Benjamin P. Pugh, Esq.

Partner
bpugh@enterprisecounsel.com

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

• Complex Business Litigation
• Corporate and Securities Litigation
• Intellectual Property Litigation
• Real Property Litigation
• Writs and Appeals

EXPERIENCE

Mr. Pugh has been with ECG since 1999. Mr. Pugh's practice includes representation of shareholders and directors in corporate governance and securities disputes. Mr. Pugh's practice also includes representation of a defense contractor, an automotive parts supplier and other successful entrepreneurs in connection with a wide array of substantive disputes in both state and federal court. Prior to joining ECG, Mr. Pugh was a law clerk for the Honorable Eric L. Levinson, North Carolina District Court Judge for Mecklenberg County .

Mr. Pugh's representative defense victories include a defense jury verdict in a trade secrets misappropriation action exonerating a defense contractor from a $6 million dollar claim; summary dismissal, upheld on appeal, of a multi-million dollar action against a local hotel owner alleging breach of contract and related tort claims; the negotiated settlement of an action against a shipyard seeking to terminate a long-term sublease; summary dismissal of multiple shareholder actions against a corporate director seeking damages and injunctive relief for alleged breach of the director's fiduciary duties and purported violations of federal and state securities law. Mr. Pugh's representative plaintiff victories include a judgment and permanent injunction safeguarding a high-tech company's intellectual property; a declaratory relief judgment establishing the validity of millions of dollars worth of disputed corporate stock; summary judgment against an unlicensed contractor for breach of contract; and a peremptory writ of mandate issued by the Fourth District Court of Appeals enforcing a ÒdissidentÓ corporate director's record inspection rights.

EDUCATION

• Notre Dame Law School (J.D. 1998), DeanÕs List (Fall 1997, Spring 1998);
• President, The Saint Athanasius Debating Society, 1996-97;
• University of California, Los Angeles (B.A. Philosophy 1995)

PUBLISHED DECISIONS

Saline v. Superior Court , 100 Cal. App. 4 th 909 (2002) (prevailed in enforcing a director's inspection rights under Corporations Code section 1602).

MEMBERSHIPS

Mr. Pugh has been a member of California State Bar since 1999 and is admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Central and Southern Districts of California. Mr. Pugh is a member of the Orange County Bar Association. Mr. Pugh is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Orange County Chapter of the Federalist Society.