Our Attorneys
Terry Gross
has engaged in significant complex litigation on behalf of private clients and civil liberties organizations for over 25 years. He has been named a Northern California Super Lawyer from that recognition’s inception.
Mr. Gross has an extensive focus on the changing face of copyright, trademark and media law in the digital age. Mr. Gross’ first degree and career was in computer science and his experience as a systems programmer for IBM, a systems analyst at University of California Medical Center and as the director of data processing for a local governmental agency gave him early expertise in the developing computer field. Since that time, and aided by his educational and professional experience, Mr. Gross has been an active force in the field of Internet law. He was the first general counsel to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties organization focusing on first amendment issues surrounding Internet-based technology. Recently, he represented Think Secret, an online journalist improperly sued by Apple for trade secret misappropriation, counterattacking by seeking sanctions against Apple for filing a lawsuit without merit, as under the First Amendment publishers and journalists have the right to disseminate information lawfully obtained by them. He has successfully defended an internet service provider sued by a software industry group for copyright infringement, represents content providers in negotiations with networks, and litigates jurisdictional issues raised by Internet activity.
Mr. Gross has extensive experience in matters of intellectual property. As General Counsel to Burning Man, the internationally known arts festival, he has negotiated, advised and litigated numerous trademark, copyright and privacy matters on its behalf, including a successful defense of a lawsuit challenging the event’s major trademarks. Other significant engagements include representation of one of the world’s largest watch manufacturers in a trademark infringement action; the Estate of Norma Millay Ellis relating to the sale of the literary properties of Edna St. Vincent Millay; and a French biotechnology company in litigation relating to the sublicense of patent rights, and in contract negotiations about the sale of biotechnology development rights. Mr. Gross actively advises and litigates on trademark and copyright issues. He also represents authors, artists, performers and their agents in negotiating contracts for publication, performance, and sale of motion picture and television rights.
Mr. Gross regularly represents journalists and media organizations. In 2008, he represented The New York Times and several Business Week journalists against Hewlett-Packard, seeking and obtaining damages when HP illegally obtained private telephone records of the journalists in an attempt to learn the trade secrets of the identities of the journalists’ sources. He is currently representing two photojournalists in lawsuits against the police concerning media access to and ability to cover breaking news events. He also advises media entities on defamation and libel clearance, and actively represents plaintiffs in defamation cases involving national and local news media. Mr. Gross represents clients prior to the publication of potentially inflammatory articles in negotiations with news media to ensure the publication of accurate information.
Mr. Gross has a varied practice in public international law. He recently represented the national telephone company of Bolivia, and in proceedings in New York and London successfully overturned attachment orders of the telephone company’s assets, issued after the telephone company had been nationalized. Among other engagements, he has been lead counsel and adviser to the Republic of Panama, its agencies and its Mission to the United Nations; represented the Cuban national telephone company and successfully overturned the attempted garnishment of its assets to satisfy a judgment against the Republic of Cuba; and represented the Republic of South Africa in lawsuits concerning Internet activity and domain names. Mr. Gross represents foreign companies in contract negotiations with U.S. companies and in matters relating to their U.S. subsidiaries, and provides advice and obtains licenses for transactions with countries subject to trading restrictions.
