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Covington.CovingtonFullname
Covington litigators have a well-deserved reputation for handling novel, complex, and high-stakes disputes. Our experience spans multiple disciplines and venues, and includes litigation against both private party litigants and government authorities. Our clients turn to us for their toughest challenges. We handle bet-the-company antitrust, class action, insurance recovery, and intellectual property litigation; defend against ever more aggressive enforcement actions by national and local government agencies; and tackle their most complicated international disputes.
By developing case themes early, focusing our discovery efforts on the key issues, and demonstrating the ability and drive to take the case to trial, we put our clients in the best position to win—whether through a verdict, a dispositive motion, or a negotiated resolution.
Vast Trial Experience
Our senior litigators, which include six members of the American College of Trial Lawyers, have successfully tried hundreds of jury and bench trials.
Regulatory and Industry Expertise
We have a leg up on our competition because of our ability to staff litigation matters with multi-disciplinary teams that take advantage of the firm’s market-leading regulatory practices and our deep expertise in the special characteristics and challenges of particular industries.
Global Reach
Our litigators appear before national and international courts in Europe, state and federal courts and enforcement agencies throughout the US, and arbitral tribunals throughout the world; we also counsel our clients in cross-border disputes involving Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas, utilizing a trusted team of foreign lawyers and our own expert team of former diplomats and advisers.
Savvy Case Management with a Focus on Value
We work in close collaboration with our clients to manage litigation efficiently; reduce and make costs more predictable through alternative fee arrangements; and find creative ways to resolve cases early.
Broad Resources
Our litigation teams are strengthened by our extensive e-discovery capabilities, our technological resources for managing information and preparing trial exhibits, and our ability to collaborate efficiently across firm offices.
Representation of ExxonMobil subsidiaries in an ICSID arbitration against Venezuela seeking full compensation under the Netherlands-Venezuela bilateral investment treaty and international law for the expropriation of their investments in Venezuela. The amount in controversy exceeds $2 billion.
Won the dismissal of more than 6,000 alien tort claims against Chiquita arising from extortion payments made by Chiquita’s Colombian subsidiary to armed groups in that country.
Represented GlaxoSmithKline in successfully resolving one of the largest criminal and civil investigations involving pharmaceutical industry marketing practices.
Secured trial, expert, adequacy, and appeals wins imperiling thousands product liability claims against client Hoffmann-La Roche involving the prescription medication Accutane.
Defended the former CEO of IndyMac in an SEC securities fraud case and FDIC lawsuit involving one of the most high-profile bank failures of the recent financial crisis.
Represented Deere & Co. in an 18-month investigation relating to its operations in Russia and neighboring countries by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that concluded without enforcement action.
Representation of Knowles Electronics in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Certain Surface Mount MEMS Microphones and Products Containing the Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-700 (Respondent).
We represented a major pharmaceutical company in a lengthy investigation by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee regarding alleged off-label marketing of pharmaceutical products. The investigation included dozens of requests and resulted in the production of tens of thousands of documents.
Represented PG&E Corporation in the restructuring of its regulated utility and as co-proponent of PG&E’s confirmed plan.
Achieved favorable resolution for Patagonia in a putative class action alleging wrongful collection of personal information in connection with credit card transactions.
Represent debtor in chapter 11 case with respect to insurance matters in connection with asbestos liabilities.
We represented a world-leading consumer products manufacturer in an investigation by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding high-profile recalls of over-the-counter medicines. The investigation included multiple interviews, tens of thousands of documents produced to Congress, and two major hearings, including one at which the company’s chairman and CEO testified.
Representation of a joint venture of Newmont Mining and Sumitomo in an arbitration under UNCITRAL Rules relating to the Indonesian government’s efforts to terminate an agreement regarding exploitation of copper and gold resources.
Advising remanufacturers and refurbishers of consumer products as to FTC and state law regulating their ability to describe products as “new.”
The SAFETY Act, administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, provides liability protection to the makers and users of anti-terror technology in the event of a terror attack. We have successfully guided clients from virtually every major industry in the United States, including government contractors, airports, port authorities, chemical companies, large sports stadiums, and professional sports leagues, through the SAFETY Act application process and secured SAFETY Act protection for a wide range of technologies.
We represented a politically active nonprofit entity in an investigation by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations as part of the Subcommittee’s review of political activity by tax-exempt organizations.
We defended a former NASA official and a former White House official in investigations by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the House Judiciary Committee regarding alleged political interference with the work of government environmental scientists.
Achieved dismissal of a putative class action against LinkedIn alleging violations of the Stored Communications Act and state law. The complaint asserted that LinkedIn disclosed LinkedIn user identification numbers and LinkedIn URL addresses to third party advertising companies, which allowed those companies to correlate the identity of a user with his or her previously anonymous Web browsing history.
Achieved dismissal of a putative class action against Microsoft, CBS, Microsoft, McDonald’s, and Mazda alleging violations of the Wiretap Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and state laws. The complaint alleged that an online ad network used Flash cookies and other tracking mechanisms to build user profiles for the purpose of serving targeted advertising.
Represent the Chapter 11 trustee for this financial services company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Check Holdings LLC in these Chapter 11 cases and related adversary proceedings.
Achieved dismissal of a putative class action against National Public Radio alleging violations of the Wiretap Act, Stored Communications Act, and state laws. The complaint alleged that mobile app developers wrongfully transmitted personal information to third party advertising companies.
Represent officers and directors of and shareholders in this Chapter 11 debtor in connection with adversary proceedings in which plaintiffs assert fraudulent conveyance, breach of fiduciary duty, illegal dividend, and other claims. We also represented Lyondell in connection with insurance coverage disputes.
Successfully challenged before the D.C. Circuit the Federal Communication Commission’s rules mandating that telecommunications companies install equipment to monitor private telephone and Internet communications.
We represented the University of California in an intense and wide-ranging investigation by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations into alleged fraud and mismanagement at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The investigation involved more than two dozen witness interviews and culminated in three days of hearings. At the conclusion of the investigation, the University retained its contract to manage the Laboratory.
Achieved summary judgment for Microsoft in a putative class action alleging unauthorized collection of geolocation information from the plaintiffs’ mobile devices. After a claim under the Wiretap Act was dismissed at the pleadings stage, we successfully obtained summary judgment on a remaining claim under the Stored Communications Act.
Represented Chapter 11 trustee and represent Plan Administrator in insurance coverage matters.
Filed a Supreme Court amicus brief on behalf of a government contractor trade association in support of a U.S. Navy contractor being sued for unwanted text messaging. The proposed class action raised significant questions regarding the application of derivative sovereign immunity to private contractors performing work on behalf of the federal government.
Represent First Wind in connection with coverage and related bankruptcy issues arising under debtors’ liability insurance policies in this Chapter 11 case.
Removed a construction dispute involving several hundred million dollars from state to federal court, which was a superior forum for asserting various federal defenses on behalf of our government contractor client. We defeated the plaintiff’s efforts to send the case back to state court, successfully arguing that the case properly was removed under the federal officer removal statute because of the significant role played by the federal government in the construction project.
Represent shareholder defendants in avoidance actions brought by creditor representatives and plan trustee.
Successful representation of CBS Corporation, The Walt Disney Company, Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., Scripps Networks Interactive Inc., Time Warner Inc., Univision Communications Inc., and Viacom Inc. Borrego Solar Systems, Inc. against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in connection with the disclosure of programming contracts with pay-TV providers as part of the FCC’s review of pending cable and satellite mergers.
Representing Union Pacific Railroad in a wide variety of regulatory, legislative, and antitrust matters, including ongoing rulemakings involving rail rates and access to customer facilities and a multidistrict class action litigation alleging price-fixing of fuel surcharges.
Representation of Rio Tinto and Intalco Aluminum Corporation in litigation and negotiations concerning Superfund remediation and natural resource damages at various mine sites in the U.S. and Canada, including Holden Mine, Blackbird Mine and Britannia Mine.
