Cases
Experience: Business Litigation: Green Hills Development Company, LLC v. UMB Bank, N.A.:: Currently representing Trustee in the Mississippi Supreme Court in an appeal involving a default on tax-exempt bonds in the aggregate principal amount of $22 million issued by a public improvement district to acquire l
finance capital infrastructure improvements for a mixed-use development project.
Arch Specialty Insurance Company v. BP Investment Partners, LLC:: Currently representing Arch Specialty Insurance Company in an appeal of a final judgment entered in its favor following a jury trial. The jury found the defendant materially breached its post-loss duties
intentionally misrepresented or concealed material facts during the investigation of its insurance claim regarding Hurricane Irma-related property damage to its hotel.
Lankhorst v. Independent Savings Plan Co.:: : Obtained affirmance of summary judgment entered in favor of Independent Savings Plan Co. in a class action brought under the Truth In Lending Act.
USAmeriBank v. Sovereign Bank:: Represented Sovereign Bank in an appeal of an eight-figure summary judgment entered in its favor. The case was filed by a syndicated bank lending group against a blind participant to recover a multimillion-dollar setoff exercised against the bank lending group's borrower. The case resolved prior to oral argument.
Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC v. Van Fleet International Airport Development Group, LLC:: Obtained affirmance of a final summary judgment entered in favor of Mosaic Fertilizer in an action seeking damages in excess of $20 million based on claims arising out of an option to purchase real estate.
WrestleReunion, LLC v. Live Nation Television Holdings, Inc.:: Obtained affirmance of final judgment entered in favor of Live Nation Television Holdings following a jury trial in a case involving $22 million in damages arising from a grant of exclusive rights to market
distribute plaintiff's television programming.
Career Education Corporation - Class Action Proceedings:: Briefed numerous motions to compel arbitration
stay proceedings in multiple putative class actions filed against Career Education Corporation
its subsidiaries based on allegations that they misrepresented the quality of education that students would receive
their post-graduate employment prospects, causing them to incur significant damages. After briefing, the district court compelled arbitration pursuant to the arbitration provisions in the students' Enrollment Agreements.
Environmental & Toxic Tort Litigation: Curd v. Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC:: Obtained affirmance of order dismissing class action filed against Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC for damages allegedly resulting from a release of approximately 65 million gallons of process water into Hillsborough Bay during Hurricane Frances. The Court held that Mosaic Fertilizer did not have an independent duty to protect plaintiffs' pure economic interests
that plaintiffs did not have a private statutory cause of action for damages when they could not establish a possessory interest in the property allegedly damaged by the pollution. On further review, the Florida Supreme Court held that only the commercial fishermen-but not restaurants, bait
tackle stores, or other plaintiffs-could proceed with their claims, thereby limiting the putative class of persons on rem
.
Mims Properties Investments, LLC v. Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC:: Briefed summary judgment motion that resulted in an order reducing damages by approximately $20 million. The district court found that, under the economic waste doctrine, Plaintiffs were not entitled to restoration damages for alleged improper reclamation of formerly mined l
s
, instead, were limited to diminution in value.
Sierra Club Sierra Club, et al. v. Army Corps of Engineers, et al.:: Briefed summary judgment motion granted by district court in a federal court challenge to phosphate mining filed by the Sierra Club
other environmental groups challenging a Section 404 Clean Water Act permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers.
In re Methyl Tertiary Butyl-Ether ('MTBE') Products Liability Litigation:: Briefed numerous motions on behalf of ExxonMobil in multidistrict litigation in which injunctive relief sought in Florida alone exceeded $100 million. Class certification was denied.
Intellectual Property Litigation: Caracol Television, S.A. v. Telemundo Television Studios, LLC, et al.:: Obtained affirmance of a final summary judgment entered in favor of Telemundo Television Studios in a federal copyright action involving a dispute over copyright ownership in a telenovela
claims of copyright infringement.
LaTele Television, C.A. v. Telemundo Communications Group, LLC, et al.:: Obtained dismissal of appeal challenging a sanctions award entered against LaTele Television for discovery violations in a federal copyright action. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the collateral order doctrine does not authorize immediate review of sanctions ordered under Rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
LaTele Television, C.A. v. Telemundo Communications Group, LLC, et al.:: Obtained dismissal of appeal in federal copyright action involving a dispute over who controlled the litigation on behalf of LaTele Television. The Court concluded that the district court (1) correctly found that the Board appointed by a Venezuelan criminal court to manage LaTele
its counsel was the proper representative of LaTele Television
had the right to select counsel
(2) properly removed the ousted president's counsel from representing the company in the litigation. Based on these findings, the Court concluded that the ousted president's counsel was not authorized to file the appeal
the notice of appeal was, thus, rendered nugatory.
Financial Services Litigation: Willner v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.:: Currently representing Wells Fargo Bank in an appeal challenging the district court's order dismissing the complaint with prejudice based on plaintiff's failure to allege actual or statutory damages under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.
Felts v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.:: Obtained affirmance of final summary judgment in a Fair Credit Reporting Act case based on claim that Wells Fargo Bank inaccurately reported information regarding plaintiff's mortgage account.
Scarry v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.:: Obtained affirmance of the district court's orders dismissing complaint with prejudice
denying leave to amend complaint in Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act case based on allegations that Wells Fargo Bank did not properly respond to a request for information.
HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v. Buset:: Obtained reversal of an involuntary dismissal following a non-jury trial in a residential mortgage foreclosure action. The court held that the trial court made multiple erroneous rulings, including its findings that the note was not negotiable, the Trustee lacked st
ing, the servicer's business records were inadmissible,
the Trustee had acted with unclean h
s. The case was rem
ed to the trial court with directions to enter a final judgment in favor of the Trustee.
Elizon DB Transfer Agent, LLC v. Ivy Chase Apartments, Ltd.:: Obtained reversal of an involuntary dismissal following a non-jury trial in a commercial foreclosure action involving a default on an over $1 million loan secured to construct an apartment complex.
Pharmaceutical
Medical Device Litigation: Monarch v. On-X Life Technologies, Inc.:: Obtained affirmance of dismissal of negligence
loss of consortium claims filed against On-X Life Technologies involving damages purportedly sustained due to alleged inadequate labeling of its Prosthetic Aortic Heart Valve.
Trial Court Briefing:: Briefed complex motions in pharmaceutical
medical device litigation in state
federal courts involving claims for, among others, failure to warn, design defects,
manufacturing defects
