SS M&A Litigation Outlook - Flipbook - Page 43
Notable cases and victories
We are a team of experienced trial attorneys
that are focused on achieving our clients’ key
business objectives. We are proud of our successes
on behalf of our clients, and this year is no different.
Notably, in 2020, our team:
• Won a major motion to dismiss in the SDNY
on behalf of a private equity fund in a federal RICO
action brought by investor plaintiffs seeking more
than US$1 billion in damages;
• Won a second complete victory for Papa
John’s International Inc. in a securities class action
filed in the SDNY;
• Successfully advised a public hospitality
REIT in its successful termination of a merger
agreement after the buyer was unable to close.
With our advice, our client was able to manage its
business through the effects of COVID-19 without
violating any interim operating covenants and
without acknowledging an MAE had occurred; and
• Won an AAA/ICDR arbitration victory for
a China-based conglomerate in an action by the
minority investor in a travel-industry technology
start-up alleging breach of fiduciary duty and
seeking more than US$90 million in damages.
In federal securities class actions, we have
extensive experience defending claims brought
under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act. Over the last 12 months, our team
has won pleading-stage dismissals of securities
class actions filed against public companies in the
life sciences, sporting goods, and consumer retail
industry sectors.
• We won a second complete victory for Papa
John’s International Inc. in a securities class
action filed in the SDNY following a corporate
crisis and massive stock price decline caused
by press reports of racist language used by the
company’s founder and #MeToo allegations.
• We also secured a significant victory for a South
American country after a minority group of
bondholders requested a TRO from the SDNY
to prevent the restructuring of their country’s
external debt. After expedited briefing, the win
prevented a potentially catastrophic outcome with
potential damages exceeding US$17 billion.
Our team litigated a number of cases in Delaware,
securing important victories for our clients:
• Won a unanimous ruling by the Delaware
Supreme Court affirming that, as a matter of
equity, the “affirmative deception” by the founder/
director of a tech company voided his attempted
“coup d’etat” to take control of the company from
our client the board of directors; and
• Defeated a motion to dismiss in Delaware
Chancery Court, securing a major M&A litigation
win for our client in an action for fraud and breach
of contract stemming from its US$106 million
purchase of a cloud computing and data services
company in 2018.
In public M&A litigation matters, we handled
numerous cases in connection with hundred-million
dollar deals.
• Represented a software company and its
board of directors in federal and state court
litigation arising from its US$792 million sale to
an education tech company.
• Represented a semiconductor manufacturer
in a series of individual and investor class actions
arising from its US$500 million acquisition of a
technology company.
• Represented the special committee of the board
of directors in numerous federal and state suits
challenging a “go private” merger transaction.
• Represented multiple public company
acquirors in MAE disputes arising from the
COVID-19 pandemic.
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