We represented the Republican National Committee in connection with investigations by the House Judiciary Committee and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee regarding the dismissal of U.S. attorneys and the hosting of e-mail accounts for White House officials.
Successful resolution of numerous other FTC advertising practices and marketing investigations.
Assisted a Korean state company involved in legal battles and protracted negotiations over a multi-billion dollar project development. When negotiations failed and parties refused to turn up to the table, Covington stepped in to help the company reconvene the parties and move forward on negotiating an amicable resolution.
Defending Sherwin-Williams in a putative class action alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in connection with a commercial text message program for paint contractors.
Achieved a favorable resolution for Shoe Show in a putative class action alleging violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act for allegedly printing expiration dates on credit card receipts.
We represented a major biotechnology company in a congressional investigation by the Senate Finance Committee concerning the price of its breakthrough drug.
We represented a university system and its medical school in a lengthy investigation by the Senate Finance Committee and resolved the matter without a hearing.
Representing the second largest airline in South Korea in connection with the U.S. government’s yearlong investigation of the 2014 accident at San Francisco International Airport.
We represented a major federal contractor in an oversight hearing conducted by the Senate Armed Services Committee concerning the contractor’s activities supporting overseas military operations.
Represented Forgitron Technologies, LLC in contract rejection contested matter in this Chapter 11 case.
Achieved dismissal of a putative class action against AOL alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The complaint sought to hold AOL liable for misdirected text messages sent by users of AOL’s Instant Messenger system.
Achieved dismissal of a putative class action against AOL alleging violations of the Wiretap Act, Video Privacy Protection Act, and numerous state laws. The suit alleged unauthorized collection of personal information from the plaintiffs’ computers using “Flash cookies” and unlawful disclosure of video viewing information to third parties.
Achieved dismissals of three putative class actions against Cable One, a cable and Internet service provider, in litigation involving claims under the Wiretap Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and related state laws. The litigation arose out of a third party’s test of a system using “deep packet inspection” for the purpose of serving targeted advertisements.
Represented Wilmington Trust Co., as indenture trustee, in connection with contested plan proceedings in this Chapter 11 case.
Represented clients, including Exxon Mobil Corporation, Goodrich, Goodyear, and Textron in opposing efforts by solvent London Market companies to use so-called “solvent schemes of arrangement” to curtail their coverage obligations to policyholders facing long-tail liabilities, such as asbestos, silica, or environmental claims.
Represented and procured favorable judgment through appeal for The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. as trustee for BNEC unsecured subordinated notes, in a subordination dispute with the trustee for BNEC senior unsecured notes.
Represented officer and director defendants in coverage dispute related to claims asserted against them by bankruptcy estate representative.
Counseled a major defense contractor on how to mitigate potential future tort risk during contract discussions with the U.S. government. The military wanted the contractor to provide support for a significant anti-terrorism initiative, and the contractor needed advice on how best to structure the contract to minimize its risk and maximize its protection in the event of third-party claims arising from its contract performance.
Advising major Internet companies as to the substantiation required to defend advertising claims made about their products and services.
Advising retailers on pricing claims and practices, including the use of the word “free,” “two-for-one” offers, and trial periods with negative cancellation options.
Represented a third-party advertising service in responding to an inquiry by the FTC into the company’s technology for selecting and delivering online advertising.
Represented Sears Corporation in opposing a proposed buy-back of the debtors’ CGL policies under Section 363 that would have threatened Sears’ coverage rights under vendor endorsements.
Representing trade associations and individual companies in connection with the FTC’s periodic reviews of advertising practices in the alcoholic beverage industry.
Represented Hyperdynamics Corporation in an FCPA investigation by the Department of Justice related to its business activities in the Republic of Guinea. The matter was resolved without any charges being brought against the company.
We represented a major financial services company in congressional investigations concerning the documentation of residential foreclosures. Conducted by the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on the Judiciary, the investigations included document requests, interrogatory responses, and an oversight hearing. A significant complicating factor was widespread private and state attorneys general litigation on the same subject matter.
Represented IndyMac’s former Chairman and CEO in defense of litigation instituted by bankruptcy trustee, the Bank’s receiver, and others arising out of IndyMac’s demise during the 2008 financial crisis. Recognized by AmLaw as a Litigation Department of the Year finalist for 2012 for representation.
Representation of Sony BMG Music Entertainment in a class action lawsuit challenging royalties for downloading music and in connection with an insurance coverage dispute arising out of damage allegedly caused by DRM software included on music CDs.
Persuaded plaintiffs to dismiss voluntarily ERISA “stock drop” claims against our client, the independent fiduciary of BNY Mellon Corp.’s employer stock fund, by filing motion to dismiss. In re Bank of New York Mellon Corp. Foreign Exch. Trans. MDL (Sansano v. Fiduciary Counselors) (S.D.N.Y. 2012).
Secured Second Circuit affirmance of a summary judgment ruling in favor of our client United Technologies in a 401(k) plan expense class action lawsuit, for which plaintiffs had calculated alleged damages of $230 million. Taylor v. United Technologies Corp., 354 Fed. Appx. 525 (2d Cir. 2009).
Secured district court dismissal of ERISA notice and fiduciary breach claims against our client Verizon, arising from the spin-off of a business, on the basis of the statute of limitations. Murphy v. Verizon Commc’ns, Inc., 50 Empl. Ben. Cas. (BNA) 1855 (N.D. Tex. 2010).
Representation of the Association of Public Television Stations on whether public television stations may use their surplus digital capacity for commercial purposes, including non-broadcast advertisements.
Representation of broadcasters and programming suppliers in negotiations and litigation with satellite carriers EchoStar and DirecTV.
Representation of the National Association of Broadcasters before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Schwarzenegger case, which concerns the First Amendment validity of state-imposed limitations on violent video games.
Representation of clients on various legislative and regulatory policy and litigation issues, including (1) retransmission consent, (2) downconversion of digital signals by cable systems, (3) carriage of digital multicast streams by cable, DBS and other video program distributors, (4) indecency, (5) media ownership and (6) importation of distant signals by DBS operators.
Successfully defended Capital Cities/ABC, GE, the NFL, Verizon, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America in separate suits against claims that independent contractors were entitled to benefits under company plans.
For Verizon, in a companion case to a similar claim against Equitable, secured the first favorable ruling in the Second Circuit on claims that cash balance plans violate the age discrimination provision of ERISA. Hirt v. The Equitable Retirement Plan, 533 F.3d 102 (2d Cir. 2008).
After fully briefing motions to dismiss a suit alleging breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA with respect to the GE stock component of GE’s 401(k) plan, based on a “stock drop” theory, secured settlement that was approved by the court. Cavalieri v. Gen. Elec. Co., 47 Empl. Ben. Cas. (BNA) 2719 (N.D.N.Y. 2009).
Secured over $2 billion in compensation and interest against the Republic of Venezuela in favor of subsidiaries of client ExxonMobil. This widely-publicized victory was one of the largest awards ever obtained against a sovereign state.
Sony BMG Music Entertainment in a class action lawsuit brought by the Allman Brothers Band and Cheap Trick on behalf of all artists whose contracts pre-date the era of digital downloaded music. Sony BMG pays the artists under the applicable royalty rate for album sales at brick-and-mortar record stores, while the artists claim that Sony BMG should be paying a much greater royalty rate for downloaded music.
Representation of Danish company ROCKWOOL Group in trademark infringement litigation in China involving its claim to the “ROCKWOOL” trademark and trade name.
Won $35 million judgment in California State Court on behalf of Scottish Equity Partners. After five-day bench trial, we convinced the Court to award full damages for an unpaid earn-out, plus prejudgment interest.