Mr. Gross is also active in class action cases, predominantly in the areas of antitrust and consumer fraud, including the following: Chair, Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, In re DRAM Antitrust Litigation, a nationwide class action concerning price-fixing of computer memory; Liaison Counsel for the end-user class, In re Automotive Paint Antitrust Action, recovering $10 million for price-fixing in automotive paint; Liaison Counsel and Settlement Class Counsel, Perish v. Intel Corporation, a winning consumer fraud class action; Co-Chair of the Steering Committee, Microsoft Antitrust Class Action Litigation, based on Microsoft’s monopolization of the personal computer operating systems and software market; Co-Lead Counsel, Lea v. Pacific Bell, a consumer fraud and unfair competition class action; Executive Committee, Old Republic Title Company Class Action Litigation, an unfair competition and consumer fraud class action; Executive Committee, Flat Glass Antitrust Litigation, Sanitary Paper Antitrust Litigation, Vitamin Cases Antitrust Litigation, and Cosmetics Antitrust Litigation, antitrust actions challenging price-fixing in the glass, sanitary paper, cosmetics and vitamin industries; Executive Committee, Providian Class Action Litigation, an unfair competition, false advertising and consumer fraud action; counsel, In re Airline Ticket Commission Antitrust Litigation, an antitrust action that challenged the airlines’ reduction of travel agent commissions, resulting in an $87 million settlement; and counsel in numerous class actions challenging price-fixing, particularly in the technology and travel industries, including In re Flash Memory Antitrust Litigation, In re TFT-LCD (Flat Panel) Antitrust Litigation, In re Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Antitrust Litigation, In re Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) Antitrust Litigation, In re Air Cargo Shipping Services Antitrust Litigation, In re International Air Transportation Surcharge Antitrust Litigation, and In re Chocolate Confectionary Antitrust Litigation.
Mr. Gross has an impressive background in defending constitutional rights. He has represented several non-traditional religions in various types of litigation raising issues of religious freedom, due process, and improper government activity, both in affirmative lawsuits and in defending damage lawsuits by ex-members. He has also served as special counsel in criminal cases concerning constitutional issues. Mr. Gross has an active practice representing victims of clergy abuse and sexual abuse. He was a member of the Executive Committee in The Clergy Cases III, a coordinated action involving all the cases of clergy abuse against the Roman Catholic Church in Northern California, and achieved the single highest settlement on behalf of an individual in those coordinated cases.
A native New Yorker, Mr. Gross is counsel to, and formerly a partner at, Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman, P.C., of New York, the noted constitutional and international law firm. B.S., Computer Science, Brown University; J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley; Associate Editor of the California Law Review; Clerk, the Honorable Otto R. Skopil, Jr., Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Adam C. Belsky
specializes in intellectual property, antitrust, general business litigation, media law, and class actions. He has extensive experience handling copyright, trademark and trade secret litigation, complex commercial litigation, defamation, invasion of privacy, employment discrimination, and other constitutional and civil rights cases. He has an active practice representing foreign countries in litigation in the United States, including on behalf of Cuba, South Africa, and Bolivia. He also has substantial appellate experience in both federal and state court.
Significant engagements include representation of Quokka Sports, Inc. and the America’s Cup in a successful action to regain the americascup.com domain name; Ariba in an international commercial arbitration resulting in a $26 million award; a leading video game company in a copyright infringement suit against a competitor for copying a popular video game; a large construction company whose former employees misappropriated trade secrets in forming a competing firm; Chronicle Books in numerous commercial matters; and a major computer manufacturer in a landmark international arbitration of copyright and antitrust claims. Mr. Belsky’s antitrust experience includes a number of class action cases involving technology-related industries, including cases against Microsoft, Intel, and DRAM, SRAM, LCD and CRT manufacturers. Additionally, Mr. Belsky has litigated extensively in the area of consumer fraud, including successful class actions against Pacific Bell for fraudulent advertising of voicemail and Old Republic Title Company for fraudulent escrow practices. Mr. Belsky has obtained favorable settlements in a privacy action against television stations for improperly disclosing the identities of children who had been victims of sexual abuse and on behalf of listeners of the Pacifica radio network in an action to restore local community control of the stations
Mr. Belsky is active in pro bono work, representing the “found-sound” artists Negativland in a contractual and intellectual property dispute with their record company, obtaining a successful settlement in which Negativland regained the rights to a number of their recordings. He has represented a class of migrant farmworkers in California who were charged excessive rents at state-run farmworker housing centers, negotiating a settlement entitling the farmworkers to a 100% refund of the overcharge plus interest. He has also represented Muslim prison inmates in a successful appeal of their civil rights action for discrimination and violation of their free exercise of religion.
