Commercial Litigation
JPMorgan Chase v. Liberty Mutual Insurance, et al., S.D. New York
Member of the trial team that prosecuted claims for approximately $1.2 billion against 11 insurance companies concerning surety bonds written in connection with transactions that the bank entered into with Enron Corp. A favorable settlement was achieved after closing arguments following a month-long trial.
Imax Corporation v. E-City Entertainment, ICC Arbitration in London
Handled a lengthy arbitration hearing before an international panel, resulting in an award of $9.4 million, plus interest and attorneys’ fees, in a case that involved leasing equipment in India.
Greenberg v. Toymax Inc. and Toymax (H.K.) Ltd., E.D. New York
Defended both Toymax companies in a dispute with a licensor involving various claims, including breach of contract and tortious interference with a contract. After an 18-day bench trial, the court found for Toymax on all claims.
Yearlook Enterprises v. Videovation, Inc., AAA Arbitration
Represented two subsidiaries of The Reader’s Digest Association in a dispute concerning a sale of the assets of one of the subsidiaries. After a lengthy arbitration hearing, all claims against the client for breach of contract and fraud were dismissed, and the client was awarded its full requested relief on breach of contract counterclaims.
Communications Diversified v. General Motors Corporation, New York State Supreme Court
Member of the trial team prosecuting a lawsuit against GM for breach of contract and unfair competition arising out of GM’s use of a client’s program in connection with the GM MasterCard program. The matter resulted in a jury verdict with interest of $34 million after a six-week trial that was upheld on appeal.
Kamyr, Inc. et al. v. Combustion Engineering, Inc., et al., New York State Supreme Court
Member of the trial team defending an $80 million case brought by a Swedish multinational corporation alleging, inter alia, breach of contract, fraud, tortious interference of contract and unfair competition against a U.S. subsidiary of Asea Brown Boveri. The trial resulted in a defense jury verdict that was upheld on appeal.
Fares v. Lankau, et al., D. Delaware
Obtained the dismissal of a shareholder action alleging improper equity dilution of minority shareholders.
Muvico Theaters v. Imax Corporation, S.D. Florida
Represented Imax against claims for fraudulent inducement to contract and various statutory violations. After lengthy discovery, the court granted Imax’s summary judgment motion dismissing all of Muvico’s claims. Imax’s counterclaims were thereafter favorably settled.
Rubin-Schreiderman v. Merit Behavorial Care Corporation, et al., S.D. New York
Represented a managed care provider in a claim by a plan participant that our client negligently denied the plaintiff certain medical care, which caused millions of dollars of damage. Our team obtained a dismissal of the complaint on grounds that common law negligent claims are preempted by the remedies offered under ERISA, which was upheld by the Second Circuit.
JPMorgan Chase/Enron-Related Litigations
Member of the team representing JPMorgan Chase in several cases arising out of the Enron bankruptcy, including a shareholder class action in Houston, Texas and an adversary proceeding against numerous financial institutions pending in bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York, as well as conducting major discovery in aid of a U.K. lawsuit.
Represented BP Products North America Inc. in a series of lawsuits against BP brought by independent dealers in New York and New Jersey state and federal courts concerning disputes over their BP Dealer Supply Agreements.
Amoco Oil Company v. Edge Gas Liquids and Edge Group, Inc., S.D. Texas
Represented Amoco in a breach of contract action involving propane gas contracts. After obtaining a temporary restraining order preventing the sale of certain of the defendants’ assets, we obtained an award of summary judgment, plus attorneys’ fees, after expedited discovery.
Wagenheim v. NSI International, Inc., New York Supreme Court
Obtained a summary judgment in a declaratory judgment action in which the court found that NSI was not liable for debts of the company whose assets were acquired by NSI.
Easter v. Imax Corporation and Sonics Associates, Inc., N.D. Alabama
Obtained a favorable settlement through mediation of a multi-million dollar claim for breach of an executive’s employment agreement after successfully arguing that the agreement constituted a contract subject to ERISA, which does not permit jury trials, and after interposing several counterclaims.