Successfully defended Lilly against contract and antitrust claims brought by Amylin relating to an injectable diabetes treatment. We convinced the court to dissolve a TRO and deny a preliminary injunction, allowing Lilly to proceed with promotional activities for important medicine.
Represent Alps Electric in putative class actions alleging price-fixing in the heater control panel market.
Represent Keihin Corporation in putative class actions alleging price-fixing in the fuel injection systems business.
Representation of Samsung Electronics and Samsung LED in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Certain Light-Emitting Diodes and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-785 and 337-TA-798 (Respondent & Complainant).
Representation of UMC, ProMOS, Microchip, Micronas and Dongbu HiTek in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Using Tungsten Metallization and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-648 (Respondents).
Representation of Huawei in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Wireless Devices with 3G Capabilities and Components Thereof, USITC Inv. Nos. 337-TA-800 and 337-TA-868 (Respondent).
Representation of Microchip in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Certain Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Devices and Products, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-840 (Complainant).
Representation of Samsung in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Certain MLC Flash Memory Devices and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-683 (Respondent).
Representation of respondents A-Data, Chipsbank, Afa Technologies, Power Quotient International (PQI), Skymedi, and Corsair in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Certain Flash Memory Controllers, Drives, Memory Cards and Media Players, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-619 (Respondents).
Representation of Seagate Technology in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Hard Disk Drives, Components Thereof, and Products Containing the Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-616 (Respondent).
Representation of Realtek in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Network Controllers, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-531 (Respondent).
Representation of MStar Semiconductor in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Display Controllers with Upscaling Functionality and Products Containing the Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-481 (Respondent).
Representation of Roche in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Recombinant Human Erythropoietin, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-568 (Respondent).
Representation of Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Rubber Antidegradants, Components Thereof and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-533 (Respondent).
Representation of Q-Med Aktiebolag in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Injectable Implant Compositions, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-515 (Respondent).
Representation of Meretek Diagnostics in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Breath Test Systems for the Detection of Gastrointestinal Disorders, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-495 (Complainant).
Representation of Nidek in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Excimer Laser Systems for Vision Correction Surgery and Components Thereof and Methods for Performing Such Surgery, Inv. No. 337-TA- 419 (Respondent).
Representation of Genentech in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Recombinantly Produced Human Growth Hormone, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-358 (Complainant).
Representation of Samsung in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Certain Consumer Electronics and Display Devices and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-836 (Respondent).
Representation of Hewlett-Packard in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Wireless Communication Devices and Systems, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-775 (Respondent).
Representation of Nintendo in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Video Game Machines and Related Three-Dimensional Pointing Devices, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-658 (Respondent).
Representation of Samsung in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Electronic Devices, Including Handheld Wireless Communication Devices, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-673 (Respondent).
Representation of FujiPhoto Film Co. in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Lens-Fitted Film Packages, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-406 (Complainant).
Representation of Phillip Morris in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Cigarettes and Packaging, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-643 (Complainant).
Representation of Arm’s Reach Concepts, Inc. in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Bassinet Products, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-597 (Complainant).
Representation of Emine Technology in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Switches and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-589 (Respondent).
Representation of Old Dominion Footwear, Inc. in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Foam Footwear, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-567 (Respondent).
Representation of Energizer Holdings, Inc. and Eveready Battery Company, Inc. in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Zero-Mercury-Added Alkaline Batteries, Components Thereof and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-493 (Complainants).
Representation of Tilia Inc. in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Vacuum Packaging Machines, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-496 (temporary exclusion order proceeding) (Complainant).
Representation of Eaton Corp.in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Automated Mechanical Transmission Systems for Medium-Duty and Heavy-Duty Trucks and Components Thereof, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-503 (Complainant).
Representation of New Holland North America, Inc. in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Agricultural Tractors, Lawn Tractors, Riding Lawnmowers and Components Thereof, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-486 (Complainant).
Representation of Cognex Corporation in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Machine Vision Systems, Parts and Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-484 (Complainant).
Representation of Bearing Distributor in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Bearings and Packaging Thereof, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-469 (Respondent).
Representation of Sidel in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Plastic Molding Machines with Control Systems Having Programmable Operator Interfaces Incorporating General Purpose Computers, and Components Thereof II, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA- 462 (Respondent).
Representation of Rapistan Systems Advertising Corp. and Siemens Dematic Corp. in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Sortation Systems, Components Thereof and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-460 (Complainants).
Representation of Bombardier in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Personal Watercraft and Components Thereof, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA- 452 (Respondent).
Representation of Peregrine Semiconductor in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Certain Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits and Devices Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-848 (Complainant).
Representation of Vizio in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Certain Integrated Circuits, Chipsets, and Products Containing Same Including Televisions, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-822 (Respondent).
Representation of A-DATA Technology Co., Ltd, A-DATA Technology (USA) Co. Ltd., and International Products Sourcing Group, Inc. in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Semiconductor Chips with Minimized Chip Package Size and Products Containing Same (III), USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-630 (Respondents).
Representation of Toshiba Corporation in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: NAND Flash Memory Devices and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-553 (Respondent).
Representation of Actions Semiconductor, Inc. in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Audio Processing Integrated Circuits and Products Containing Same, Enforcement phase only, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-538 (Respondent).
Representation of Skylink in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Universal Transmitters for Garage Door Openers, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-497 (Respondent).
Representation of LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc.; Jetta Company, Ltd. in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Electronic Educational Devices and Components Thereof, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-475 (Respondents).
Representation of Nikon in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Microlithographic Machines and Components Thereof, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-468 (Complainant).
Representation of Echostar and Scientific Atlanta in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Set-Top Boxes and Components Thereof, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-454 (Respondents).
Representation of Altera Corporation in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Programmable Logic Devices and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-453 (Complainant).
Representation of Altima in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Integrated Repeaters, Switches, Transceivers and Products Containing Same, Enforcement phase only, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-435 (Respondent).
Representation of Atmel Corporation in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Erasable Programmable Read Only Memories and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-395 (Complainant).
Representation of Quickturn in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Hardware Logic Emulators, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-383 (Complainant).
Representation of NEC in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Dynamic Random Access Memories, Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-242 (Respondent).
Representation of Samsung in the ITC Section 337 Investigations: Certain Digital Media Devices, Including Televisions, Blu-Ray Disc Players, Home Theater Systems, Tablets and Mobile Phones, Components Thereof and Associated Software, USITC Inv. No. 337- TA-882 (Respondent); Electronic Devices, Including Handheld Wireless Communication Devices, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-673 (Respondent); and Mobile Telephones and Wireless Communication Devices Featuring Digital Cameras, and Components, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-663 (Respondent).
Representation of Samsung in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Wireless Communication Equipment, Articles Therein, and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-583 and USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-577 (Respondent).
Representation of Nokia in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Cellular Radiotelephones and Subassemblies and Component Parts Thereof, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-297 (Respondent).
Representation of Beifa Ningbo in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Ink Markers and Packaging Thereof, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-522 (Respondent).
Representation of Microjet Technology in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Ink Jet Cartridges, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-446 (Respondent).
Representation of Crews, Inc. in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Safety Eyewear and Components Thereof, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-433 (Respondent).
Shummi Enterprise Co., Ltd; Shumei Industrial Co., Ltd in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Toothbrushes and Packaging Thereof, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-391 (Respondent).
Representation of Support Systems Int’l, Inc. in the ITC Section 337 Investigation: Fluidized Support Apparatus, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-182 (Complainant).
Representation of a leading U.S. railroad in a London arbitration against an insurer for liabilities arising from a major train derailment and lethal chemical release, resulting in a highly favorable settlement.
Representation of a U.S. mining company in an ICC arbitration against a Dutch company arising out of a contractual dispute involving an investment in Peru.
Covington successfully represented Eli Lilly and Company in a major RICO class action involving the prescription drug, Zyprexa. After the District Court denied Lilly’s motion for summary judgment and certified a class of tens of thousands of “third party payor” plaintiffs, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed those decisions, holding that the case could not proceed as a class action, and that Lilly was entitled to summary judgment on plaintiffs’ claim that the price of Zyprexa was too high.
