Anna Sortun

Practice Areas

Contract & Commercial Disputes

Corporate & Business Owner Disputes

Insurance Recovery

Appeals

Products Liability & Complex Torts

Government Law & Disputes

Shareholder Disputes & Governance

Career

Anna has a wide-ranging commercial litigation practice that includes contract litigation, business owner disputes, consumer protection matters, and complex tort cases. Over the course of her career, Anna has tried more than a dozen jury trials to verdict in state and federal court, and has ushered hundreds of cases to resolution, through arbitration, motions practice, or settlement. Anna serves on Tonkon Torp’s Managing Board and recently concluded a tenure as Co-Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department.

In addition to her litigation practice, Anna is an active member of the community, currently serving on the board of directors of Oregon Humanities and the Executive Committee of the Oregon State Bar Litigation Section. She previously sat on the boards of Emerge Oregon, Northwest Professional Dance Project, and Photolucida. She also served as a Commissioner on the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. Anna regularly handles pro bono matters on behalf of clients in need.

Anna is a Fellow in the International Society of Barristers, an honor society that maintains a worldwide membership of less than 750 trial lawyers deemed by their peers and judges to be “outstanding in the field of advocacy.” Super Lawyers lists Anna among the top 50 Oregon lawyers and top 25 Oregon women lawyers. She is also listed in Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA for her work in commercial litigation.

Prior to joining Tonkon Torp, Anna was a law clerk for The Honorable Alfred T. Goodwin, on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Languages Spoken

English

Mandarin Chinese

Professional Memberships

American Bar Association

International Society of Barristers

Multnomah Bar Association

Oregon Association of Defense Counsel

Oregon Women Lawyers

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Oregon State Bar

Washington State Bar Association

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. District Court, District of Oregon

U.S. District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Washington

U.S. Supreme Court

Work Highlights

Representative Matters

Complex Commercial Litigation

Defended retailer GNC against significant claims brought by the State of Oregon under the Oregon Unfair Trade Practices Act and Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, based on sales of dietary supplements in Oregon.

Following a seven-week jury trial, secured a complete victory for XPO, fka Con-way, an American multinational freight transportation company. At issue was the question of responsibility for some portion of defense and indemnity costs associated with three Superfund sites, including the Portland Harbor, and over 1,500 asbestos lawsuits.

Defended SVC, a subsidiary of PepsiCo Americas Beverages, in a $105,000,000 breach of contract action filed by the City of Albany after SVC terminated a development agreement pursuant to which SVC was to build a Gatorade plant in Albany, Oregon.

Represented Columbia Helicopters in a dispute over Boeing’s refusal to sell Boeing helicopter parts to Oregon-based Columbia Helicopters, to allow Columbia to fulfill its contracts to repair Boeing-manufactured military CH-47 Chinook helicopters. To resolve threatened antitrust litigation, Boeing ultimately agreed to recognize Columbia Helicopters as an independent service organization and provide Columbia with Boeing parts to perform CH-47 repair services.

Product Liability & Torts

Defended a national product manufacturer, its parent company, and a national online retailer against product liability claims of approximately $100 million, with parties and witnesses spanning 10 U.S. jurisdictions and three countries. Ultimately resolved the matter for a small fraction of claimed damages.

Defended a national wearable device manufacturer against claims that one of its products was dangerously defective. Following a multi-day arbitration, received a complete defense victory.

Defended a product manufacturer in Washington State in multiple cases against claims that its product was dangerously defective, leading to favorable settlements.

Oversaw and managed asbestos claims brought against multiple clients, working cooperatively with appointed insurance defense counsel.

Tried to a jury verdict Oregon’s first “trespass to produce” claim on behalf of a commercial dairy farm, resulting in clarifying Oregon’s timber trespass statutory scheme.

Shareholder & Corporate Disputes

Assisted a company in redeeming its former CEO’s shares after a dispute over valuation by leveraging Oregon’s dissenters’ rights statutes and petitioning the court for a judicial appraisal, resulting in a reasonable parting of ways.

Following a two-week jury trial in Central Oregon, protected the majority owners of a manufacturing company from a minority shareholder who refused to redeem minority shares under a shareholder agreement, resulting in an award to our clients of specific performance, a new share valuation, and significant attorney fees.

Helped a majority member of an LLC wrest back control of a large recycling outfit after a minority member took illegitimate steps to lock the majority member out of the business. We helped by finalizing an unfinished business transaction and cleaning up corporate record-keeping prior to arbitration.

Consumer Protection

Brought claims on behalf of an individual consumer in a successful federal lawsuit against a large credit card company for unlawful practices under the Fair Credit Billing Act and Unlawful Debt Collection Practices Act. Following a federal jury trial, successfully appealed statutory claims to the Ninth Circuit, leading to a favorable settlement.

Defended multiple national companies in consumer protection matters instigated by the State of Oregon, including claims under the Oregon Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Other Trial Experience

Defended regional hospital system against safety whistle-blower and wrongful discharge claims in a two-week jury trial in southern Oregon, establishing a high bar for the establishment of employer liability under the “cat’s paw” legal theory.

Defended business owner against breach of contract claims relating to the sale of a sports-bar business in a one-week jury trial.

Represented a secured creditor against guarantors of multi-million dollar promissory notes in a week-long jury trial in Oregon state court, securing a large judgment and attorney fee award for our client.

Education

Awards