Complex Commercial Litigation and Business Torts
We represent clients, as both plaintiffs and defendants, in all manner of contractual and other complex commercial disputes at both the trial and appellate level. The disputes often have an international component and we understand the nuances, both procedural and substantive, of representing a foreign party in the United States. We also understand the risks and costs of litigation to a business, and our clients not only turn to us to obtain the best result in a courtroom, they turn to us to avoid the cost and uncertainty of litigation.
The Litigation Group regularly litigates cases involving commercial contracts of all types, including licensing and distribution agreements, lender agreements, letters of credit, promissory notes, financing arrangements, joint venture agreements, and secured transactions, as well as other torts arising out of the business relationship such as fraud, RICO, and negligence claims (including failure to warn and other products liability claims), business dissolutions, and valuation disputes. And our clients come from a range of industries, including banking and finance, health care, hedge funds and private equity, insurance, mining, oil and gas, real estate, manufacturing, software, and technology.
Examples of our recent cases include:
Defense of multiple European, Asian, and South American private clients and financial institutions facing substantial “claw back” actions brought in connection with the Madoff Ponzi scheme.
On behalf of small Canadian company against multinational conglomerate, obtained a preliminary injunction enjoining the termination of a multi-year, multimillion dollar contract, which led to an extremely favorable settlement for our client.
Successful defense of a large Swiss insurance company against a class action lawsuit for breach of contract in connection with failure to pay claims. This case involves coordinating with counsel defending the client against multiple individual lawsuits brought across various jurisdictions in Europe.
Successful prosecution of a RICO extortion and fraud claim against a London-based insurance broker on behalf of a major European financial services company resulting in a judgment in excess of one hundred million dollars.
Defenses of a consortium of bilateral lending agencies against litigation threatened by a large Mexican mortgage company in connection with its debt restructuring, and successfully resolved the matter without litigation.
Prosecution of a breach of contract claims on behalf of a French-American oil refining and trading joint venture against a major British oil company, leading to a multi-million dollar settlement for our client.
Defense of RICO and fraud claims brought against German energy companies, in which we secured a judgment notwithstanding the verdict following a jury trial.
Successful defense of RICO claims brought against an Austrian juice importer in federal court.
On behalf of an Austrian manufacturer, we defended and successfully resolved American claims of product liability.
Defense of a Dutch pharmaceutical company facing multi-district product liability claims connected to the sale of generic pharmaceuticals, including acting as national coordination counsel.