Overview
Rohit Nath represents plaintiffs and defendants in high stakes litigation. He has taken on industry leaders such as the country’s biggest insurers, major media and technology companies, and international wireless carriers in courts across the United States. Nath has handled disputes in an array of practice areas, including insurance, copyright, patent, breach-of-contract, and real estate.
In 37 Besen Parkway LLC v. John Hancock Life Insurance Co, Nath was a significant part of a team of Susman Godfrey lawyers that secured a settlement of $91.25 million (before fees and expenses) for a certified class of insurance policy owners against John Hancock Life Insurance Company. In the final approval order, Judge Paul Gardephe described the settlement as a “quite extraordinary . . . result achieved on behalf of the class.” You can read more about the case here (subscription required).
Nath is currently prosecuting similar class actions against a number of other insurance companies, including Equitable, Voya Retirement & Annuity Company, and ReliaStar Life Insurance Company. More information on the Voya class action, which was certified in 2019, can be found here.
On the defense side, Nath was hired by Lighting Science Group Corporation after it was sued by its former patent broker. Serving as lead counsel for Lighting Science, Nath successfully compelled arbitration, took and defended key depositions, and briefed and argued critical motions. The parties reached a confidential settlement on the eve of the plenary arbitration hearing.
In addition to the cases above, Nath also:
- Represents a putative class of professors and textbook authors in a lawsuit against one of the world’s largest textbook publishers, Cengage Learning, related to underpayment of royalties for electronic textbook offerings.
- Represents Flo & Eddie–the founding members of the 70’s music group, the Turtles—against Pandora and SiriusXM in litigation concerning the unlicensed use of pre-1972 sound recordings.
- Represents SAJE and ACCE Action, two tenant advocacy groups, as proposed intervenors to help defend the City of Los Angeles’s eviction and rent-freeze ordinances enacted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nath is active in the Los Angeles legal community. He received a Public Counsel Pro Bono award for his legal work to help the troubled LA housing situation. The Daily Journal and Law360 also profiled Nath and his colleagues for their significant pro bono work in this area. He is a longtime board member of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California and served as co-president during the 2021-2022 term. Nath is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Litigation Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.
Nath joined Susman Godfrey after working as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice and as a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He graduated with high honors from The University of Chicago Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of The University of Chicago Law Review. Before law school, he taught eighth-grade math in Oklahoma as a Teach for America corps member.
Notable Representations
- 37 Besen Parkway LLC v. John Hancock Life Insurance Co. (S.D.N.Y.) Secured a $91.25 million all-cash, non-reversionary settlement (before fees and expenses) for a certified class of insurance policy owners. The class alleged that John Hancock breached the life insurance contracts of the class by failing to charge cost-of-insurance rates that were “based on [John Hancock’s] expectations of future mortality experience.” Nath had a critical role in achieving what Judge Paul Gardephe described as a “quite extraordinary” result for the class.
- Brach Family Foundation v. AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (S.D.N.Y.) Represent a putative class of insurance policyholders suing AXA for a cost-of-insurance increase on the Athena Universal Life II product, claiming breach of contract and violations of New York Insurance Law Section 4226.
- Helen Hanks vs. The Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York; Voya Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company (S.D.N.Y.) Litigating an insurance matter against Voya Life Insurance Company. The class was recently certified by the court.
- Advance Trust & Life Escrow Services, LTA v. ReliaStar Life Insurance Company (D. Minn.) Represents a putative class of life insurance policyholders against ReliaStar Life Insurance Company related to ReliaStar’s failure to charge cost-of-insurance rates in accordance with the terms of its policies. The case is in discovery.
- Rui Zhi Ventures, Ltd. v. Lighting Science Group Corporation, (C.D. Cal. and JAMS Arbitration) Represented Lighting Science Group Corporation in a fee dispute with its former patent broker. After successfully compelling arbitration, the parties reached a confidential settlement on the eve of the plenary arbitration hearing.
- Bernstein, et al. v. Cengage Learning, Inc. (S.D.N.Y.) Represents a putative class of textbook authors against one of the world’s largest textbook publishers. Plaintiffs allege that Cengage has breached its publishing agreements with authors by manipulating the royalty base used to calculate royalties for Cengage’s online textbook offerings.
- Flo & Eddie Inc. v. Pandora (C.D. Cal.) Serve as co-lead counsel representing Flo & Eddie (the founding members of 70’s music group, The Turtles) in this putative class action alleging infringement of the public performance right in sound recordings, copying, and misappropriation. The case is before the district court, following remand from an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This case follows the similar, Flo & Eddie v. Sirius XM, in which Susman Godfrey secured a settlement for the class valued at up to $73 million. The Court granted final approval of that settlement in 2017.
- Personalized Media Communications, LLC Cases (E.D. Tex.) Represented Personalized Media Communications (PMC) in a series of patent infringement cases against Vizio, Samsung, and Funai. Nath played a key role in these cases, which included taking and defending key depositions and briefing claim construction motions. PMC reached favorable, confidential settlements with each defendant.
Honors & Distinctions
Honors and Awards
- “They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40” Bloomberg Law (Bloomberg, 2023)
- Lawdragon 500X - The Next Generation of Leading Lawyers (2023)
- California Lawyer Attorney of the Year, Daily Journal (2023)
- Rising Stars of the Plaintiffs Bar, National Law Journal’s Elite Trial Lawyers (2022, ALM)
- Public Counsel Pro Bono Award (2020)
- Named a Sports and Entertainment Litigation Trailblazer by National Law Journal (2020, ALM)
- Rising Star, Southern California (Thomson Reuters, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
- Editor-in-Chief, The University of Chicago Law Review
- Order of the Coif
- Kirkland & Ellis Scholar: Awarded to top 5 percent of the 1L class
- 2011 Teacher of Today Award
- Wake Forest University Debate Team
Clerkships
- Honorable Alex Kozinski, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Education
Education
- The University of Chicago Law School (J.D., with High Honors, Order of the Coif, 2014)
- Editor-in-Chief, The University of Chicago Law Review
- Wake Forest University (B.A., magna cum laude, 2009)
Publications
- Corruption Clarified: Defining the Reach of “Agent” in 18 U.S.C. § 666, 80 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1391 (2013)