Mr. Belsky received his A.B. degree from Amherst College in 1984, and his law degree from Boalt Hall at the University of California at Berkeley in 1989, where he was Note and Comment editor on the California Law Review and graduated in the top one percent of his class. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Stanley A. Weigel, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, from 1989-90. Mr. Belsky is a member of the California and various federal court bars. He is the co-author of “Implied Waiver Under the FSIA: A Proposed Exception to Immunity for Violations of Peremptory Norms of International Law,” published at 77 Cal. L. Rev. 365 (1989).
Erik L Shawn
has fifteen years of plaintiffs’ side class action and complex litigation experience with major national firms in diverse practice areas. Erik has successfully worked on matters involving antitrust and intellectual property law, pharmaceutical mass torts, consumer protection law, securities and financial fraud law, employment law and other varied issues.
Erik is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the Westchester County Bar. He has been a member of the State Bar of New York since 1996. He has worked with Gross & Belsky, P.C. s
Jonathan C. Moore (of Counsel)
specializes in civil rights with a focus on police and governmental misconduct, employment discrimination, First Amendment advocacy and international human rights. He has successfully litigated significant cases both on behalf of individuals and as class counsel in cases involving systemic misconduct in police departments. He practices in both federal and state courts, at both the trial and appellate levels.
REPRESENTATIVE CASES
MacNamara v. City of New York, 04 Civ. 8216 (KMK)(JCF). Putative class action on behalf of all those wrongfully arrested and excessively detained during the Republican National Convention in New York City in August/September, 2004.
Burley v. City of New York, 03 Civ. 0735 (S.D.N.Y.)(WHP)(FM). Certified class action on behalf of all those wrongfully arrested and excessively detained during the World Economic Forum demonstrations in New York City in February, 2002.
McCray v. The City of New York, 03 Civ. 9685 (S.D.N.Y.)(DB) Section 1983 claim for malicious prosecution on behalf of three young men recently exonerated of any responsibility for the rape and attempted murder of the Central Park Jogger in 1989.
Hampton v. Hanrahan, 600 F.2d 600 (7th Cir. 1979); 446 U.S. 754 (1980) 1983, 1985(3) and Bivens claims against federal and state law enforcement officials for wrongful death of members of the Black Panther Party.
Carlson v. Green, 446 U.S. 14 (1980) Established Eighth Amendment Bivens claim for federal prisoners for inadequate medical care.
Daniels v. The City of New York, 194 F.R.D. 409 (S.D.N.Y. 2001);75 F. Supp. 2d 154 (S.D.N.Y. 1999); 191 F.R.D. 52 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) Successful 1983 class action challenge to racial profiling by New York City Police Department in the stop and frisk without reasonable suspicion of minority youth in New York City.
Bartholomew v. The City of New York, 00 Civ 3076 (WHP)(S.D.N.Y.) First and Fourth Amendment challenge to City’s policy of detaining individuals arrested at demonstrations for processing through the system rather than releasing them with a Desk Appearance Ticket. Settled with agreement by the City to withdraw and not reinstate the policy and for damages in the amount of $469,000.
National Lawyers Guild v. Attorney General, No. 77 Civ. 999 (PKL)(S.D.N.Y.) Federal Tort Claims Act case alleging, inter alia, wrongful surveillance, informant penetration and disruption of lawful activities by FBI and other agencies of the federal government.
American Civil Liberties Union v. City of Chicago, No. 75 Civ. 3295 (N.D.Ill.) 1983 and Bivens class action for unlawful surveillance, informant penetration and disruption of activities of lawful political organizations by FBI and Chicago Police Department.
United States ex rel Hoover v. Elsea, 50l F. Supp. 83 (N.D.Ill 1980); 669 F.2d 433 (7th Cir. 1982); 558 F.Supp. 974 (N.D. Ill 1983) Challenge to interstate transfer of state prisoner to federal custody.
Stewart v Kostick, No. 86 Civ. 6979 (SDNY)(JMW) 1983 action for the death of Michael Stewart; settlement in the amount of $1,900,000, which, at the time, was the largest such settlement in the history of New York City in a wrongful death police case.
