Hon. Edward A. Infante (Ret.) is known for his ability to mediate complex cases involving a wide range of issues. A former chief magistrate judge of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Judge Infante has more than 35 years of dispute resolution experience. As a JAMS neutral and as a federal judge, he became known for successfully resolving complex disputes, with particular expertise in business litigation, employment, intellectual property, securities and antitrust cases.

Judge Infante has successfully resolved numerous class actions involving everything from shareholders’ rights to data breaches to Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) matters to false advertising and product liability cases. He has the ability to grasp complex corporate, accounting, financial and insurance issues while keeping in mind practical ongoing business considerations in order to assist parties in reaching solutions. He is widely respected for his knowledge of the law, sharp business acumen, objectivity and persistent efforts to resolve disputes.

Judge Infante is experienced with mediating cases set before various venues, including state and federal Courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and various international venues.

In 2018, Judge Infante took an appointment as a recalled magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California while on a sabbatical from JAMS. During his time back on the bench, he used his experience and expertise in settlement to help parties reach resolutions. He returned full time to JAMS in 2019.

ADR Experience and Qualifications

• As a federal judge and a mediator, conducted over 4,000 settlement conferences and mediations in all types of civil litigation, including securities fraud and shareholder class actions, intellectual property disputes and employment cases
• Resolved thousands of pretrial matters, including discovery, pleading and summary judgment motions, and presided over numerous jury trials
• Served as special master in several complex federal cases; authored Chapter 53, titled "Masters," in Moore's Federal Practice (the chapter discusses the appointment and procedures of special masters)

Representative Matters

• Antitrust & Competition
• Settled class-action lawsuits alleging Norway’s major salmon-farming firms colluded to fix the prices of farmed salmon sold in the United States
• Business Commercial
• Mediated all types of business suits involving breach of contract, accounting, valuation and breach of warranty claims
• Civil Rights
• Shurtleff vs. Health Net: settled this medical data breach/privacy class action
• Antitrust class action alleging unlawful markup in the average wholesale prices of various brand-name drugs; settled for $350 million, one of the largest Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act settlements in history
• Resolved individual actions filed by various public entities under public sector health care plans
• Class Action & Mass Tort

Settled over 750 class and mass actions, including wage and hour matters; antitrust class actions; securities fraud, including 10b-5 class actions; data breach and privacy; and matters involving laws such as the Truth in Lending Act, Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) and the TCPA.

