Marie Fiala joined the firm in 1978 and is a litigator and trial lawyer. Ms. Fiala is the Managing Director of the firmwide Litigation Department and is a member of the Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Energy, and Complex Commercial Litigation Practice Groups. She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Commercial Litigation and Energy Law).

Experience

Ms. Fiala has a litigation and counseling practice in the federal and state courts with emphasis on complex antitrust, energy and financial issues. For a number of years Ms. Fiala has served as lead trial and appellate counsel for Pacific Gas & Electric Company in numerous cases and counseling engagements involving antitrust, preemption, Commerce Clause and other commercial issues. She currently represents PG&E and serves as lead counsel for a group of plaintiffs including Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric and the California Electricity Oversight Board in PG&E, et al. v. AEPCO, et al., a federal lawsuit seeking to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in wholesale electricity overcharges from eighteen governmental entity defendants that sold power into the California markets during the 2000-2001 Energy Crisis.  Ms. Fiala served as lead counsel for PG&E in a federal lawsuit seeking to compel California to allow PG&E to recover in excess of $9 billion in wholesale electricity costs incurred during the 2000-2001 Western energy crisis. Her prior representations of PG&E include obtaining a dismissal with prejudice of a $950 million federal price-fixing case; representing the company in a federal preemption claim to compel recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars in tariffed natural gas costs in its retail rates; and dismissal with prejudice of a $150 million federal antitrust case alleging monopolization of the natural gas markets. Ms. Fiala also represented PacifiCorp in preemption litigation to compel the State of Wyoming to allow the utility to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in wholesale power costs.

Ms. Fiala also represents Visa U.S.A. Inc. and 3M Company in antitrust matters. She was a member of the trial team defending Visa in one of the largest federal antitrust class actions ever litigated, In re Visa Check/Mastermoney Antitrust Litigation, and currently represents the company in pending federal antitrust cases involving pricing and joint venture issues. Ms. Fiala represented Visa at trial in SCFC ILC, Inc. v. Visa U.S.A., Inc., a landmark "essential facility" antitrust case brought by Dean Witter to force its admission into the VISA joint venture. She has represented 3M Company in several federal and state antitrust class actions challenging “bundled” pricing practices. She counsels clients on a range of antitrust issues including providing access to "essential facilities," relations with competitors, joint venture formation, and product pricing and marketing.

Ms. Fiala also has extensive experience in litigating financial and accounting issues. She was trial counsel for Bank of America in State of California v. Bank of America, N.T.&S.A., a claim for escheatment of hundreds of billions of dollars in unclaimed municipal bond funds. Ms. Fiala has represented a number of major accounting firms in class action and professional liability litigation. She represented Ernst & Young as trial and appellate counsel in Bily v. Arthur Young & Company, the first California Supreme Court accountant liability case, and as trial counsel in the Ramtek Securities Litigation. Ms. Fiala also has represented Sierra Pacific Resources in federal securities fraud and shareholder derivative lawsuits arising out of the operations of the company's utility and oil and gas subsidiaries.

Representative Engagements

• Represents PG&E and serves as lead counsel for a group of plaintiffs including Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric and the California Electricity Oversight Board in PG&E, et al. v. AEPCO, et al., a federal lawsuit seeking to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in wholesale electricity overcharges from 18 governmental entity defendants that sold power into the California markets during the 2000-2001 Energy Crisis.
• Represented PG&E in PG&E v. Lynch, et al., a federal lawsuit seeking to compel California to allow PG&E to recover in excess of $9 billion in wholesale electricity costs incurred during the 2000-2001 Western energy crisis.
• Represented 3M Company in federal and state antitrust class actions challenging “bundled” pricing practices; obtained summary judgment on behalf of 3M in Conroy v. 3M Company, currently on appeal to the Ninth Circuit. 
• Represents Visa in Reyn’s Pasta Bella, et al. v. Visa U.S.A. Inc., a federal antitrust case alleging price-fixing claims on behalf of a nationwide class of merchants that accept Visa cards challenging Visa’s setting of interchange fees.
• Represented PG&E in Modesto Irrigation District v. PG&E, an antitrust lawsuit pending in the Northern District of California, alleging violations of Sections 1 and 2 arising out of PG&E’s wholesale electricity transmission service.
• Represented Visa in In re Visa Check/Mastermoney Antitrust Litigation, a nationwide federal antitrust class action brought on behalf of all retail merchants that accept Visa cards, alleging that Visa illegally tied acceptance of Visa debit cards to acceptance of Visa credit cards, and attempted to monopolize the market for point-of-sale debit cards.
• Served as trial counsel for Bank of America in a three-month trial in San Francisco Superior Court in State of California v. Bank of America, N.T.&S.A., a claim for escheatment of hundreds of billions of dollars in unclaimed municipal bond funds brought by the State under the California Unclaimed Property Law and the False Claims Act.
• Represented PG&E in County of Stanislaus v. PG&E, $950 million federal antitrust case charging the company with price-fixing; obtained a dismissal with prejudice of all claims, which was affirmed on appeal by the Ninth Circuit.
• Represented PG&E in Norcen Energy Resources Limited v. PG&E, a $150 million federal antitrust case alleging monopolization of the natural gas transportation and sales markets; obtained dismissal of antitrust claims with prejudice.
• Represented Sierra Pacific Resources, a Nevada utility holding company, in federal securities fraud and shareholder derivative lawsuits arising out of the operations of the company's utility and oil and gas subsidiaries.
• Served as trial counsel defending Visa in SCFC ILC, Inc. v. Visa U.S.A., Inc., an antitrust case brought by Dean Witter in the District of Utah to force its admission into the VISA joint venture despite Dean Witter’s ownership of the competing Discover Card Program.
• Served as trial and appellate counsel for Ernst & Young in Bily v. Arthur Young & Company, 3 Cal. 4th 370 (1992), the first California Supreme Court accountant liability case, which adopted an "intended beneficiary" standard limiting accountants' negligence liability to third parties.
• Served as trial counsel for Ernst & Young in the Ramtek Securities Litigation in the Northern District of California.