December 2016 Victory Lap: Significant Accomplishments by NAMWOLF PAC Firms
| PAC | Accomplishment Type | Accomplishment Description | Firm |
| Restaurant, Retail & Hospitality PAC/ Insurance PAC | Summary Judgment | Obtained summary judgment in South Carolina federal district court for large retail client in premises liability matter in which Plaintiff alleged permanent physical impairment. | Gaffney Lewis & Edwards, LLC www.glelawfirm.com |
| Restaurant, Retail & Hospitality PAC/ Insurance PAC |
Partial Dismissal followed by Summary Judgment | Successfully moved at the initial pleadings phase to dismiss with prejudice Plaintiff’s claim for false imprisonment; subsequently obtained summary judgment as to Plaintiff’s remaining claims of assault, battery and malicious prosecution arising from a retail shoplifting incident. |
Gaffney Lewis & Edwards, LLC |
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Restaurant, Retail & Hospitality PAC/ Insurance PAC |
Summary Judgment | Summary judgment granted in South Carolina premises liability matter against large retailer in which Plaintiff alleged physical injury as a result of slipping and falling in a foreign substance on the sales floor. |
Gaffney Lewis & Edwards, LLC |
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Restaurant, Retail & Hospitality PAC/ Insurance PAC |
Summary Judgment | South Carolina Court granted summary judgment to large retail client in false imprisonment and negligence case arising from an alleged shoplifting incident. |
Gaffney Lewis & Edwards, LLC |
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Trial Victory | Achieved a defense verdict in favor of LLF’s client – a Stockton, CA based freight handling company – in a personal injury action stemming from an industrial accident at a food distribution warehouse owned by a co-defendant. The jury found 11 to 1 that the freight handling company was not negligent. The case was tried by Livingston Law Firm Senior Counsel John C. Hentschel. |
Livingston Law Firm |
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Dismissal Granted |
The Firm represented a food manufacturer in multibillion dollar right of publicity litigation over rights to use character imagery and trademarks, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Dismissal of case was affirmed on appeal by the Seventh Circuit. Attorneys: Stephanie Scharf and Deirdre Fox |
Scharf Banks Marmor LLC www.scharfbanks.com
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Dismissal Granted |
The Firm represented a Fortune 500 Insurance Company and related corporate entities in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The lawsuit alleged various federal and contracted securities and consumer fraud claims. After substantial briefing on both substantive and procedural grounds, the case was dismissed by the District Court, and the dismissal was affirmed on appeal by the Seventh Circuit. Attorneys: Stephanie Scharf and George Sax |
Scharf Banks Marmor LLC www.scharfbanks.com
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Summary Judgment Granted |
The Firm represented an LLC in a complex commercial litigation dispute in Wisconsin state court alleging that its partners in a proposed frac sand mining project breached the parties’ contracts by depriving our client of its bargained-for equity, management rights and substantial multimillion dollar investment in the project. We defeated a complicated and comprehensive defense summary judgment motion, permitting future trial. |
Scharf Banks Marmor LLC www.scharfbanks.com |
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Trial |
In the Circuit Court of Cook County (Chancery Division), the Firm represented a large corporate client in a two-month bench trial seeking insurance coverage for more than one hundred underlying personal injury judgments and settlements. The case involves multiple fact and expert witnesses, and complicated legal and evidentiary issues. Post-trial proceedings continue in advance of a trial decision. Attorneys: Stephanie Scharf, Deirdre Fox, George Sax, and Corinne Heggie |
Scharf Banks Marmor LLC www.scharfbanks.com |
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Administrative Victory |
The Firm defeated an EEOC complaint against an Illinois University by a former employee who claimed his termination was an act of age discrimination. Attorneys: Sarah Marmor and George Sax |
Scharf Banks Marmor LLC www.scharfbanks.com |
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Summary Judgment Granted |
The Firm represented a national credit reporting agency when it was sued for allegedly obtaining a consumer report without a permissible purpose and failing to have reasonable procedures to ensure its consumer reports were accurate. After a successful motion to dismiss the permissible purpose claim and expedited discovery, summary judgment was entered in favor of the company. Attorney: Corinne Heggie |
Scharf Banks Marmor LLC www.scharfbanks.com |
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Dismissal of Action | Defended a media company against a design patent infringement claim filed by an aggressive patent troll in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Proposed and joined joint defense group to reduce common litigation costs, then obtained early judgment of dismissal solely for our client through discovery sanctions. | Zuber Lawler & Del Duca LLP www.zuberlaw.com |
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Dismissal of Action | Representing a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company, our attorneys, led by NY partner Jay Maloney, achieved dismissal of four DES product liability cases in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. |
Zuber Lawler & Del Duca LLP www.zuberlaw.com
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Appellate Victory | Representing a very large U.S.-based family trust in litigation in Dubai, our attorneys successfully evicted a bank from possession of leased premises in Dubai owned by our client. We sustained that decision on appeal. |
Zuber Lawler & Del Duca LLP www.zuberlaw.com
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Dismissal of punitive damages | In catastrophic product liability action in Michigan federal court, obtained favorable rulings on personal jurisdiction and choice of law, leading to partial summary judgment of Plaintiff’s claim for punitive damages. |
Bush Seyferth & Paige PLLC http://www.bsplaw.com/
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Dismissal of Action |
Shortly after moving to dismiss on personal jurisdiction and other grounds, obtained voluntary dismissal of putative class action filed in Northern District of California alleging violations of California’s Song Beverly Act.