Representing Schering-Plough (now Merck) in multi-district class action litigation challenging so-called reverse payment settlements of pharmaceutical patent litigation. Obtained denial of certification of indirect purchaser class, after which indirect purchasers voluntarily dismissed their case. The team previously defeated the FTC at trial in an action on the same facts, and will now have the opportunity to resolve the direct purchaser portion of the case under a recent Supreme Court decision.
We secured the reversal of a class certification order in a “stock drop” lawsuit claiming breaches of fiduciary duty in the administration of a company retirement savings plan.
Defended civil claims brought by the SEC and FDIC against the former CEO of IndyMac BankCorp, Michael Perry, in connection with the bank’s failure in 2008. The cases were ultimately settled on very favorable terms. Relatedly, we represented Mr. Perry on insurance coverage issues concerning his defense.
Represented the former CEO of IndyMac Bank in multiple securities and ERISA class actions.
Representing Pixar in multi-defendant federal antitrust class action litigation alleging an unlawful agreement among certain Silicon Valley firms to limit their recruiting of each other’s employees.
Representation of Korea National Oil Corporation in an ICDR arbitration and ancillary federal court proceedings arising from a US$1.2 billion acquisition of an oil and gas exploration and production company.
Representation of two oil and gas majors in a US$100 million ICDR arbitration in New York arising out of alleged breaches of a crude oil transportation agreement.
Representation of a leading Mexican land development company against a large U.S. resort developer in an ICC arbitration involving claims for breach of contract.
A French E&P company in an ICC arbitration with a Swedish independent arising out of the alleged breach of first refusal rights under a JOA.
Representation of a European oil and gas major in an ICC arbitration under English law arising out of a field services agreement relating to operations in the Middle East.
Representation of a major European oil and gas company in a pending ICDR arbitration with a Brazilian oil and gas major relating to crude transportation agreements in the Andean region.
Representing S-Y Systems Technologies Europe, GmbH, the only defendant dismissed in its entirety from the wire harness price-fixing litigation, which is the lead case in the sprawling Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation pending in Detroit. The court granted motion to dismiss, on personal jurisdiction grounds and did not grant the plaintiffs’ request for jurisdictional discovery.
Representing subsidiaries of an international oil company in pending ICSID arbitration proceedings involving expropriation of investments in Venezuela, resulting in a tribunal award of compensation exceeding U.S. $2 billion in value.
A French oil and gas independent in an ICSID arbitration against a Latin American state, in a dispute arising out of alleged breaches of a bilateral investment treaty and several production sharing agreements.
Co-lead counsel to Occidental Petroleum in an ICSID arbitration against the Republic of Ecuador arising out of the wrongful termination of a production-sharing agreement that resulted in the largest ICSID and investment treaty award to date.
In numerous securities arbitrations arising from alleged securities frauds and other wrongs.
Secured summary judgment for George Mason School of Law against sexual harassment and other discrimination claims by law school professor.
Represented American Petroleum Institute in Comer, putative class action alleging industrial activities contributed to global warming, causing a rise in sea levels and adding to the ferocity of Hurricane Katrina, and thereby causing property damage to plaintiffs.
Represent the former GE Capital Retail Bank (now Synchrony Financial) in a CFPB investigation, enforcement action, and consent order related to allegations of deceptive marketing of credit card add-on products and discrimination against Spanish-speaking customers related to certain offers to settle outstanding credit card balances and a Department of Justice enforcement action and consent order regarding the same allegations of discrimination.
Lead counsel for Apache Corporation in insurance coverage arbitration and litigation proceedings relating to the explosion of a gas pipeline in Western Australia.
National counsel to Genentech defending claims related to its cancer medications, Rituxan and Avastin.
Illumina in a strategic alliance with Genomics England for a four-year project to decode 100,000 human genomes.
Represented hair brush company in obtaining preliminary injunction against rival based on trade dress and design patent.
Representation of Rockwell Automation on the harmonization of arbitration and other dispute resolution practices and policies in over 40 national markets worldwide.
Defense of beverage manufacturer in FTC investigation of substantiation for health benefit claims in advertising.
AstraZeneca in an FTC investigation and private antitrust class action litigation concerning settlements of Hatch-Waxman patent litigation involving Nexium.
Advised the Government of Vietnam regarding its dispute with China over maritime boundaries in the South China Sea.
Represented GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in resolving a complex criminal and civil investigation by the United States Department of Justice. The multi-faceted investigation had a broad focus, including issues relating to GSK’s sales and marketing practices for numerous products, its regulatory submissions relating to Avandia, and the company’s use of the nominal price exception under the Medicaid Rebate Program.
Representation of two Spanish subsidiaries of GRUMA S.A. de C.V., a Mexican food conglomerate, in an ICSID arbitration proceeding against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela arising out of certain measures of the Republic that violate the bilateral investment treaty between Spain and Venezuela.
National coordinating counsel to Purdue Pharma defending scores of suits filed in state and federal courts around the country by plaintiffs who claim injury from having used – in most cases abused – the company’s OxyContin pain relief prescription medication.
American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers as plaintiffs in lawsuits challenging the validity of state laws requiring refiners to sell ethanol-free gasoline to distributors and retailers.
Libel defense litigation and prepublication review of news and other content for broadcasters in some 35 states, including First Amendment, newsgathering, copyright, defamation and privacy advice, and opposing subpoenas from prosecutors and others.
Represented the State of Minnesota in securing more than $100 million in insurance recoveries for environmental matters related to an innovative legislative program for the cleanup of landfills.
Representation of Knowles Electronics in ITC Section 337 Investigations: Silicon Microphone Packages and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-825 (Complainant); Certain Silicon Microphone Packages and Products Containing Same, USITC Inv. No. 337-TA-888 (Complainant).
FCC handed Covington a decisive victory to the Tennis Channel in its discriminatory carriage lawsuit against Comcast Cable Communications, the largest distributor of video programming content.
Conducted internal investigation relating to customs clearance practices for automotive parts in various Latin American countries.
The U.S. Supreme Court held that a participant stated a colorable ERISA fiduciary breach claim for losses stemming from the alleged failure to implement investment directions for his 401(k) plan account. In a concurring opinion, Chief Justice Roberts cited our amicus brief for The ERISA Industry Committee in stating that such actions might need to be brought as benefits denial claims and subjected to exhaustion of administrative remedies.
Representation of Merck in ad hoc London arbitrations against various insurers that produced a disclosed recovery of approximately US$590 million, plus US$45 million in fees and interest, for prescription drug liabilities — reportedly one of the largest commercial awards in Europe in recent years.
Persuaded the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission not to pursue enforcement action against a leading manufacturing company following an 18-month investigation of business practices in Europe and Asia.
Representation of Atmel in a major victory where plaintiff Agere claimed that Atmel infringed four semiconductor patents, including what it touted as its key tungsten patents, and sought damages of approximately $200 million as well as enhancement for claimed willful infringement. After a three-week trial, the jury returned a verdict in Atmel’s favor; invalidating the tungsten patents, finding the fourth not infringed as well as invalid, and awarding Agere no damages.
Represented LTV Steel in obtaining more than $40 million in recoveries for environmental liabilities from numerous settlements.
Representation of ExxonMobil subsidiaries in a pending ICSID arbitration against Venezuela seeking full compensation under the Netherlands-Venezuela bilateral investment treaty and international law for the expropriation of investments in Venezuela. We successfully obtained US$900 million for ExxonMobil in a companion commercial arbitration described above.
Representation of MasterCard in trademark litigation in the United States District Court for the District of Utah against a bank that was using a MASTER CARD mark for various banking services offered to account holders.
Represent client in litigation challenging the U.S. Department of the Interior's five year-offshore oil and gas leasing program under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.