Hartej, Inc. v. Jamna Corporation, S.D. New York
Defended a major Indian auto manufacturer in a breach of contract and letter of credit dispute brought by its American agent seeking damages of $6.5 million. The case settled for a confidential, five-figure amount on the eve of trial after pursuing an aggressive pretrial motion practice.
John Q. Hammons Theaters, Inc. et al. v. IMAX Corporation, D. Iowa
Represented Imax in a tortious interference of contract and breach of contract action arising out of a venture to install an Imax™ theater at a museum in Davenport, Iowa. The case successfully settled after discovery and summary judgment motion.
Air BP v. Aerovivas Venezolanos, S.A., et al., S.D. Florida
Represented Air BP in a dispute over fuel oil deliveries. Obtained an award of summary judgment for the full amount sought.
Circus Circus Entertainment Corp. v. Imax Corporation, D. Nevada
Represented Imax in a dispute over the construction of motion picture simulator bases. The case settled before trial.
Tri-Tech International v. Ridefilm Corporation, N.D. Virginia
Represented Ridefilm in a dispute over the construction of motion picture simulator bases. The case settled before trial.
Franklin Electronic Publishers v. Societe Generale d'Edition et de Diffusion, D. New Jersey
Defended Societe Generale in an action to recover $1.2 million owed pursuant to the terms of a contract. Settled the case for a small portion of that amount after arguing that the $1.2 million represented unenforceable liquidated damages.
William T. Bright, et al. v. QSP, Inc., U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit
Appellate counsel for a subsidiary of The Readers Digest Association, Inc. seeking to overturn a $2 million jury verdict in a trial handled by another law firm involving claims of breach of contract and unjust enrichment in connection with an alleged contract to purchase another company. The appeal resulted in a complete reversal of the jury verdict and a dismissal of the plaintiff’s complaint.
Merit Behavioral Care Corp. v. Fassler and Koman, D. Massachusetts
Prosecuted a breach of contract claim arising out of breach of warranties in an Asset Purchase Agreement and subsequent agreement regarding receivables. The case was settled before trial for close to the full value and dismissal of all counterclaims.
DHS Holdings v. Saban Entertainment, Inc., S.D. New York
Represented an international toy manufacturer and license holder in a dispute over licensing and merchandising of the Creepy Crawlers product line.
McGrane v. The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., S.D. New York
Defended The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc. in an action brought by a former officer under New York’s whistleblower statute. The case was dismissed on summary judgment, which was upheld on appeal.
The Children’s Place v. Federal Insurance Company, New York Supreme Court
Represented The Children’s Place in a business interruption insurance claim concerning the client’s former store located in the World Trade Center.
Products Liability/Environmental
Baumbach v. ExxonMobil, et al., New York Supreme Court/Spiroff v. ExxonMobil, et al., E.D. New York and New York Supreme Court
Lead counsel representing the defendant, BP Products North America Inc., in a putative federal court class action and 18 state court cases brought by over 600 residents of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, alleging in excess of $1 billion in property damages and personal injuries due to a large oil spill.
Cruz-Aponte, et al. v. Caribbean Petroleum Corp., et al., Puerto Rico Federal and State Courts
Representing Air BP in a series of putative class actions and individual cases arising out of an explosion at a fuel terminal.
The Hartz Mountain Corporation v. Hartz Mountain Industries, Private Arbitration
Successfully represented The Hartz Mountain Corporation in a dispute over the obligation to pay for the remediation of an insecticide formulation factory in Mississippi. The arbitrator found for our client on all issues.
Clark v. Dictaphone Corporation, et al., W.D. Missouri
Represented Dictaphone Corporation in a products liability action for personal injuries arising from the plaintiff’s exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas at a pesticide manufacturing plant in Kansas City, allegedly due to a faulty hydrogen sulfide gas detector manufactured by the client. A favorable settlement was obtained after lengthy discovery and while a summary judgment motion was pending.
