Michele On-ja Choe

Biography

Cases

Employment

• Obtained dismissal of all claims against University of Colorado Hospital Authority in a whistleblower case filed in district court in Colorado Springs.
• Won an extraordinary pretrial motion in a whistleblower case to preclude the plaintiff from seeking recovery for any future damages.
• Successfully defended a healthcare system and its affiliate against joint employment claims, and secured a favorable settlement.
• Represented an investment company in litigation against a former executive officer who alleged, inter alia, breach of contract and violations of the Colorado Wage Claim Act.
• Prevailed against allegations of racial discrimination against a tech industry employer in Nevada. Following a two-and-a-half-year investigation, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concluded that no discriminatory conduct had occurred.
• Represented a leading telecommunications company as a third-party respondent in discovery relating to a lawsuit involving claims that an executive violated the terms of a noncompete agreement and misappropriated proprietary information from his prior employer. The case eventually settled, absolving WTO's client of its role in the litigation.
• Represented a security company against claims that two of its employees violated a former employer's noncompete agreement and misappropriated proprietary information from that prior employer.
• Represented a large resort chain against claims of disability discrimination. Following an extensive investigation by the Colorado Civil Rights Division ("CCRD") including briefs and evidence provided by WTO, the CCRD concluded that no unlawful discrimination had occurred.
• Advised a client on the defense of a unique theory of liability brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Commercial Litigation

• Won complete victory for Hillsdale College in a closely watched dispute against the University of Missouri over the misuse of a deceased alumnus's $5 million donation.
• Led the defense of an investment management company sued for unjust enrichment by an individual who claimed he conferred a material benefit upon the company but was never compensated.
• Representing an excess carrier whose insureds are involved in nationwide sports-related concussion litigation alleging fraudulent concealment of the risks of concussion or sub-concussive hits and unjust enrichment claims against individual sports conferences and colleges/universities.
• Monitoring nationwide opioid litigation for an excess carrier, including statutory and common law fraud claims; deceptive trade practices claims; claims of telecommunications, mail, and wire fraud; intentional concealment of material facts such as risks of addiction; and unjust enrichment claims.
• Led the defense of a national healthcare client sued for engaging in purportedly fraudulent conduct in marketing to patients.

Medical Malpractice

• Won a defense jury verdict in a $31 million medical malpractice lawsuit in Illinois involving a newborn who developed sepsis, meningitis, and catastrophic brain damage. WTO then won the subsequent appeal (3-0 panel decision).
• Won a defense decision for a Philadelphia psychiatric hospital in a two-day medical malpractice arbitration involving the death of a patient killed in an auto accident hours after being discharged.
• Won a defense verdict for a Florida hospital in a three-week medical malpractice trial. The case involved a baby who suffered cerebral palsy after a rare delivery complication. The plaintiff sued the hospital for $7 million, claiming complications could have been avoided had a C-section been performed. The WTO team successfully argued the complication was unpredictable and unpreventable, and the doctors actually saved the mother and child.

Medical Devices & Pharmaceuticals

• Represented a device manufacturer in multiple cases in pelvic mesh MDL, including two that settled favorably.
• Represented a product manufacturer in claims relating to its healthcare product Omniscan, an imaging agent alleged to cause nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, a chronic debilitating disease, in some patients.
• Represented pharmaceutical manufacturers in multidistrict litigations involving Baycol, Seroquel, and various diet drugs.
• Represented a medical device manufacturer in litigation involving cold therapy devices.
• Represent one of the nation's largest providers of home respiratory therapy and devices in prelitigation evaluation involving ventilators and litigation involving home oxygen equipment.

Other Representative Experience

• Defeated certification of a putative class of 20,000 California claimants alleging that WTO's client was a "joint employer" and was liable for unpaid overtime and other wage-and-hour violations.

Publications & Speaking Engagements

Presentations

• "TRO or Preliminary Injunction in Employment Cases: Strategize, Prepare and Execute in Court", presented to The Colorado Defense Lawyers Association (November 10, 2020).
• "Professionalism and Expert Witnesses — Best Practices for Keeping You and Your Expert on the Right Side of the Ethical Line, While Still Advancing Your Client's Very Best Case," presented at the Colorado Litigators Summit (September 25, 2020).
• "Power Plays in the Legal Profession," presented at the CDLA Annual Conference General Session (July 28, 2018).
• 10th Circuit Panelist in "Short Circuits: Brief Updates on Noteworthy Issues from the 12 Federal Circuits and their States," presented at the Trial Attorneys of America annual meeting (May 11, 2018).
• "Conducting an Early Case Assessment: How to Evaluate Liability Risk Exposure Before Litigation Begins," presented at Defense Research Institute Young Lawyer's Breakout Session (May 2009).
• "Preserving Attorney-Client Communications Involving PR Professionals," American Bar Association Section of Litigation: Second Chair (July 2008).

Articles

• Co-authored "An Introduction to Predictive Coding," TortSource (Spring 2017).

Press

• Two from WTO Selected to LCLD 2021 Programs
• Michele On-Ja Choe: 2020 Law Week Colorado Top Woman Lawyer
• Michele Choe and Kenneth Stalzer Elected Partners
• WTO Lawyers Win Six High-Stakes Medical Malpractice Trials Nationwide in Six Months
• DRI The Voice, July 1, 2015.

Other Experience

Legal Memberships, Activities, and Honors

Community Memberships, Activities, and Honors