordinator for the Ninth Circuit since 2000, working to place pro se appeals with attorneys in Southern California.

April 12, 2006
Peter Afrasiabi was awarded the USC Law School's 2006 Paul Davis Memorial Award for Peter's pro bono appellate litigation efforts in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

April 1, 2006
David Koch, a partner of Turner Green, opened the firm's Las Vegas office. David was an associate at O'Melveny & Myers before joining Turner Green in 2004. He is an alumnus of the University of Chicago Law School. David represents clients in complex business litigation, with an emphasis in real-estate and intellectual property disputes.

March 30, 2006
Chris debated the constitutionality of the words "Under God" in the pledge of allegiance in a debate sponsored by Federal Bar Association. Chris' opponent, Michael Newdow, gained nation-wide recognition litigating this issue before the Ninth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. The debate was moderated by Ronald Garet, a professor of constitutional law at USC Law School. A flier for the event is attached here.

March 16, 2006
Chris participated in an event sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League and Chapman Law School concerning the legal issues involved in the teaching of intelligent design in public schools. Chris was joined on the panel by Ron Steiner, a professor of political science at Chapman University, and Roxanne Greitz Miller, a professor in the Education Department at Chapman. The event was moderated by Marshall Kaplan, the Executive Director of the Merage Foundations and the former Dean of the University of Colorado's Graduate School of Public Affairs.

December 2, 2005
John Tehranian serves on a panel on digital distribution and the future of the music industry at the Los Angeles County Bar Association's 16th annual Entertainment Industry Labor and Employment Law Conference: Key Issues Facing the Music, Sports and Motion Picture Industries.

November 18, 2005
Peter Afrasiabi wins an appeal before the United States Court of Appeals on an important question regarding the availability of attorneys' fees awards in federal litigation. The Ninth Circuit published their opinion in the case.

November, 2005
John Tehranian publishes Copyright Law After Grokster in California Lawyer magazine. The article navigates the murky waters of secondary liability in copyright law by disaggregating the competing theories of infringement delineated in Grokster and its most relevant predecessor, Sony v. Universal. The article then assesses the ways in which Grokster both succeeds and fails to lay a reasonable template for our legal regime’s response to complex issues of technological change and intellectual property protection.

October 7, 2005
John Tehranian serves on a panel of copyright experts discussing “Defenses to Third-Party Liability” at the Conference on Third-Party Liability in Intellectual Property Law co-sponsored by Sun Microsystems, Inc. and the University of Santa Clara High Tech Law Institute in Santa Clara, California.

September, 2005
Peter Afrasiabi, David Koch and Chris Arledge are all named Rising Stars by Southern California Super Lawyers magazine.

September, 2005
Todd Green and Chris Arledge publish "Originalism and Its Discontents" in the Orange County Lawyer magazine. The article is a debate on the originalist method of constitutional interpretation and explores both the philosophical and practical issues associated with originalist theory.

August, 2005
Peter Afrasiabi publishes "Patent Tying and the Necessity of Showing Market Power" in the Orange County Lawyer magazine. The article discusses the interface of antitrust law and patents, specifically the issue of "tying" arrangements where the products at issue are under patent. The case addressed in the article has been taken by the United States Supreme Court for the 2005-06 term.

July, 2005
David Koch publishes "Clipping Coupons: New Law Attacks Notorious Class-Action Settlement Method" in the Orange county Lawyer magazine. The article discusses the recently enacted Class Action Fairness Act and the limitations it imposes upon class action settlements that use coupons to settle with plaintiffs.

June, 2005
Peter Afrasiabi argued a federal appeal before the United States Court of Appeals in a case involving federal attorney fee statutes.

June 6, 2005
Chris Arledge arbitrated a dispute for a local investment banking firm seeking a fee for services it had provided to a client. The case settled after the arbitration but before the arbitrator had rendered his award.

June, 2005
Peter Afrasiabi secured a favorable result on behalf of Western Digital Corp. in an arbitration initiated regarding a trademark domain name dispute.

May 27, 2005
Peter Afrasiabi, David Koch and John Tehranian win an appeal before the California Court of Appeal, Second District, for prominent Los Angeles architect Mehran Shahverdi in proceedings related to a novel and high-profile architectural copyright infringement suit involving two Tuscan-style mansions in Beverly Hills and Bel-Air.

May 12, 2005
In an event sponsored by the Peter Eliot Inn of Court, Chris Arledge and John Tehranian debated the recent United States Supreme Court decision Roper v. Simmons, a case holding that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the execution of defendants who were less than 18 years of age at the time they committed their crimes. The debate was moderated by Kevin Mohr, professor of law at Western State University College of Law.