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Bush Seyferth & Paige PLLC http://www.bsplaw.com/ |
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Summary Judgment Granted | Won summary judgment in what started as a putative class action alleging joint employment of station managers. Court initially stayed the action, under Defendant’s theory of exclusive concurrent jurisdiction which led to Plaintiff dismissing his class claims. In an exhaustive opinion, the court granted summary judgment, finding Defendant, represented by Gary Lafayette and Rebecca Kimura, was not the joint employer of Plaintiff. |
Lafayette & Kumagai LLP www.lkclaw.com |
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Summary Judgment Granted | Susan Kumagai and Brian Chun won summary judgment on behalf of a Fortune 10 company in a matter in which a former employee sued alleging disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, failure to engage in the interactive process, retaliation and wrongful termination. Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment was granted in full. |
Lafayette & Kumagai LLP www.lkclaw.com |
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Appellate Victory | The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of a Fortune 500 company in a matter in which Plaintiff alleged race discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination. Represented by Gary Lafayette and Rebecca Kimura, Defendant persuaded the 9th Circuit that Plaintiff was unable to meet the prima facie elements of his case. |
Lafayette & Kumagai LLP www.lkclaw.com |
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Summary Judgment Granted | Obtained summary judgment on behalf of automobile manufacturer (and defeated the plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment) in lawsuit alleging disability discrimination, retaliation and hostile work environment. Deborah Brouwer represented the employer. |
Nemeth Law, PC |
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Appellate Victory | The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the district court that First Amendment did not protect former school district employee against the decision not to renew his employment contract because the school district’s interests in efficient and effective operations outweighed the plaintiff’s interest in complaining about curricular decisions. Deborah Brouwer represented the school district. |
Nemeth Law, PC
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Appellate Victory | The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for financial institution employer, upholding dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims that she was discharged in retaliation for requesting FMLA leave, and because of her age and gender. The Court concluded that the plaintiff’s claims failed under all theories, including a mixed motive analysis. Partners Deborah Brouwer and Anne Widlak represented the employer. |
Nemeth Law, PC
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Arbitration Victory | Deborah Brouwer obtained judgment in favor of automobile manufacturer in arbitration of former employee’s |
Nemeth Law, PC
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Trial Victory | In July 2017, after a week-long jury trial, Michael S. Kalt and Christina C.K. Semmer obtained a unanimous defense verdict for a Fortune 50 company in a race and age discrimination case in federal court in Santa Ana, California. |
Wilson Turner Kosmo LLP |
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Summary Judgment Affirmed on Appeal | Robin Wofford, Lois M. Kosch and Katherine McCray successfully defended a third-party claims administrator in an action claiming disability and pregnancy discrimination (and other causes of action). Following five years of contentious litigation, California’s Second Appellate District, Div. 8, completely affirmed summary judgment initially granted by the Los Angeles County Superior Court, and awarded the defendant-employer costs on appeal. |
Wilson Turner Kosmo LLP
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Arbitration and Trial Victories | Achieved favorable verdict in the arbitration of a disability discrimination claim. Also prevailed in the arbitration of a race and sex discrimination case and won a verdict of no cause of action after the trial of a commercial contract dispute. Also successfully obtained a directed verdict in a race and sex discrimination suit. |
Campbell Litigation |
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Defeated Unfair Labor Practice Charges | Michael Bommarito obtained dismissal of unfair labor practice charges filed with Michigan Employment Relations Commission against county airport authority. ALJ recommended dismissal of the charges without a hearing because employee failed to state a claim under Public Employees Relations Act and because the charges, as filed, were outside PERA’s six-month statute of limitations. |
Nemeth Law, PC |