February 2026 – Leading legal publication Daily Journal recognized KBK Partners Robert E. Dugdale and Nary Kim, as well as KBK Attorney Zachary Glasser, for their successful defense of USC in Wilson v. University of Southern California, naming the team’s early dismissal of the high-profile fraud lawsuit one of 2025’s Top Verdicts.

Each year, the Journal’s annual special issue highlights the “trial verdicts and appellate reversals that changed the California legal landscape in 2025.”

Mr. Dugdale and Ms. Kim received the award for securing the early dismissal of a high-profile fraud lawsuit on behalf of the University of Southern California (USC) in July 2025. The lawsuit was brought by John Wilson, a private equity executive criminally charged in the “Varsity Blues” admissions scandal, and his wife, who alleged they were defrauded into making a $100,000 donation under the belief it would support their son’s legitimate admission as a water polo recruit.

In her ruling in favor of USC and the KBK team, Judge Fujie found that the Wilsons’ fraud claims were time-barred because, by virtue of John Wilson’s 2019 criminal indictment in the “Varsity Blues” admissions scandal, the Wilsons were indisputably on at least “inquiry notice” of their supposed claims against USC well over three years prior to filing suit in 2024.

The outcome in this case represented the rare instance of a case being dismissed on statute-of-limitations grounds at the pleading stage.

The Journal commended Mr. Dugdale and Ms. Kim – the latter of whom Mr. Dugdale credited as the “genius who originated the idea to attack early” – for their approach to the case, stating that the KBK team “combined their expertise in criminal defense and civil procedure for dismissal of the claims at the pleading stage.”

Regarding the outcome, Mr. Dugdale was quoted as saying “you can’t assume that the tentative is the last word. Though it can be hard to push a judge off the initial impression – but we made a respectful presentation, and she listened.”

To read the full writeup of the verdict, visit the Daily Journal’s website.