Conducting due diligence investigations and performing risk assessments to evaluate potential product or toxic tort liabilities associated with pharmaceutical and medical device companies bringing products to market.
Led the leading litigations challenging the FCC’s rules on telemarketing and fax advertising.
Covington successfully represented Jose Lopez in an immigration case, in which the Supreme Court held that a conviction in state court for a drug offense that is a felony under state law but only a misdemeanor under federal law is not an “aggravated felony” for immigration purposes.
Representation of Eli Lilly and Company in an international arbitration against Canada under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Lilly seeks $500 million in compensation for the expropriation of its patent rights under Canada’s unique promise utility doctrine and other treaty violations.
Conducted a large-scale internal investigation of a leading global company’s business practices in China.
In persuading a U.S. appellate court to accept its disciplinary procedure in an anti-doping case as a valid arbitration award, not subject to judicial challenge by a star athlete, Mary Decker Slaney. 244 F.3d 580 (7th Cir. 2001).
Representation of International Dairy Foods Association against a class action in Virginia state court alleging deceptive marketing of the potential weight-loss benefits of consuming milk.
A cross-office team conducting an internal investigation for a major U.S. financial institution of allegations that the bank assisted Argentine nationals evade taxes and launder money. We are also coordinating the bank's global defense strategy, which includes leading strategy meetings with local Argentine defense counsel, and interfacing with key U.S. officials in the U.S. and in Argentina.
Advising ING Insurance International on the sale of its mortgage business in Mexico, ING Hipotecaria, to the Mexican banking subsidiary of Banco Santander, Spain’s largest bank, for approximately $50 million.
Represented Bank of America in nationwide class actions challenging interchange fees paid on ATM and credit card transactions.
Representation of InterMune against a false advertising claim brought under Section 17200 of the California Business & Professions Code in the Northern District of California.
Representation of special committees of the boards of Fortune 500 companies regarding insider trading investigations.
Representation of JPMorgan Chase in patent litigation brought in the Eastern District of Texas by LML Patent Corp. relating to electronic transactions on credit and debit accounts.
Obtained a complete jury verdict for an aerospace contractor accused of conspiring with the employee of a competitor to misappropriate trade secrets. The plaintiff had sought $30,000,000.
Represented JPMorgan Chase in numerous consumer class actions and attorney general representative actions on various practices relating to credit cards.
In obtaining the dismissal of an antitrust class action alleging that a number of credit-card issuers conspired to adopt arbitration clauses in their credit card agreements. 2006 WL 2685082 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 20, 2006).
Representation of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) against false advertising claims based on a KFC promotion that were asserted as a class action in the Western District of Virginia.
Representing an executive of KBR, Halliburton’s subsidiary, in a wide-ranging investigation into alleged bribery of Nigerian government officials in connection with the selection of the company to build one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas projects.
Representation of Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals in Hatch-Waxman litigation against Lupin relating to the Ortho Tri-Cyclen® Lo patent. After a full trial on the merits, the court held that the patent was valid and enforceable. We subsequently obtained a highly favorable settlement for our client.
Represent BP in the Penalty Phase of the Deepwater Horizon litigation, including at trial.
Obtained an appeals reversal of a transfer pricing adjustment involving more than $400 million of proposed adjustments, reversals of $285 million of subpart F income, and reversal of proposed earnings and profits adjustment of almost $300 million in connection with the debt/equity classification of a $2 billion instrument.
Represented executives of various airlines in investigations in the air cargo and passenger industries in several jurisdictions.
Defending senior executives in auto parts-related investigations.
Secured dismissal of purported multi-billion dollar collusion claim brought by the NFL Players Association.
On behalf of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, defeated claims by parties seeking to attach Persian antiquities in efforts to enforce a judgment against Iran, Rubin v. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1st Cir. 2013), and claim to Austrian expressionist painting, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston v. Seger-Thomschitz (1st Cir. 2010).
Defeated defamation claims at pleading stage under California Anti-SLAPP statute. Troy Group, Inc. v. Tilson, 364 F. Supp. 2d 1149 (C.D. Cal. 2005).
Representing Credit Suisse AG in connection with Federal Reserve Board investigation and Federal Reserve Board Consent Order to Cease and Desist and Assessment of Civil Money Penalty with respect to allegations that Credit Suisse assisted U.S. taxpayers with opening of foreign accounts to avoid required U.S. tax reporting and related matters—and in connection with implementation of requirements of the Order.
Defending a large European manufacturer of power cables in a criminal antitrust investigation by the DOJ.
Covington successfully defended Texas Instruments in patent litigation alleging infringement by a broad array of digital signal processors sold by TI. After the District Court of Delaware granted TI’s motion for summary judgment of non-infringement regarding all accused products except one, the Federal Circuit granted a complete win to TI on appeal.
Represent several Japanese and European manufacturers of automotive parts in investigations of alleged anticompetitive activity.
National Counsel to Eli Lilly and Co. defending products liability and consumer protection claims related to its antidepressant Cymbalta.
Advising a major petrochemical company regarding its establishment of an integrated compliance program, with particular focus on the areas of U.S. and European trade controls, anti-corruption, and data privacy. Our representation includes assistance with establishing a corporate compliance office, assessing risks in these areas, drafting the necessary policies and procedures tailored to company risks and operations, and implementing the program through training and assessment.
Defended claims threatened against a technology company in the US and the UK, involving alleged SOX whistleblower protections and unlawful detriment claims.
Representation of two entities within a multinational oil and gas group in a dispute against a consultancy company relating to the unenforceability of a consultancy agreement. Stakes are in excess of US$100 million.
Representation of a major European oil and gas company in connection with a dispute with a Latin American independent over a joint operating agreement relating to development of a natural gas field in Bolivia.
Represented Bertelsmann, Inc. in multi-district antitrust class action litigation alleging price-fixing and other violations of antitrust laws with respect to digital music.
Represented Universal Studios in obtaining the dismissal of a high-profile negligence action brought by a Maury Show guest in New York state court.
Advised Cartier in an in rem action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to recover more than 100 infringing CARTIER domain names.
In persuading an appeals court to treat as non-binding an adverse 2:1 arbitration decision. 335 F.3d 742 (8th Cir. 2003).
Representing a high-profile media entity in a U.S. Department of Justice investigation of business practices in the Middle East.
Represented a leading industry coalition in the rulemaking proceeding on the whistleblower provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Advised one of the 300 largest companies in the world on a major DOJ and SEC investigation of potential FCPA violations in India, Latin America and elsewhere.
All the major domestic oil and gas trade associations in defending multiple ongoing district court and court of appeals lawsuits raising environmental challenges to continued exploration and development in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere.
Advising a multinational chemical manufacturer regarding updates to its integrated compliance program, developing a three-year plan for a comprehensive update, and helping the company assess risk and update its existing policies and procedures in the areas of anti-corruption, third party due diligence and monitoring, and investigations.
Regularly represent commercial companies in boundary disputes and frequently advise multinational oil companies on both land and maritime boundary questions that arise when sovereign states offer concession or production-sharing contracts to foreign oil companies.
Representation of Occidental Petroleum and an affiliate, as co-lead counsel, in successfully obtaining the largest BIT/ICSID award rendered to date (approximately US$2.3 billion, including interest) in an arbitration against Ecuador for breaches of the U.S.-Ecuador bilateral investment treaty and a production sharing agreement.
Representation of a Lithuanian petrochemicals company as co-counsel in an ad hoc insurance arbitration against various UK underwriters arising out of property damage and business interruption claims exceeding US$150 million.
Representation of a Perenco affiliate as co-counsel in a pending ICSID arbitration relating to alleged breaches of a bilateral investment treaty and several production-sharing agreements, with claims valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Representing Cole Taylor Bank, now part of MB Financial, in Federal Reserve Board (and Illinois banking department) investigation and consent cease and desist/civil money penalty order alleging violations of consumer protection laws with respect to deposit products provided by the bank through a third party that offered financial aid refund disbursement services to higher education students.
