Complex Commercial & Class Action Litigation

Efficiently Managing Litigation from Start to Finish

Many of our litigators are former judicial law clerks, assistant U.S. attorneys and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff members. Our team includes fellows of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers and Litigation Counsel of America. Leveraging that experience, our team works side by side with publicly held and privately owned companies from the earliest stage of a dispute, evaluating options, managing costs and developing strategies to efficiently and effectively achieve their objectives. Our multidisciplinary and collaborative approach enables us to readily draw on from the deep well of knowledge of lawyers throughout our firm to offer subject-matter and industry-specific counsel. 

Recognizing the value in narrowing the scope of cases and disposing of complex commercial cases before trial, we employ dispositive motions, alternative dispute resolution strategies and effective settlement techniques to limit our clients’ exposure and resolve matters quickly. When trial proves necessary, our deep bench of accomplished trial lawyers have successfully tried hundreds of cases to verdict or award.

Our seasoned team of class action lawyers handles a broad spectrum of matters, including cases involving claims alleging securities fraud, violation of federal and state consumer protection laws, data privacy, insurance, and wage and hour violations. We also handle other causes of action involving troubled loans, real estate and personal property liens, intercreditor disputes and fraudulent claims against lenders. Our class action clients include publicly traded companies and their directors and officers, as well as national financial institutions (e.g., banks, broker-dealers, investment advisers), insurance companies, healthcare systems and providers, and web-based retailers. Because of the depth of our experience — and our reputation for taking a practical, pragmatic approach to class action defense — our clients regularly call on us to serve as lead or national counsel in class actions throughout the United States, including cases that involve novel or emerging theories of class action liability.    

Our Services

Representing companies across a wide range of industries, including financial services, insurance, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, as well as governmental entities, receivers and individuals, our complex commercial and class action litigation lawyers have handled a wide range of cases, including:

• Securities fraud allegations 
• Director and officer (D&O) liability 
• Merger and acquisition disputes 
• Shareholder and partnership disputes
• Intellectual property licensing, infringement, and trade secret disputes 
• Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act claims 
• False Claims Act/qui tam matters
• Real estate disputes
• Unfair competition, contract interference, and other business torts 
• ERISA claims
• Commercial lending and lender liability matters
• Contract claims
• Professional liability and errors and omissions (E&O) claims
• Fiduciary duty claims

Clients also rely on us for proactive risk avoidance counsel that helps identify and address potential issues before they progress further. We routinely advise on risk management and other techniques that are aimed at eliminating or resolving disputes before the costs associated with litigation are incurred.

Representative Matters

• Secured summary judgment on behalf of a bank in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a complex case involving a multimillion-dollar burglary affecting a safe deposit box.
• Obtained the complete dismissal with prejudice of a shareholder class action and derivative suit brought by a shareholder seeking to enjoin a $244 million merger between two public company banks.
• Secured the dismissal of a nationwide securities fraud class action brought by the customers of a broker-dealer on the grounds of Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (SLUSA) preemption.
• Served as lead defense counsel in class actions under Massachusetts consumer protection laws (Pantano v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, No. 1977CV00530 (Mass.), and Cabral v. PHH Mortgage, No. 19-cv-12245 (D. Mass.)).
• Represented an international life insurer in a class action involving allegations of material misstatements in financial statements related to valuation allowances on deferred tax assets and Sarbanes-Oxley certifications.
• Defended a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) in a putative nationwide class action filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) that resulted in the dismissal of all claims against the GSE.
• Obtained complete dismissal in a RICO class action (White v. US Bank, No 18-10683 (D.N.J.)).
• Negotiated a no-admission-of-liability settlement on behalf of a pharmaceutical company in connection with a civil FCA matter investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The case originated from a qui tam complaint where the government initially sought damages well in excess of $400 million. The case was resolved for approximately 4% of the initial damages assessment and a corporate integrity agreement was reached with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, that avoided any debarment or exclusion sanctions.
• Tried an $80 million dispute between a marine terminal operator and its landlord port authority before a panel of three arbitrators, securing a unanimous award in the client’s favor.
• Secured dismissal of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit alleging civil conspiracy and tortious interference against a global distributor of industrial and specialty chemicals.
• Obtained summary judgment in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) class action involving novel issues with industry-wide implications (Walker v. Cenlar, No. 21-5381 (D.N.J.)).