Smith, et al. v. The Hartz Mountain Corporation, N.D. Ohio
Obtained a dismissal on the grounds of preemption under the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act of product liability claims alleging injuries to the plaintiffs due to exposure to pesticides in animal flea and tick products.
O.K. Petroleum, et al. v. West Hempstead Water District, et al., N.Y. Supreme Court, Nassau County
Represented a former subsidiary of Hess in a case seeking contribution for MTBE allegedly impacting municipal water wells. Obtained a dismissal of the case for our client after motion practice.
Amco International v. The Long Island Railroad, New York State Supreme Court, Suffolk County
Representing a railroad in a claim for property damage arising out of a spill of diesel oil. The bench trial resulted in a split verdict.
Amoco Oil Company v. ExxonMobil, E.D. New York
Represented Amoco in a lawsuit over responsibility to remediate millions of gallons of petroleum products near the Newtown Creek in Brooklyn, New York. The case settled before trial with ExxonMobil agreeing to prevent contamination attributable to historical Mobil operations from migrating onto our client’s property.
Represented BP Products North America Inc. in negotiations with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the attorney general concerning the remediation of petroleum contamination at BP’s Brooklyn terminal, the site of a former Mobil refinery.
Represented BP Products North America Inc. in claims by Cargill, Inc. concerning responsibility for petroleum contamination at the site of a former bulk storage facility in Providence, Rhode Island.
Lumley, et al. v. Hess Corporation, E.D. New York
Representing Hess in a lawsuit alleging that a spill of gasoline from a service station migrated beneath homes in a residential area.
Ville de Port v. Hess Corporation, New York Supreme Court, Kings County
Obtained a summary judgment dismissing New York Navigation Law claims against Hess in a case arising from a large spill of home-heating oil at a Brooklyn apartment complex.
711 Burnside LLP v. Amerada Hess Corporation, N.Y. Supreme Court, Nassau County
Representing Amerada Hess in a case alleging property damage due to a spill of fuel oil from underground storage tanks.
Stolt Realty v. Atlantic Richfield Company, New York Supreme Court, Monroe County
Represented Atlantic Richfield in a lawsuit brought under the Navigation Law for alleged contamination of the plaintiff’s property. Obtained a summary judgment dismissal of property damage claims.
Sundaram v. BP Products North America Inc., Superior Court, Connecticut
Obtained a dismissal of claim seeking BP to remediate a former service station property. The case thereafter settled for a nominal amount after the complaint was amended.
110th Street v. Amoco Oil Company, S.D. New York
Represented Amoco Oil Company in a claim brought for an alleged fuel spill at a former Amoco service station. The case favorably settled before trial.
Gussack Realty v. Xerox Corporation, S.D. New York
Defended Xerox Corporation in an action to recover alleged CERCLA response costs and for property damage allegedly caused by chlorinated solvents that had migrated from Xerox’s property to the plaintiffs’ property. Several claims were dismissed prior to being submitted to the jury. The jury verdict was below what the plaintiff requested and was upheld on appeal.
Represented BP in administrative proceedings commenced by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation for alleged violations in connection with repairs to fuel storage tanks.
Member of the team defending Xerox Corporation in connection with five separate New York federal and state court lawsuits for property damage and personal injuries allegedly caused by environmental contamination. The cases were either dismissed or favorably settled.
Member of the team defending GTE Corporation in claims for personal injuries and wrongful death arising out of a natural gas pipeline explosion in Venezuela that occurred during work to construct a fiber-optic telephone line. After discovery and extensive briefing, the court granted GTE Corporation’s motion to dismiss for forum non conveniens.
Southern Boston Management Corp. v. BP Products North America Inc., S.D. New York
Represented BP in a dispute with the purchaser of property that was formerly a BP service station concerning the UST system located at the property. The case settled after mediation.