May, 2005
Chris Arledge publishes in Orange County Lawyer magazine the article "Is the California Supreme Court Confusing the Boundaries of the Economic Loss Rule?" The article explores how the California Supreme Court has tried in vain to draw an intelligible distinction between tort law and contract law in the area of product liability.

May, 2005
In a two-week jury trial, Todd Green successfully defends a publicly-traded company against claims of fraudulent transfer, conversion, conspiracy and intentional interference with economic advantage. The jury finds Turner Green's client not liable on all counts.

April, 2005
Peter Afrasiabi prevailed in an arbitration proceeding on behalf of Meade Instruments Corp., the leading amateur astronomy telescope company. The issue before the arbitrator was a question of trademark law.

April, 2005
John Tehranian publishes in Orange County Lawyer magazine the article "The High Court in Cyberspace: MGM v. Grokster, Digital Copyright, and Secondary Infringement Theories." The article previews the Supreme Court's Grokster decision and the various issues at stake-artistic incentivization, intellectual property protection in the digital environment, and technological development.

March, 2005
Chris Arledge publishes in Orange County Lawyer magazine the article "Gould and Phillips: How the Court of Appeal has abused Tameny's wrongful-termination doctrine." The article explores whether the tort of wrongful termination in violation of public policy should have been extended to cases where the defendant employer is alleged to have fired an employee in order to avoid paying earned wages.

Febraruy, 2005
Peter Afrasiabi spoke at the University of Utah Law School on trademark intellectual property issues. The speech and subsequent question and answer session focused on trademark law in general and the specific application to the internet and domain names.

January 27, 2005
In an event sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League and held at Whittier Law School, Chris Arledge debated Zachary Kramer, a professor of law at UCLA law school, on the issue of same-sex marriage. The debate was moderated by Laurie Levenson, professor of law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

January 10, 2005
Peter Afrasiabi secured a favorable defense result in a breach of contract case he tried in a bench trial in the Orange County Superior Court. The case turned on key questions of evidence and contract interpretation principles.

January, 2005
Chris Arledge and Todd Green successfully try a trespass claim in the Orange County Superior Court. The plaintiff had requested over $200,000 in damages, but the court awarded only nominal damages.

December, 2004
Peter Afrasiabi publishes "When an Actor is Not Part of the Action" in the Orange County lawyer magazine. The article offers practical analysis and guidance on attorney fees language in settlement agreements.

November 9, 2004
In a special event sponsored by the Ferguson American Inn of Court and held at Chapman University School of Law, Chris Arledge and John Tehranian debated the impact of the Supreme Court's recent Lawrence v. Texas decision, which struck a Texas statute proscribing homosexual sodomy as unconstitutional. The program raised critical constitutional and jurisprudential issues in a lively and entertaining presidential-debate format.

November, 2004
Peter Afrasiabi was elected to the Board of Directors of the Federal Bar Association of Orange County.

November, 2004
Chris Arledge publishes in Orange County Lawyer magazine the article "Pitfalls in Defending the Rule 30(b)(6) Witness." The article offers practical guidance on how to prepare for deposition and defend a witness testifying as the designee of the corporation.

November, 2004
David Koch publishes "The End of All Morals Legislation?" in The Legal Light, a publication of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. The article discusses the Supreme Court's Lawrence v. Texas decision and whether public morality may serve as a valid basis for legislation.

November, 2004
Chris Arledge and Peter Afrasiabi tried a three-week jury trial in the United States District Court in Los Angeles. Turner Green's client, a software company, had been sued under various breach of contract and tort theories. The plaintiff requested from the jury more than $15,000,000 in damages. The plaintiff was awarded only $566,000 in compensatory damages -- less than what had been offered in settlement.

October, 2004
Peter Afrasiabi argued two important federal appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Both involved critical issues of federal procedure in political asylum and immigration proceedings, and also issues of first impression in constitutional law.

September 16, 2004
Turner Green Afrasiabi & Arledge is featured in OC Metro magazine in an article entitled “Young Guns – How One Law Firm Corrals New Clients.” (PDF)

September 1, 2004
Peter Afrasiabi presented "Appealing in the Ninth Circuit" to the Orange County Bar Association's Appellate Section.

August 22, 2004
Chris Arledge publishes an editorial on the politics of patriotism in the Orange County Register. (PDF)

August, 2004
University of Utah, S. J. Quinney College of Law Professor John Tehranian joins Turner Green as Of Counsel. Professor Tehranian teaches intellectual property and constitutional law, and formerly practiced at O'Melveny & Myers LLP.

