The Miami attorneys represented Knology Inc. before the Georgia Supreme Court, which refused to hear an attempt to unwind the company's $1.5 billion merger with WideOpenWest Finance LLC following shareholder approval.

A proposed nationwide class of Knology shareholders claimed the company and directors breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders, offered misrepresentations in proxy statements about the merger and secured an uninformed vote that resulted in an inadequate payout to shareholders in 2012.

The class action litigation was launched in Delaware and dismissed. A new case was filed in Troup County, Georgia, Superior Court. When deposed in 2014, class representative Shelia Lewis testified she thought her lawsuit was still pending in Delaware, she had never heard of Georgia counsel or his firm, and she thought her claims were based on her failure to be paid for her shares rather than merger disclosures.

The Georgia trial court denied class certification, rejecting Lewis as a class representative on typicality and adequacy grounds.

An appellate court upheld decisions rejecting the class and found no abuse of discretion. A request for en banc by the Georgia Court of Appeals produced a 5-4 opinion affirming the trial court in March. The Georgia Supreme Court rejected a request for discretionary review in September.

The Carlton Fields legal team, including Miami shareholders Bruce Berman and Julianna McCabe, Miami associate Stephanie Fichera and Tampa associate Scott Feather handled the case from inception to resolution.