Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout Outs
Runners-up this week include litigators from Baker Botts, Murtha Cullina, Cravath, Latham, Robison, Sharp, Sullivan & Brust, and McDonald Carano.
November 17, 2023 at 07:20 AM
5 minute read
Runners-up honors go to Ty Buthod of Baker Botts and the rest of the trial team who defended ExxonMobil from claims brought by the family of a former gas station owner who claimed his exposure to benzene in the company's products led to his death from acute myelogenous leukemia. Following a nine-day jury trial, state court jurors in Stamford, Connecticut, last week sided with ExxonMobil on the plaintiffs' design defect and failure to warn claims, as well as on questions of causation. The company's defense team also included Jennifer Morgan and Lorey Leddy of Murtha Cullina.
Kevin Orsini, Antony Ryan, Brittany Sukiennik and Daniel Slifkin of Cravath, Swaine & Moore get a runner-up spot this week for helping financial services client Robinhood Markets Inc. fend off class certification in securities litigation tied trading restrictions for Robinhood customers during the "meme stock" short squeeze of early 2021. Plaintiffs brought market manipulation claims based on Robinhood's restrictions on customer access to certain stocks as well as company statements tying those restrictions to market volatility rather than the company's own liquidity issues. Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga in Miami this week denied class certification, finding that plaintiffs failed to offer a method for proving reliance class wide.
Runners-up honors also go to a trial team at Latham & Watkins and local co-counsel in Nevada at Robison, Sharp, Sullivan & Brust and McDonald Carano for securing a win for freelance talent platform Toptal. Jurors in Washoe County state court sided with Toptal in its claims that rival Mechanism Ventures, a company founded by tech investor Denis Grosz, interfered with Toptal's contractual relationships and awarded $535,270 in actual damages against both the company and Grosz, while also denying Grosz's counterclaims against Toptal. After returning the initial verdict Friday on Veterans Day, jurors returned to court on Saturday to award Toptal $15 million in punitive damages. The Latham team included Andrew Clubok, who handled opening and closings in the first phase of the trial, partner Kevin McDonough, associates Megan Behrman, Jarred Muller, Shannon McLaughlin, Alison Boaz, Katherine Rouse, Daniel Grill, Molly Babad and Harry McAlevey. Local co-counsel included Robison Sharp's Kent Robison, who closed on the punitive damages issue, and Hannah Winston, as well as Adam Hosmer-Henner at McDonald Carano.
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Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
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David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
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Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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