Representation of Corbis Corporation in numerous copyright enforcement actions to enforce rights in images licensed by Corbis.
SDG&E in connection with a FERC and appellate court proceeding regarding congestion revenue rights in the California ISO.
Covington successfully represented Xerox Corporation’s pension plan in this ERISA case in which the Court held that a plan administrator’s reasonable interpretation of the plan is entitled to deference even if the administrator’s initial interpretation was erroneous.
Successful defense of putative nationwide class action for race discrimination on behalf of financial advisors.
Covington successfully represented CBS and NBC Television Affiliates in this case involving the FCC’s policy on broadcast of "fleeting expletives." The Supreme Court held that the agency’s policy violated the Due Process Clause, an argument emphasized in Covington’s brief for the television stations.
Represented Raycom Media in obtaining a favorable settlement of a lawsuit brought against the City of Cleveland when the mayor issued a formal edict barring all city officials from speaking with WOIO-TV, a Raycom-owned CBS affiliate, after the station aired a documentary critical of the mayor.
Represented a Fortune 15 global company in a long-running and widely publicized FCPA investigation at DOJ and the SEC regarding conduct in Mexico and elsewhere. This case presents cutting-edge issues in the FCPA space relating to jurisdiction and the substantive reach of the statute.
Engaged by a Fortune 500 Life Sciences company to coordinate the investigation of suspected FCPA violations in various countries, including Brazil, and to advise the company’s Internal Audit Department on conducting FCPA audits to ensure compliance.
Representation of New Skies in an ICC arbitration awarding relief of more than US$150 million to our client for a defective communications satellite.
Represented Expedia in multiple national antitrust class actions relating to hotel bookings.
Successful defense of Pfizer in both the district court and the court of appeals on a series of claims by a relator concerning Genotropin.
Armstrong World Industries, Owens Corning, and other Fortune 500 corporate policyholders in arbitrations against their respective liability insurers, for asbestos-related and other losses.
Representing the former CEO of IndyMac Bancorp in matters arising out of the failure of IndyMac Bank, including knocking out all but one claim in SEC’s once wide-ranging securities enforcement case and settling the last remaining claim, without admitting or denying liability, as a negligence-based claim for $80,000 and a commitment to comply with the securities laws; successfully resolving an FDIC lawsuit; and defending against and/or successfully resolving several securities class action lawsuits, mortgage-backed securities cases, and purported ERISA class action lawsuits.
Represented Union Pacific Railroad Company in multidistrict litigation alleging price-fixing of freight fuel surcharges.
Represented numerous food and cosmetics companies in responding to demand letters and class actions under the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law arising out of alleged false and misleading statements on labels and marketing materials.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court vacated a ruling that had gone against our client Fifth Third Bancorp in an ERISA case concerning Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). The Court held that ESOPs are subject to rules designed to weed out meritless stock-drop cases at an early stage of the litigation.
Representation of UBS Financial Services in an employment discrimination class action brought on behalf of minority financial advisers.
A Korean infrastructure company has asked us for assistance in recovering a substantial arbitral award in Mexico, which the Mexican government is challenging.
Secured a unanimous Supreme Court decision holding that DuPont’s plan administrator “did its statutory ERISA duty” when it paid deceased worker’s retirement benefits to his ex-wife, whom he had named as beneficiary in plan documents, even though his ex-wife gave up any interest in the benefits in their divorce decree.
Represented Pixar and Disney in multi-defendant antitrust class actions alleging unlawful agreements among certain Silicon Valley firms and animation studios to limit their recruiting of each other’s employees.
Persuaded IRS to drop examination of certain transfer pricing payments for use of intangibles involving hundreds of millions of dollars of payments.
We represent a major European carrier in the European Commission’s container liner shipping investigation into alleged collusion/abuse of dominance.
Represented Microsoft in connection with Cisco’s appeal against the European Commission’s decision to approve Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype.
Successfully handled important ERISA litigation in the Supreme Court, including Conkright v. Frommert, 130 S. Ct. 1640 (2010) (requiring deference to the plan administrator’s interpretation of a plan, even though the administrator had previously relied on provisions that were not properly added to the plan), and Kennedy v. Plan Adm’r for Dupont Sav. & Invt. Plan, 129 S. Ct. 865 (2009) (applying ERISA’s “plan document” rule to affirm unanimously a plan administrator’s decision to follow a beneficiary designation that gave rights to a participant’s former spouse, even though a divorce decree had stated that the former spouse gave up her rights).
Representation of Microsoft, Expedia, and Trip Advisor in the U.S. and Europe in connection with investigations regarding Google’s abusive search-related conduct.
Covington scored a major victory for Hoffmann-La Roche when, for the second time, the firm convinced the New Jersey Appellate Division to reverse a 2010 state court verdict in a case regarding side effects of the manufacturer’s drug Accutane. Covington has prevailed in all thirteen appeals in the Accutane litigation and has obtained reversals of all six adverse jury verdicts that have received appellate review.
Representation of Amarin in the first known reversal of an FDA denial of a 5-year period of new chemical entity (NCE) exclusivity since the enactment of the Hatch-Waxman Amendments in 1984, in connection with Amarin’s Vascepa drug for lowering triglyceride levels.
Covington successfully represented Wykenna Watson in a constitutional challenge to a District of Columbia law that allows victims of domestic abuse to pursue criminal contempt proceedings for violations of civil protective orders. Following oral argument, the Supreme Court agreed with Covington’s suggestion that the case should be dismissed.
Representation of Ringling Bros. in a petition for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court in an important trademark dilution case involving the mark THE GREATEST SNOW ON EARTH.
Representation of Chemical Manufacturers Association, now the American Chemistry Council, in connection with EPA revisions to the NPDES and pretreatment regulations under the Clean Water Act. The litigation and negotiations with EPA resulted in substantial changes in these regulations.
Represented a global electronics manufacturer concerning all aspects of the European investigation into alleged collusion in TFT-LCD (1&2).
Represented a major financial services company in an investigation by the FTC of alleged exclusionary conduct with no action being taken against our client.
Represented a global electronics manufacturer in the European investigation into alleged collusion in DRAM.
Represented a major U.S. transportation company in a DOJ investigation with no action taken against our client.
Represented technology firm in connection with a FTC investigation of a standard setting organization.
Represented international video game publisher in copyright infringement claims by major record labels and publishing companies regarding licensing of sound recordings and compositions. Successfully resolved all claims without litigation.
In obtaining a substantial award in an arbitration against the California Independent System Operator.
Defending 49ers in class action antitrust challenge to its policies governing the printing of pdf copies of game tickets (Kazemzadeh v. San Francisco 49ers).
Representation of sanofi aventis in a trademark infringement and false advertising suit involving its FERRLECIT product and Watson Pharmaceutical’s use and advertising of NULECIT.
Representation of Samsung Electronics in numerous patent litigation matters in both U.S. District Courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission, involving technologies such as DLP televisions, LED’s, MLC flash memory, printer software, tablets and smartphones.
Representation of Rosie O’Donnell in an action in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon asserting trademark and right of publicity claims based on the ROSIE name and logo against a radio station using ROSIE as the station name and a very similar logo.
Representation of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., and Samsung Networks, Inc. against claims brought by CCP Systems alleging copyright and patent infringement filed in the District of New Jersey.
Representing Samsung in defending copyright and patent claims concerning printer software.
Represented Samsung in consolidated antitrust price-fixing and deceptive practice class actions involving liquid crystal displays.
Represented Samsung in defeating right of publicity action brought by Olympic athletes.
Representation of Microsoft in connection with its complaint regarding the anticompetitive patent licensing practices of Motorola Mobility.
