Mortgage-Related Litigation
EI Vice President Stuart Gurrea testified at trial concerning damages claims stemming from alleged recording errors on a mortgage account. Dr. Gurrea testified on behalf of a defendant bank. His analyses of loan payment records and escrow account allocations showed that payments were fully accounted for. Dr. Gurrea’s analyses also helped show that Plaintiff’s definition of the damages periods was flawed and led to erroneous conclusions. The jury ruled unanimously in favor of defendants. The bank was represented by Severson & Werson in San Francisco.
EI Economist Receives Writing Award
EI Vice President Su Sun won an antitrust writing award from the journal Concurrences. The award was for the Best Antitrust Business Article in the Asian Antitrust Category. Dr. Sun’s article, which he coauthored with Fei Deng, “Rainbow v. Johnson & Johnson: RPM Litigation in China,” discusses the analytical framework adopted by the Shanghai High People’s Court to adjudicate resale price maintenance cases. That article originally appeared in Distribution, the newsletter of the Distribution and Franchising Committee of the ABA Antitrust Section.
Study on The Internet’s Contribution to the U.S. Economy
EI Principal Stephen E. Siwek recently completed a study entitled “Measuring the U.S. Internet Sector.” The study, which was conducted on behalf of the Internet Association, is believed to be the first to measure the Internet’s contributions to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment, and employee compensation in the United States. The study found that the Internet sector was responsible for over $966 billion, 6%, of U.S. GDP. The Internet sector employed approximately 2.9 million U.S. workers. Average wages in the Internet sector were approximately 29% higher than average wages in the overall economy. The study can be accessed here.