July, 2004
Turner Green and O'Melveny & Myers LLP, on behalf of Meade Instruments, settle several significant patent litigation disputes against Celestron Acquisition LLC and Celestron International, Inc.

June, 2004
In a week-long federal court jury trial in Nebraska, Todd Green obtained a plaintiff's verdict in favor of his client, a wholesaler of luxury eyewear, against a competitor for intentional interference with contract.

May 1, 2004
Turner Green partners Chris Arledge and Todd Green helped a large corporate client negotiate a nuisance-value settlement in a tort action where the plaintiff alleged damages in excess of $1,000,000. Turner Green substantially narrowed the case in the early stages by prevailing on a demurrer to nine of the plaintiff's eleven claims. Turner Green then forced the plaintiff to accept a nuisance-value settlement on the eve of trial by substantially undercutting the plaintiff's credibility and damages theory in discovery, including by uncovering apparently fraudulent conduct by the plaintiff that would have been disastrous to the plaintiff's trial presentation.

May 1, 2004
The Orange County Lawyer magazine publishes an article by Todd Green reviewing the application of the parol evidence rule in contract interpretation. (PDF)

May 1, 2004
David Koch, a business litigator at O'Melveny & Myers, joins Turner Green.

April, 2004
Todd Green is honored as a "Southern California Rising Star" by Southern California Super Lawyers magazine. (PDF)

April 5, 2004
Orange County lawyer publishes Todd Green's article on the intersection of the parol evidence rule and promissory fraud. (PDF)

March 30, 2004
George Turner, one of Turner Green's founding partners, leaves the firm to return to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

November 12, 2003
Turner Green prevailed on behalf of the Diocese of the Pacific and Southwest of the Holy Catholic Church (Anglican Rite) in the Orange County Superior Court. The case arose out of a split in the Anglican Catholic Church. Turner Green's clients had been officers and directors of the Diocese for a number of years. Their status was challenged by a group who asserted that they were the rightful officers of the Diocese and were thus entitled to all of the Diocese's books, records, and property. The Court rejected their claims and granted summary judgment to Turner Green's clients.

October 15, 2003
Turner Green prevailed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, defending an ERISA-based appeal for its client Standard Insurance Company.

October, 2003
Turner Green obtains a dismissal with prejudice of all claims against its client, American Re-Insurance Company, in a multi-million dollar case alleging interference with contract and unfair business practices.

August 19, 2003
Turner Green achieved a favorable settlement for a client whose trade secrets had been stolen by a former employee. The lawsuit had been pending in the federal district court in Santa Ana. The settlement agreement, the terms of which are confidential, allowed Turner Green's client to protect its proprietary information and receive cash compensation.

August, 2003
On the first day of trial, Turner Green obtains a favorable settlement for its client, the managing agent for all homes in California owned by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, in a premises liability case arising out of a gangland shooting.

June 20, 2003
Peter Afrasiabi prevailed in a in a domain name arbitration against a cybersquatter who had registered a domain name that was confusingly similar to that of Turner Green’s client, Inco-Check, Inc.. The arbitrator’s opinion can be viewed at http://www.arb-forum.com/domains/decisions/162193.htm.

April 03, 2003
The Christian Science Monitor published an article about one of the Firm's pro bono immigration clients, an Iraqi who fled Saddam Hussein's regime and sought political asylum in the United States. Peter Afrasiabi, along with University of Utah Professor John Tehranian, has been representing the client in immigration proceedings in order to secure political asylum. A copy of the article can be viewed at http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2003/0403/p18s01-lire.html.

March 13, 2003
Turner Green prevailed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of its client Golden Feather Realty Services, Inc. The plaintiff, John Brooks, had accused Golden Feather of violating various federal regulations related to the selling of HUD-owned homes. The Court of Appeals rejected Brooks' arguments and affirmed the district court's dismissal of Brooks' federal-law claims.

January 24, 2003
Peter Afrasiabi spoke at an annual Intellectual Property conference at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. Peter provided a presentation on Domain Name Law Developments, focusing on federal statutory remedies and international arbitrations for domain name infringement actions.

December 26, 2002
Peter Afrasiabi secured an important victory in a federal appeal. The decision was published by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. (PDF)

December 23, 2002
Peter Afrasiabi, along with O'Melveny & Myers, secured an important victory in a business litigation dispute with a published opinion from the California Court of Appeals in the case Winthrop California Investors Limited Partnership v. Crow Irvine #2. (PDF)

December 17, 2002
Chris Arledge, working pro bono with assistance from Bryan Westerfeld of O'Melveny & Myers, prevailed at trial in the immigration court, obtaining asylum for a Colombian citizen who had been kidnapped and tortured by communist guerrilla forces prior to fleeing for the United States.