And the LOTW Runners Up...
Honorable mention goes to lawyers from Skadden; Quinn Emanuel; Squire Patton Boggs; Kirkland & Ellis; Sullivan & Cromwell; Sidley Austin; Latham & Watkins; and Erise IP.
April 10, 2020 at 04:00 PM
4 minute read
We begin with two honorary Litigators of the Week from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom—IP litigation head Tony Sammi and Scott Musoff, who leads the complex litigation and trials group in New York.
Skadden has been doing internal, virtual, firm-wide culture-boosting activities, including a video contest where people were invited to submit a 30-second video featuring their "Tips for Working from Home." For a quick smile, check out Sammi's video here, and Musoff's here—we're talking some seriously cute kids and impressive dance moves.
As for our other LOTW runners up…
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan's Peter Armenio, Matthew Robson and William Adams won a rare First Amendment ruling on behalf of BlephEx in a patent fight over a dry-eye ophthalmological treatment. (Shout-out to Quinn's PR rep Eric Herman for the first sentence of his pitch—"There wasn't a dry eye in the house" when they won.)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed an injunction by U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain of the Eastern District of Michigan, ruling that it was an abuse of discretion to restrain BlephEx's speech about a competitor's product and whether it infringed BlephEx's patent.
Squire Patton Boggs litigators Miriam Harwood, Ali Gursel, Zeynep Gunday, Bahar Charyyeva, Carlos Guzman, Hesel Toyjanova, and Tereza Psutkova successfully defended Turkmenistan before an ICSID tribunal, winning dismissal of a $76 million breach of contract claim brought by Lotus Holding Anonim Sirketi. In a rare move, the arbitrators tossed the case under Rule 41(5) —an expedited procedure for summary dismissal where the claims are shown to be "manifestly without legal merit." The tribunal also awarded Turkmenistan costs of nearly $1 million.
Kirkland & Ellis litigators Dan Donovan and Ragan Naresh racked up two more wins for Chesapeake Energy—in addition to one the week before—in a series of long-running disputes over the calculation of royalty payments for oil and gas leases.
On April 3, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling that pre- September 2005 claims against Chesapeake were time-barred. And on Monday, the Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for Chesapeake, rejecting claims that the oil and gas producer had underpaid royalties. Prior cases making similar allegations (but with different counsel) had resulted in a $400 million jury verdict in West Virginia.
At Sullivan & Cromwell, John Hardiman and Ben Walker won the dismissal of claims against Major League Baseball by fantasy sports players following the Astros' sign-stealing scandal. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan ruled that the claims against the league and its teams were "simply too attenuated" to support the lawsuit. (For more, see this story by my colleague Tom McParland.)
Also at Sullivan & Cromwell, Jeffrey Scott and Matthew Porpora won dismissal with prejudice of a securities fraud class action against automotive seat maker Adient plc as well as its CFO and former CEO.
Sidley Austin partner David Carpenter prevailed before California's Second Appellate District in an area where the firm doesn't often tread—divorce law. He represented executive producer Randall Douthit in a fight over IP rights to the TV show "Hot Bench."
A team from Latham & Watkins led by Brook Roberts, John Wilson and Drew Gardiner scored a 7-0 win before California Supreme Court for Montrose Chemical in a decision that stands to benefit insurance policyholders of all stripes.
Montrose was sued for causing continuous environmental damage in the Los Angeles area between 1947 and 1982. California's high court held that Montrose is entitled to coverage under any relevant policy covering its continuous loss once it has exhausted directly underlying excess policies for the same policy period.
And finally, Erise IP's Adam Seitz and Michelle Marriott prevailed on behalf of The Ergo Baby Carrier Inc. and New Baby Tula at the International Trade Commission. The agency found all six of Ergo's and Tula's baby carrier products didn't infringe on LILLEbaby's patent, that the patent was invalid for anticipation and obviousness, and that the original inventors committed inequitable conduct in securing it by deceiving the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllFirms Come Out of the Gate With High-Profile Litigation Hires in 2025
2024 Marked Growth On Top of Growth for Law Firm Litigation Practices. Is a Cooldown in the Offing for 2025?
Big Company Insiders See Technology-Related Disputes Teed Up for 2025
Litigation Leaders: Jason Leckerman of Ballard Spahr on Growing the Department by a Third Via Merger with Lane Powell
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1TikTok Opts Not to Take Section 230 Immunity Fight to U.S. Supreme Court
- 2Feasting, Pledging, and Wagering, Philly Attorneys Prepare for Super Bowl
- 3Special Section: 2025 Real Estate Trends
- 4Snap Paid $63M in Fees to 2 Am Law 200 Firms in '24
- 5Lawyers Across Political Spectrum Launch Public Interest Team to Litigate Against Antisemitism
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250