With more than 25 years of experience in complex litigation that includes a comprehensive background in both federal and state courts in securities class actions, 10(b) lawsuits, employment and business litigation and tax law. A longtime proponent of financial accountability, Mr. Zabb represents individuals, consumers, public pension funds, unions, multi-employer plans and other institutional investors in securities class and direct actions, shareholder derivative litigation, corporate acquisition cases, and qui tam and whistleblower litigation.
Prior to joining our firm as of counsel, Mr. Zabb served as lead or co-lead counsel in various large, complex securities class actions involving accounting fraud and factual misstatements which victimized the investing public. Many of these cases involved multinational or foreign companies or entities and required international or foreign investigation and/or foreign court proceedings, such as KPNQwest, a European telecommunciations provider; Infonet, a company jointly owned by European national telephone companies; and MTC, a company which claimed to own telecommunications joint ventures in China. His efforts resulted in substantial recoveries for investors. Mr. Zabb also has experience litigating SEC cases, including SEC v. Thrasher and In re Motel 6 Securities Litigation.
Mr. Zabb’s work has resulted in numerous reported federal decisions on accounting fraud, governing principles of federal securities law and federal discovery. He has played an instrumental role in opt-out cases and 10(b) lawsuits, including Kayne, et al. v. MTC, which involved ownership of telecommunications joint ventures in the People’s Republic of China. The Ninth Circuit later adopted an important RICO ruling in Kayne on retroactivity as its rule.
Mr. Zabb has additionally been involved in high stakes litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court, representing two large insurers seeking contribution in Employers Insurance of Wausau v. Musick, Peeler & Garrett. He authored the prevailing Supreme Court brief, and the consequent ruling established the right of contribution in Rule 10b-5 securities lawsuits.
Mr. Zabb’s M.B.A. in accounting and finance, as well as his LL.M. in taxation provide essential tools for uncovering financial and business fraud and other wrongdoing. Mr. Zabb serves as an active member of the Los Angeles County and New York State Bar Associations.
Bar Admissions
California, 1983
New York, 1980
Massachusetts, 1980 (Inactive)
Education
University of Southern California (M.B.A.) 1987
NYU School of Law (LL.M., Taxation) 1982
Columbia University Law School (J.D.) 1979
Yale College (B.A., cum laude) 1975
Courts
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court
(Central, Northern, Southern and Eastern Districts of California)
(Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of New York)
(District of Massachusetts)
Published Opinions
Employers Insurance of Wausau v. Musick, Peeler & Garrett
(1993) 508 U.S. 286
In re Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Securities Litigation
(3rd Cir. 2008) 283 Fed.Appx. 887
Payne v. DeLuca
(W.D. Penn. 2006) 433 F.Supp.2d 547
Clair v. DeLuca
(W.D. Penn. 2006) 232 F.R.D. 523
In re Infonet Services Corp. Securities Litigation
(C.D. Cal. 2003) 310 F.Supp.2d 1106
S.E.C. v. Thrasher
(S.D.N.Y. 2001) 152 F.Supp.2d 291
Berg v. MTC Electronics Technologies
(1998) 61 Cal.App.4th 349