Experience

• • Decisions by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirming dismissals by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York of two separate securities class actions brought under the Securities Act and Securities Exchange Act alleging false or misleading statements in connection with structured asset holdings and valuations, capital adequacy, risk controls, and the acquisition and integration of a European bank by a large international banking and financial services company
  • Dismissal by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts of Securities Act and Securities Exchange Act claims brought on behalf of a putative class against a provider of demand response solutions to grid operators and utilities
  • Dismissal by the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut of securities class action against a multilevel marketing company and its senior executives alleging a fraudulent scheme and misrepresentations and omissions regarding company's sales model, revenue growth, products, supply issues and business prospects
  • Dismissals by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York of complaints asserting common law violations by a custodian of accounts managed by third party investment manager
  • Dismissals by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Supreme Court of the State of New York of securities fraud cases filed by arbitrageurs against a company and certain of its officers in connection with statements allegedly made about an anticipated merger that was not ultimately consummated
  • Dismissal by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts of a shareholder class action alleging securities fraud by a biotechnology company accused of issuing financial statements made misleading by channel stuffing
  • Dismissal by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts of a shareholder class action alleging securities fraud by a software developer and certain of its inside and outside directors
  • Ruling by the Massachusetts Superior Court that the commonwealth's statutory business judgment standard, rather than Delaware's Unocal standard, governs the response of a Massachusetts company's board of directors to a perceived threat to the company's independence
  • Dismissal by the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey of a shareholder class action asserting insider trading claims against a mutual fund company alleged to have sold securities on the basis of material inside information received from an issuer
  • Dismissal by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts of derivative claims asserting that allegedly excessive executive compensation was misrepresented in proxy statements and violated state law
  • Multiple rulings by federal district courts nationwide dismissing class actions against life insurance and annuity issuers which asserted common law, antitrust, ERISA, federal securities and RICO claims based on challenges to disclosures, sales and compensation practices, and product features
  • Secured defense verdict in class action trial challenging over 40,000 sales of insurance products
  • Ruling by a Florida state court denying plaintiff's motion to certify a class of policyholders alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment by a life insurance company