Gentile v. The County of Suffolk, 129 F.R.D. 435 (E.D.N.Y. 1990), aff’d, 926 F.2d 142 (2nd Cir. 1991) Trial and appellate counsel; verdict for plaintiffs of $300,000 in Monell claim against County of Suffolk.
King v. Conde and Gentile, v. The County of Suffolk, 121 F.R.D. 180 (E.D.N.Y. 1988) Most widely cited decision in Second Circuit and in other Circuits establishing presumptive discoverability of police officer personnel files in 1983 action.
Dwares v. City of New York, 985 F.2d 94 (2nd Cir. 1993) Court held that persons peacefully demonstrating are entitled to police protection from private violence.
Vann v. City of New York, 72 F.3d 1040 (2nd Cir. 1995) Successful appeal from grant of summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim that the City of New York was deliberately indifferent to the need to monitor abusive police officers who were returned to active duty.
Kaufman v. Rivera, 95 Civ. 5667 (JFK)(S.D.N.Y. Oct. 4, 1996) Decision denying motion to dismiss in strip search case on grounds of 11th Amendment immunity and qualified immunity.
Dusenbury v. The City of New York, 1999 WL 199072 (S.D.N.Y. April 9, 1999) State interference in familial association rights is actionable even without permanent physical separation. Settled for $2,750,000, the third highest award at the time in the City of New York in a non-death, police misconduct case.
Circulo de la Hispanidad v. City of Long Beach, No. 00 Civ. 1463 (ADS) (ETB) (E.D.N.Y. 2002) Trial counsel; jury verdict of $475,000 to plaintiff for violation of First Amendment rights. Separate decision awarding attorneys fees.
Raniola v. Bratton, 2003 WL 1907865 (S.D.N.Y. April 21, 2003) Trial counsel; verdict for plaintiff of $470,000 in sexual harassment/retaliation case against New York City Police Department of $470,000. Court awarded combined attorneys fees and costs of $640,902.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Moore, J., “Establishing Liability Under Monell: The Rule 803(8)(C) Alternative,” Vol. 7 Civil Rights Litigation and Attorneys Fees Annual Handbook, (Clark Boardman Callaghan, 1991)
Moore, J., “Discovery Issues in Police Misconduct Litigation,” Vol. 17 Civil Rights Litigation and Attorneys Fees Annual Handbook, (West Group, 2001)
Moore, J., Goodman, W., Milton, D., “Mass Protest, Mass Arrest and Class Certification: The Struggle For the First and Fourth Amendments in the 21st Century,” Vol. 20 Civil Rights Litigation and Attorneys Fees Annual Handbook, (West Group, 2004)
Moore, J., “Discovery Issues in Police Misconduct Litigation,” Vol 6, No. 16, Police Misconduct and Civil Rights Law Report (West Group, July-August 2001)
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Member, Association of the Bar of the City of New York
Member, American Trial Lawyers Association
Member, New York County Lawyers Association
Member, National Employment Lawyers Association
Member, Brehon Law Society
Member, National Lawyers Guild, Chair, Civil Liberties Committee (1983-85)
Founding Member, CLE Lecturer and Advisory Board Member, National Police Accountability Project
Adjunct Professor of Law, City University of New York School of Law (1999)
Faculty Member, Practising Law Institute
Faculty Member, Intensive Trial Advocacy Program, Cardozo School of Law
Founding Editor, Police Misconduct and Civil Rights Law Report (West Group)
EDUCATION
University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A. 1970)
DePaul University College of Law (J.D. 1977), Magna Cum Laude
BAR ADMISSIONS
Admitted to bar, 1977, California; 1978, Illinois; 1983, New York; 1990, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; 1981, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; 1985, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York; 1985, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York; 2002, United States District Court for the Northern District of New York; 1978, 2002, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Pro hac vice admission in numerous federal district courts throughout the country.