Representation of a major Silicon Valley company in seeking insurance for substantial losses arising out of computer fraud schemes.
Representation of a major electronics company concerning all aspects of the European investigation into alleged collusion in TFT-LCD.
Representation of a leading internet broker as complainant in a DOJ investigation of restrictive multiple listing service access rules that resulted in a consent decree preserving the client’s ability to compete.
Won a jury trial for a major credit card firm, defending claims based on race and national origin discrimination; and he obtained an award of $265,000 in attorneys' fees against the law firm of plaintiff's counsel.
American Petroleum Institute as an amicus curiae in a U.S. Supreme Court case concerning an antitrust challenge to a refining and marketing joint venture.
Representation of a global consumer products company in connection with recognition and enforcement matters arising out of a favorable ICC award issued in the United States, a related U.S. confirmation ruling, and conflicting judicial proceedings in Brazil brought by joint venture partners who are dissatisfied with the ICC arbitration award.
Representation of Samsung concerning all aspects of the European investigation into alleged collusion in DRAM.
Representation of respondents A-Data, Chipsbank, Afa Technologies, Power Quotient International (PQI), Skymedi, and Corsair in the ITC Section 337 Investigation Certain Flash Memory Controllers, Drives, Memory Cards and Media Players.
Representation of Newmont Mining in related ICSID and Stockholm Chamber arbitrations against Uzbekistan concerning termination of rights to exploit mineral resources.
Representation of Petrotrin, the state-owned integrated oil and gas company of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, in a dispute arising out of a project with World GTL Inc. and its subsidiary, World GTL of St. Lucia Ltd. (together "WGTL"), to construct a gas-to-liquids plant for the processing of natural gas in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. (Awaiting award)
Represent Sony Music Entertainment in matter involving contract and intellectual property claims by former music manager regarding 70’s rock act.
Representation of a major U.S. insurance company in respect of potential claims against the Argentine Republic under the U.S.-Argentina bilateral investment treaty (settled).
Represented company in DOJ investigation of employee recruiting practices.
Defended the 2011 lockout against the antitrust claims in Brady v. NFL; negotiated a comprehensive 10-year CBA providing labor peace.
Representation of Ariba in securing a jury verdict, including a finding that two patents involving online auction technology were valid and infringed.
Represented the State of Eritrea in the successful resolution of its boundary dispute with Ethiopia. We advised Eritrea during the negotiations that produced the December 2000 agreement ending the two-year Eritrea-Ethiopia border war. Covington then represented Eritrea before the commission established to delimit and demarcate the boundary between the two countries. This representation included preparation of arbitral memorials as well as participation in oral hearings before the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission in The Hague. The Commission delivered its delimitation decision on April 13, 2002. We continue to represent Eritrea in connection with the demarcation process.
Represented the National Football League in a copyright infringement action against a satellite carrier, successfully obtaining statutory damages and a permanent injunction prohibiting satellite retransmission of game telecasts originating in the United States to locations outside the United States.
Defending NFL in class action and direct antitrust challenges to its trademark licensing arrangements (American Needle v. NFL and Dang v. NFL).
Defending NFL in multi-district class action antitrust challenges to its broadcast distribution arrangements for out-of-market games (In re Sunday Ticket Antitrust Litigation).
Won dismissal of a class action antitrust complaint alleging conspiracy to restrain market for “likenesses” of former NFL football players (Washington v. National Football League).
Represented the National Football league in a class action challenging the League’s licensing arrangements for the use of team marks and logos on apparel.
Secured the dismissal, affirmed on appeal, of claims that the League had breached certain duties to players who had lost substantial sums as the result of fraud by an investment advisor.
Representation of the National Football League in multiple federal court cases to enjoin the unauthorized retransmission and public performance of NFL game telecasts across U.S. borders via satellite and the Internet and within U.S. borders where games are locally blacked-out, or otherwise unauthorized.
Represented the NFL in securing the dismissal of class action claims brought by retired players alleging a conspiracy to restrain a market for the sale of their images and likenesses.
Successfully defended the NFL’s college draft eligibility rules from antitrust challenge in Clarett v. NFL (2d Cir.) and in separate litigation secured recovery from insurers for the firm’s defense costs in the antitrust litigation.
Represented the NFL in a host of arbitrations under the NFL collective bargaining agreements, including the disputes regarding the Jimmy Graham Franchise Tender, the Drew Brees Franchise Tender, the Michael Vick, Plaxico Burress, and Larry Johnson salary forfeitures, and the Washington Redskins/Dallas Cowboys salary cap reallocation.
Filed amicus briefs on behalf of The ERISA Industry Committee in a variety of other groundbreaking cases, including Black & Decker v. Nord, 538 U.S. 822 (2003); Lockheed Corp. v. Spink, 517 U.S. 882 (1996); Patterson v. Shumate, 504 U.S. 753 (1992); Hecker v. Deere & Co., 556 F.3d 575 (7th Cir. 2009); Langbecker v. Electronic Data Sys. Corp., 476 F.3d 299 (5th Cir. 2007); and Montesano v. Xerox Corp., 256 F. 3d 86 (2d Cir. 2001).
Representing Asiana Airlines in a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 accident at San Francisco Airport.
Representation of GlaxoSmithKline in global settlement of three investigations relating to off-label promotion, safety reporting and price reporting.
Obtained dismissal with prejudice of two cases against pharmaceutical companies alleging false advertising, unfair competition, and fraud claims. Jarrett v. InterMune (9th Cir. 2011); Ostergard v. Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, Inc. (C.D. Cal. 2008).
An energy company in obtaining a global nine-figure resolution from its historic CGL insurers for widespread environmental cleanup liabilities at refineries and other operational sites.
Representation of one of the largest providers of telecommunications services in Asia in a DOJ investigation of alleged collusion with respect to termination rates charged to US carriers. The government ultimately closed the investigation and took no action against our client.
Representation of Microsoft in defeating copyright infringement claims concerning Bing search engine at pleading stage. Blues Destiny v. Microsoft Corp. (N.D. Fla. 2010).
Representation of Microsoft in patent litigation matters involving a variety of software and related technologies, including obtaining a transfer out of the Eastern District of Texas in a case relating to video conversion technology.
An oil refinery in a significant business interruption insurance claim that resulted in a multi-hundred million dollar recovery for the insured.
Representation of numerous clients, including Microsoft, Verizon, New Skies Satellites, LIN Television, American Automobile Association and Ourisman Dodge in UDRP domain name proceedings.
Representation of Microsoft as a defendant in trademark infringement suits challenging keyword advertising practices and alleging reverse confusion.
Representation of McGraw-Hill and other major textbook publishers in gray goods trademark and copyright litigation in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York to prevent the illegal importation and sale over the Internet of textbooks published abroad and not intended for sale in the United States.
Counsel to Merck Animal Health defending purported class action claims related to its animal diabetes medication, Vestulin.
Representation of numerous clients, including Merck, Verizon, Spirits International, National Geographic Society, Public Broadcasting Services, M Financial, Promontory Financial Group, U.S. Soccer Federation, Lewis Brothers Bakeries and Rosie O’Donnell in opposition and cancellation proceedings before the United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Representation of Merck & Co. before the ITC and in the Eastern District of Virginia in cases involving Merck’s blockbuster NuvaRing® contraceptive product. After the first day of the evidentiary hearing, the complainant dismissed their ITC complaint and subsequently dismissed their district court complaint as well. Certain Vaginal Ring Birth Control Devices.
Represented Mohamed Bin Hammam, former president of the Asian Football Confederation, in his successful challenge before the Court of Arbitration for Sport to his FIFA-ordered lifetime ban from football (soccer) for alleged vote-buying in FIFA’s presidential election.
Representation of National Geographic Society in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts against claims of infringement of an alleged family of ZONE marks asserted by the author of a series of ZONE books on health and nutrition; and in an opposition proceeding before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, claiming that applicant's EXPLORE CHANNEL mark is likely to cause confusion with National Geographic's EXPLORER marks.
