Representation of Defendant(s)

• Defended a bank against a multi‐million dollar claim by a title insurer that the bank and eight other banks had violated the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act related to collateral they had received from loans entered into with borrowers who separately had engaged in a massive fraudulent mortgage escrow scheme. Our motion for summary judgment was granted dismissing the title insurer’s claims and that decision was affirmed on appeal.
• Represented a Midwest chain of restaurants in a trade secrets and breach of contract case brought by its competitor. The suit sought millions of dollars in royalties and damages. Our motion for summary judgment was granted and our client was completely exonerated from all claims of wrongdoing at both the trial court and appellate levels.
• Defended a national real estate investment firm from claims of fraud and breach of contract alleged by a brokerage company resulting from the sale of a multi- million- dollar property in Chicago. Our client’s motion for summary judgment was granted with no damages paid to the plaintiff.
• Defended CEO of asset management firm against securities and investment claims brought by former employees against the company and certain board members. Along with co-counsel for the company and other board members, successfully obtained dismissal of all claims with prejudice at motion to dismiss stage.
• Defended investment fund manager and individual director/principal against investor’s claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud, resolved through favorable settlement in mediation.
• Defended company against Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) claim by obtaining partial summary judgment ruling in its favor, which decision was one of the first in the country to apply a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) agency waiver as a matter of law to dispose of claims based on improper opt-out notices appearing on fax advertisements.
• Obtained dismissal with prejudice of claims against accounting firm alleged to have committed professional malpractice by arguing that the firm did not owe a legal duty to the plaintiffs under the Illinois Public Accounting Act and Illinois common law.
• Defeated class certification under Rule 23 at the pleadings stage based on a Motion to Strike the proposed class definition, after which the class action was voluntarily dismissed.
• Defended a leading insurance company in a class action complaint brought by individuals claiming to have been defrauded of millions of dollars by our client and several other insurance companies who employed an agent that had set up a Ponzi scheme. The case ultimately settled for an amount less than the projected cost to defend the case.
• Obtained dismissal at pleadings stage of a shareholder derivative claim brought by a disgruntled minority interest holder based on lack of standing.
• Successfully defeated Petition to Vacate judgment based on allegations of fraudulent concealment in case involving the breach of a settlement agreement by a commodities trading firm’s former executive.
• Resolved a closely held business dispute over a two-day settlement conference, wherein members of an LLC divided in excess of $20 million in real estate held across multiple corporate entities, each with different operating agreements and ownership structures.
• Defending a national real estate investment firm from claims of fraud and breach of contract alleged by a brokerage company resulting from the sale of a multi- million- dollar property in Chicago. Our client’s motion for summary judgment was granted with no damages paid to the plaintiff.
• Representing insurers with respect to the handling of potentially covered claims and in coverage disputes with their insureds.
• Represented multiple former employees and new employers in defending against claims arising from the attempted enforcement of post-employment restrictive covenants, including non-competition, non-solicitation, confidentiality and trade secrets provisions. Among other representations, the Firm represented an international airline in action brought against it and one of its officers by the officer’s former employer (another international airline who alleged breach of his non-competition agreement and sought to prohibit the officer from working for our airline client); after successfully defeating the plaintiff’s motion for a temporary restraining order, the plaintiff ultimately dismissed its case without receiving any compensation from our clients.