Litigation

Secured a $19.5 million verdict for a prominent Miami physician and part owner of a family drywall business in Colombia, in a two-week jury trial regarding attempts to deprive the client of his 33.33% interest in the business.

Secured the dismissal of a Virginia state court case seeking to ban the sale of a client’s book. A Virginia Beach General Assembly Delegate brought the action against our client and one of its authors, filed under a decades-old statue and alleging that the book – a memoir, told in graphic novel form, of the author’s own journey of realizing their nonbinary and asexual identity – was “obscene.” Argued that the statute was unconstitutional both facially and as-applied, and that the petition failed to state a claim under Virginia law. The Court agreed and found that the book could not be considered “obscene” under state law, as well as that the statute was unconstitutional in violation of due process and the First Amendment.

Represented a public utility owner in a federal court case involving a complex commercial transaction, securing a dismissal with prejudice against a plaintiff resulting from our motion for terminating sanctions over the plaintiff's various discovery violations.

Defeated claims seeking more than $15 million in damages from his client, while obtaining a judgment for damages, attorneys’ fees and expenses in the client’s favor on its counterclaims.

Our client brought claims against a former company officer, his new employer and an officer of his new employer, alleging that they misappropriated trade secrets from our client. The alleged trade secrets included customer information and highly technical manufacturing information. Our client also brought a breach of fiduciary duty claim against the former officer for allegedly diverting business from our client to his new employer immediately before he left. After a two-and-a-half-week jury trial in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the jury found that the former employee, his new employer and the new employer’s officer misappropriated certain trade secrets and that the employee also breached his fiduciary duty, awarding our client damages on both claims.

Secured a multimillion-dollar jury verdict in federal court for a Chinese manufacturer and a Chinese distributor for fraud, breach of contract and defamation against their manufacturer’s representative.

Secured judgment for a publicly traded master-limited partnership against a former executive’s claim for post-termination equity.

Secured a reduction of a $1.75 million punitive damages award to $65,000 by the Illinois Supreme Court.

Secured an $8 million judgment in a stock buyout suit for the former CEO of a nationwide construction company.

Secured a $70 million judgment against a pharmaceutical company in a royalty payment dispute.

Secured an injunction for an internet travel service against Orbitz for breach of contract.

Successfully defended a corporation’s board of directors against claims by shareholders for breach of fiduciary duty and shareholder oppression at trial in federal court in Chicago.

Secured a jury verdict in federal court in Chicago to rescind a client’s multimillion-dollar purchase of fake antique statues.

Obtained a writ of mandamus on behalf of an Illinois multi-level marketing (MLM) company in the Supreme Court of Alabama. The MLM company was sued in Alabama’s Tallapoosa County Circuit Court. Although the circuit court denied our motion to dismiss, the Alabama Supreme Court granted our petition for writ of mandamus holding that the circuit court exceeded its discretion and directing the circuit court to dismiss the lawsuit filed against the MLM.