Consumer Class Actions
Kings Choice Neckwear v. Pitney Bowes, Inc. et al., S.D. New York
Obtained the dismissal of a putative nationwide class action challenging the propriety of terms in Pitney Bowes’ equipment lease.
Held v. Macy’s and Bloomingdales, New York State Supreme Court
Obtained the dismissal of a putative nationwide consumer class action challenging our clients’ consumer rewards program.
Hilt v. Dictaphone Corporation and Pitney Bowes, Inc., N.D. Alabama
Represented the defendants in a putative nationwide class action lawsuit alleging that a product was not compliant with applicable standards. Pursued a motion practice strategy that resulted in the dismissal of class action allegations.
Arlandson v. The Hartz Mountain Corporation, D. New Jersey
Represented Hartz and Wal-Mart in five consolidated putative nationwide class actions concerning insecticides used in the client’s flea and tick collar products. Obtained a nominal settlement and dismissal of individual claims prior to class action certification and after extensive motion practice.
Wilgus v. The Hartz Mountain Corporation, N.D. Indiana
Obtained the dismissal of a putative class action of Indiana residents alleging that animals were injured by pesticides contained in the client’s flea and tick products. The court granted our motion to dismiss all claims as preempted by the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
Unfair Competition/Intellectual Property
Link Group LLP v. Toymax Inc., D. Connecticut
Represented Toymax in a jury trial in which the plaintiff alleged violations of the Connecticut Uniform Trade Secret Act and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practice Act in connection with Toymax’s introduction of the Laser Challenge™ toy product. The case favorably settled during jury deliberations after a three-week trial.
Océ North America, Inc. v. MCS Services, Inc., D. Maryland
Represented Océ in a theft of trade secrets case involving stolen Océ software by a competitor. Obtained a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. Prosecuted claims under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and for misappropriation of trade secrets. Obtained a confidential favorable settlement.
Roquette America, Inc. et al. v. Amylum Belgium N.V., et al., Iowa State Court and S.D. New York
Represented a leading European agricultural products manufacturer and senior executives in claims arising out of the client’s hiring of a senior executive that previously worked for one of the plaintiffs. Claims included theft of trade secrets and alleged tortious interference with a non-compete agreement. The case was dismissed by the Iowa Supreme Court for a lack of personal jurisdiction after discovery and an extensive hearing on jurisdictional issues. A case was subsequently filed by the same plaintiffs in the Southern District of New York alleging violations of the Lanham Act and RICO, which was dismissed after motion practice, and the dismissal was upheld by the Second Circuit.
Sheffield Laboratories, Inc. v. The Hartz Mountain Corporation, D. Connecticut
Represented Hartz in a case where the plaintiff claimed that Hartz misappropriated information in connection with a venture to produce a new pet care product. Obtained a settlement for a nominal amount after prevailing on most issues on summary judgment.
M.P. Innovations v. Atlantic Horizon, Inc., New York Supreme Court
Represented Atlantic Horizon in a case alleging that the client misappropriated confidential information concerning a product known as the “Detox Patch.” The court dismissed the case after discovery and motion practice.
Tactica International, Inc. v. Atlantic Horizon International, Inc., et al., S.D. New York
Represented a British manufacturer and its U.S. distributor of certain beauty products in a lawsuit brought by the British manufacturer’s former U.S. distributor to enjoin the sale of certain products, for theft of trade secrets and to enforce a covenant not to compete. After a three-day injunction hearing, the court denied the plaintiff's request that the defendants be enjoined from conducting business. The case subsequently settled with no monetary payments to the plaintiff and permitting the defendants to conduct business in the United States.
Dictaphone Corporation v. Diehl, D. Connecticut
Prosecuted an action for injunctive relief against a former Dictaphone executive to enforce a covenant not to compete. The case settled with the defendant agreeing to abide by covenant.
