September, 2001

Bergeson Eliopoulos Client Wins $613,000 Fee Award In Oakland Airport High Tech Security System Dispute A $613,000 award of attorney's fees to Stratesec, formerly known as Securacom, Inc., became final this week when the California Supreme Court declined to accept review of the fourth and final appeal of a seven-year legal odyssey involving installation of the automated access security system at the Oakland International Airport. Bergeson Eliopoulos, LLP attorneys William T. Eliopoulos and Donald P. Gagliardi represented Stratesec, design consultant to the Port of Oakland for the airport's automated security system, in defense of a $23 million lawsuit by Information Systems and Networks Corporation (ISN). ISN was hired in 1991 as the prime contractor for installing the system but was later terminated by the Port of Oakland as a result of delays and technical problems. In 1994, ISN sued Stratesec and the automated security system vendor. ISN claimed professional negligence and breach of Stratesec's contract with the Port of Oakland under a third-party beneficiary theory, contending that Stratesec had designated a faulty system in its design specifications. ISN sought $23 million in damages plus attorney's fees. Bergeson Eliopoulos vigorously defended Stratesec against ISN's suit. Following a prolonged and bitter discovery process, the matter went to trial in July 1996. After a week long trial, the jury returned a complete defense verdict in favor of Stratesec. The trial judge, however, denied Stratesec's motion for attorney's fees. Both parties filed separate appeals. In 1998, The First District Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment in Stratesec's favor and reversed the trial judge's denial of Stratesec attorney's fees, finding that as the prevailing party Stratesec was entitled to recover its fees from ISN based on a fee-shifting clause in its contract with the Port of Oakland of which ISN had alleged it was the third-party beneficiary. The appeals court remanded to set the amount of fees. Following a reference to a special master, in April 2000, and subsequent appeal of the amount of the fees award by ISN, in June of 2001, the Court of Appeal affirmed the award of fees in the entire principal amount. ISN then petitioned for review to the California Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's denial of review thus ends a seven-year legal odyssey. About Bergeson Eliopoulos, LLP Bergeson Eliopoulos, LLP, based in San Jose, California, is a litigation law firm specializing in securities, intellectual property, and commercial litigation. Representative clients include Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., Inktomi Corporation, Shugart Technology Corporation, Preview Systems, Inc., Brokat Technologies/Blaze Software, Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, Micron Electronics, Inc., Tektronix, Inc., Knight Ridder, Inc. and SMART Modular, Inc. More information on Bergeson Eliopoulos, LLP can be found on the World Wide Web at www.be-law.com.