• In re Payment Card Interchange Fee Antitrust Litigation: largest antitrust settlement of $7.25 billion in multi-district litigation on behalf of a class of approximately 7 million merchants in the United States
• Mediated multiple class actions alleging autodialer calls and text messages that were sent to consumers’ mobile phones in violation of the TCPA
• In re Currency Conversion Fee Antitrust Litigation: a nationwide class action concerning the use of certain payment cards for foreign transactions; settled for $336 million
• Numerous securities class actions and derivative actions involving over 100 NASDAQ- and NYSE-listed companies
• Multiple products class actions, including those alleging defects in automobiles, etc.
• False advertisement/misrepresentation: multiple food labeling cases alleging deceptive and misleading product packaging; multiple cases alleging false labeling and false bargain advertisement
• Employment Law
• Mediated numerous wage and hour class actions, including those involving California PAGA claims
• Mediated race, gender and age discrimination suits; mediated sexual harassment, wrongful discharge and other employment-related breach of contract disputes
• Dispute alleging violation of Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) for failure to pay patient claims or to honor patients’ out-of-network benefits
• Class action alleging gender discrimination against a major public educational institution
• Settled multiple disputes alleging racial discrimination; worked with the employer and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to design consensual consent decrees
• False Claims Act
• State of California ex rel. Hunter Laboratories v. Quest Diagnostics, et al.: settled for $300 million; the largest False Claims Act settlement in California history and the largest single-state False Claims Act settlement in United States history
• False Claims Act case involving British Petroleum (BP) and the State of California involving claims of overcharging for natural gas; settled for $102 million
• False Claims Act case in which U.S. Department of Justice intervened against a Silicon Valley company accused of concealing its commercial prices and overcharging the U.S. government; settled for $75.5 million
• Whistleblower case involving the University of Phoenix alleging that its student recruitment policy violated the False Claims Act
• Health Care
• Shurtleff vs. Health Net: settled this medical data breach/privacy class action
• Antitrust class action alleging unlawful markup in the average wholesale prices of various brand-name drugs; settled for $350 million, one of the largest Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act settlements in history
• Resolved individual actions filed by various public entities under public sector health care plans
• Intellectual Property
• Technology areas
• Biotechnology (pharmaceutical and medical device), semiconductor, network, peripherals, microprocessors, internet and e-commerce, and consumer electronics
• Copyright
• Mediated multiple copyright infringement and piracy of software claims
• Mediated a dispute alleging violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act involving internet content
• Special master in copyright dispute over billion-dollar doll market between a company and a former employee and between competitors
• Settled copyright infringement dispute between artist and motion picture studio over the creation of a character in a major motion picture
• Settled a dispute arising from the use of the title, character, name, text and photographs associated with a book
• Patents
• As a federal judge, adjudicated patent infringement matters, including Markman hearings and motions for summary judgment involving infringement and validity claims, and presided over several jury trials
• Nikon v. ASML: international patent dispute involving multiple patents resulting in complex cross-licensing agreements
• Mediated a multi-million-dollar web browser plug-in patent dispute
• Settled an international patent infringement dispute involving multiple patents, resulting in complex cross-licensing agreements
• Mediated a multi-million-dollar patent infringement and breach of licensing agreement involving a design chip set used in smartphone technology
• Mediated pre-litigation patent infringement claims between two Fortune 500 companies resulting in a cross licensing agreement involving patent portfolios
• Mediated several biotech patent infringement disputes, including a case with antitrust counterclaims involving multiple patents for DNA sequencing methods and apparatus
• Mediated a web browser plug-in patent dispute between a non-practicing entity and a Fortune 500 company
• Mediated a multi-patent dispute involving remote control technology
• Global settlement of three patent infringement lawsuits involving multiple software and audio technology patents
• Trade Secrets
• Settled numerous disputes alleging unfair business competition between competitors in various industries, including internet and e-commerce, computer software and hardware, and financial markets
• Trademark
• Mediated a trademark infringement, unfair competition and cybersquatting claim under the Lanham Act regarding the Formula 1 mark developed in connection with auto racing; settlement involved the transfer of domain names to plaintiff
• Settled multi-million-dollar dispute involving luxury brand alcoholic beverage
• Settled a putative class action alleging virtual infringement of registered trademarks
• Settled trademark disputes involving fragrance and related products
• Securities

Judge Infante has settled innumerable shareholders’ rights actions involving more than 100 NYSE- and NASDAQ-listed companies, as well as insurance companies, involving issues such as 10b-5 class actions, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, stock option backdating and stockholder derivative actions.  Cases handled include the following:

• In re IndyMac Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) Litigation: settled for $340 million; class action claims against six underwriters of IndyMac mortgage-backed securities, resulting in one of the largest federal class action settlements in mortgage-backed securities 
• In re McKesson, HBOC, Inc. Securities Litigation: settled for $960 million; one of the largest securities fraud class settlements
• California Public Employees’ Retirement Systems (“CalPERS”) v. Moody’s Corp.: settled for $130 million; claims of negligent misrepresentation by credit rating agency in issuing “Aaa” ratings for certain mortgage-backed securities

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Included on "National Mediators" list, Chambers USA America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, 2016–2018
• Recognized as an “ADR Champion,” National Law Journal, 2016–2018
• Recognized as a "Top California Neutral," Daily Journal,2003–2004, 2006–2012
• Recognized as the Best Neutral in the Bay Area (2007–2008) and as one of top Best Neutrals in the Bay Area (2009–2012), through an open survey of attorneys, The Recorder
• Recognized as a "Super Lawyer in Mediation and Arbitration," San Francisco Magazine, 2019
• Member, Federal Magistrate Judges Association, 1973–present; (President, 1981, 1982; Vice President, 1979–1980); moderator and panelist in various federal practice seminars, including the Federal Practice Institute, 1983–1993
• Adjunct Professor, Santa Clara University Law School; lectured in evidence, judicial administration and alternative dispute resolution, 1990–2002

Background and Education

• Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 2018–2019
• Chief Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1990–2001
• Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, 1972–1986
• United States Trustee; U.S. Department of Justice; Region 15; Southern District of California, District of Hawaii, Territory of Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands; 1988–1990
• Partner; Schall, Boudreau & Gore; San Diego; 1986–1988
• J.D., Boston University School of Law, 1965
• A.B., Boston College, 1962