Toymax Inc. v. Thinkway Products, Inc., S.D. New York
Prosecuted claims for Lanham Act violations and unfair competition arising out of the defendant’s marketing of a product improperly based upon the client’s Laser Challenge™ system. A temporary restraining order was granted after an evidentiary hearing and the case was subsequently favorably settled.
Valentino v. MGA Entertainment Corp., E.D. New York
Represented the defendant in a claim for trademark and copyright infringement involving one of the client’s doll products.
NSI International Inc. v. Big Ideas, Inc., S.D. New York
Obtained a temporary restraining order where the defendant infringed the client’s trademarks for toy craft products. The case subsequently settled with a consent judgment.
Geotek Communications, Inc. v. Apex Communications, S.D. Texas
Prosecuted an action for injunctive relief against a former franchisee for misuse of our client’s confidential information. The case settled after injunctive relief was obtained.
Daval, N.Y. Inc. v. Toymax, Inc., E.D. New York
Obtained a summary judgment dismissal of Lanham Act and state law claims arising out of alleged misappropriation of the plaintiff’s concept for a toy product.
MGA Entertainment Corp. v. K’NEX Industries, S.D. New York
Represented the plaintiff in a Lanham Act claim involving the defendant’s marketing of its Commanda-bot toy product, which infringed upon our client’s Command-o-bot™ mark. The defendant agreed, inter alia, to cease its use of the offending name.
Lexington Lasercomb L.P. AG v. Atlantic Horizon International, Inc., et al., S.D. Florida
Represented the defendants in a trademark and patent dispute concerning a laser hair comb. The case settled allowing our client to continue selling its product.
Represented MGA Entertainment in multiple proceedings for unfair advertising brought by the Children’s Advertising Review Unit of the Better Business Bureau concerning our client’s television advertising for a number of its toy products.
Represented Elysee Beauty Products and Atlantic Horizon International in a proceeding before the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau (NAD) in which a competitor claimed that the client falsely advertised that its women’s home electrolysis unit “permanently” removed hair. The NAD ruled in our clients’ favor and found that the advertising was accurate.
BP Products North America, Inc. v. Oesch Distributing, et. al., N.D. Ohio
Represented BP in a breach of covenant not to compete/unfair competition case arising out of the defendant’s solicitation of customers they serviced while a BP consumer marketer.
Right To Privacy
Powers v. Dictaphone Corporation, D. Kentucky
Obtained a summary judgment dismissal of claim that our client’s installation and use of logging equipment violated federal wiretap laws and the plaintiff’s right to privacy.
Sexton, et al. v. Dictaphone Corporation, et al., E.D. Missouri
Obtained a summary judgment dismissal of claims for invasion of privacy and breach of federal and state wiretap laws arising out of alleged misuse of our client’s recording equipment.
Leasehold Disputes
Drutman Realty Co. v. Jindo Corp. and Jindo Ventures Corp., S.D. New York
Defended a Korean conglomerate in a federal court dispute over the guaranty of commercial real estate located in New Jersey. Defeated the plaintiff’s summary judgment motion by successfully arguing in a case of first impression that a New Jersey commercial landlord has a duty to mitigate damages. The case subsequently settled for a confidential amount representing a fraction of what was owed on the disputed lease.
The Children’s Place v. Equity Properties, Inc., Florida State Court
Prosecuted an action for breach of covenant of quiet enjoyment due to the landlord’s failure to adequately maintain a mall location. Obtained a termination of the lease and reduction of rent owed.
Caldwell Construction Corp. v. Clearview Cinemas, New Jersey State Court
Represented a subsidiary of Cablevision in a dispute with a landlord concerning whether a theater was built in conformity with lease specifications. The settlement was resolved with the landlord dropping claims for money damages.
Bakery Associates v. Miami Theatre LLC, Florida State Court
Represented Miami Theatre, an affiliate of Imax, in alleging breach of a lease for a large format theater in a mall in suburban Miami.