The Supreme Court appointed Covington’s Robert Long to brief and argue a preliminary issue in this case: whether the Anti-Injunction Act barred challenges to the minimum coverage provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Covington’s arguments were relevant to the Court’s ultimate holding that Affordable Care Act’s penalty for failing to obtain health insurance is a tax for constitutional purposes.
Serving as national product liability counsel to Microsoft in preparation for the defense of claims involving virus and worm attacks or potential cyber-terrorism involving our client's array of software products.
Covington successfully represented Verizon in an ERISA class action case brought by three retirees claiming the transfer of their pensions to a spin-off company violated various requirements of ERISA. The Fifth Circuit granted summary judgment in favor of Verizon after discovery. When the case grew to a class action, the Fifth Circuit eventually affirmed the dismissal of all claims.
Representation of NBA Properties and the NBA member teams in trademark litigation concerning the DREAM TEAM mark in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, and also in anti-counterfeiting litigation concerning other NBA marks brought in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against purveyors of counterfeit NBA merchandise in connection with an NBA All-Star game.
Covington successfully represented Samsung in a massive set of antitrust price-fixing cases. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that virtually all of the claimed damages were barred by the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act.
Representing Morgan Stanley in a New York lawsuit filed by Lloyd’s disputing coverage under a financial institutions professional liability insurance policy.
Representation of luxury goods makers Montblanc and Coty in trademark infringement litigation in federal district and appellate courts resulting in injunctive relief against unauthorized sellers of imported gray market goods.
Obtained more than $1 billion in recoveries for Dow Corning through a number of large settlements in court-appointed mediation related to breast implant liabilities.
Representation of a European gas utility company in a large ICC arbitration valued over US$2 billion against a North African state-owned oil company relating to a complex contract price revision dispute.
Representation of Prime International Alliance Inc. in a shareholders’ dispute against its joint venture partner, Erin Resources S.A., concerning control over a multi-million dollar oil transshipment terminal in Russia, whereby Erin alleges frustration and/or breach of a shareholders’ agreement as a consequence of the European Union imposing sanctions on Prime’s beneficial owner.
Bribery-related investigations and related counseling for a multinational company with operations in Europe and Asia.
Won a multi-million dollar trial verdict for a government contractor arising from the en masse departure of 25 employees from the contractor to a competitor. The verdict was affirmed on appeal.
Served as lead MDL counsel for Boehringer Ingelheim in the Pradaxa products liability litigation.
Won defense verdict for Salix following two-week jury trial in New York State Court. Collaboration partner Napo alleged failures to use “commercially reasonable efforts” to bring licensed drug to market. Despite seeking $260 million and contract termination, Napo recovered nothing.
Representing Plaza Bank in the U.S. Justice Department’s “Operation Choke Point” initiative that focuses on banks doing business with third-party payment processors and pay-day lenders and alleges violations of FIRREA.
Represented plaintiff in successful rehearing in Toney v. L'Oreal USA, Inc., 406 F.3d 905 (7th Cir. 2005), concerning Copyright Act preemption of state rights of publicity.
Represented Eli Lilly in a consumer fraud class action alleging that the labelling for one of its prescription medicines was inadequate and misleading.
Represent Compañía Cervecera de Puerto Rico, Inc. (CCPR), in a lawsuit alleging that CCPR’s Malta India product contains the chemical 4-MEI in quantities above the safe harbor level, and that CCPR has failed to label Malta India products sold in California with the warning required by California’s Proposition 65.
In complex proceedings before the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel, to allocate royalties among owners of TV programming rights.
Represented media companies in class actions alleging improper collection and/or disclosure of user information.
An oil and gas company and its executive in connection with congressional hearing to examine absence of “price trigger” conditions on royalty relief for deepwater OCS leases.
Represented The Procter & Gamble Corporation in California, New York, Florida, and Minnesota class actions challenging the labelling of a wipes product as flushable.
Defending a Korean memory chip maker in its suit involving seven patents relating to semiconductor manufacturing processes. As a result of our aggressive and strategic approach, the case settled well prior to trial on very favorable terms to our client.
Represented Owens Corning in eight Wellington Agreement arbitral or ADR proceedings, two federal court cases, and one state court lawsuit against numerous insurers seeking coverage for asbestos non-products claims.
Representation of Purdue Pharma in class action litigation in multiple states alleging violations of consumer protection laws in the marketing of OxyContin.
Plextronics in patent infringement litigation with Konarka relating to organic photovoltaics.
Representing Samsung Electronics in an IP litigation against Enterprise Systems Technologies and succeeded in persuading the Texas district court judge to stay the entire district court case.
Representation of Out RAGE, LLC in a trademark infringement action against Barnett Outdoors, LLC in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Georgia in connection with Barnett’s use of the RAGE trademark for a crossbow.
Representing a Korean engineering and construction company in its continuing efforts to recover nearly $400 million, which it won in an ICC arbitration almost 10 years ago, against a Mexico government owned oil & gas company.
Litigating a matter before the Tax Court involving the taxable nature and deductibility of meal expenses on behalf of the Boston Bruins. The matter being litigated has implications for most national sports teams as well as other employers who provide meals to employees as a de minimis fringe benefit. Jacobs v. Commissioner, Tax Court Docket No. 019009-15.
Persuaded the IRS Examination Division to close out with no transfer pricing adjustment an audit involving a novel transfer pricing methodology and intercompany transactions in excess of $1.5 billion and to skip auditing the company for the next two years. The issues under audit were considered by a senior team of three government economists and nearly a dozen agents.
On behalf of a national healthcare company, persuaded IRS Appeals Division to reverse, in their entirety, over $275 million of proposed adjustments related to the company’s income accruals. Following resolution, IRS Examination Division agreed to no longer raise the issue and to skip auditing the taxpayer for at least a year.
Representation of major Japanese electronics and software company in defense of patent infringement claims at the ITC involving combination of software and hardware for graphical interfaces and systems for three dimensional pointing.
Representation of Parfums Givenchy in federal court litigation to enjoin over 40 wholesalers and retailers from distributing gray market perfume products bearing copyrighted designs not authorized for importation into the United States.
Representation of Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) in trademark litigation to recover the PBS.COM domain name in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia; and in an opposition proceeding before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, claiming that applicant's mark BE MORE RESPONSIBLE is likely to cause confusion with PBS's BE MORE mark.
Representation of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in a trial of false advertising claims brought by PBS challenging a video marketer’s use of the phrase “public television presents” in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Representation of Public Broadcasting Service in multi-party litigation before the Copyright Royalty Board seeking to recover public television's share of more than $750 million in royalties paid by cable operators for the distant retransmission of broadcast programming.
Counsel to pharmaceutical and biotech clients defending individuals’ claims arising out of their participation in our clients’ clinical trial programs.
Representation of American Institute of Physics and the American Physical Society against false advertising claims based on their comparative surveys of scientific journals that were tried in the Southern District of New York.
Representation of American Express in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against claims by Visa that Advanta, in conjunction with American Express, used Visa marks beyond the scope of a trademark license and contrary to the Lanham Act.
Represented the American Athletic Conference (then known as the Big East Conference) in matters related to college conference realignment. In all, Covington has secured for the Conference more than $65 million in exit/cancellation fees.
Represent the American Athletic Conference in a putative antitrust class action challenging NCAA and Conference rules on financial aid limits for student athletes. This lawsuit challenges the very existence of amateur collegiate athletics.
Covington successfully represented Eli Lilly and Company in a significant commercial dispute with a business partner. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s denial of Amylin’s motion for a preliminary injunction that would have limited the medications that Lilly’s diabetes sale force could promote.
Representation of Merck in a class action alleging injuries from a product manufactured to regulate diabetes in animals.
Representation of multiple clients in ICSID arbitrations arising out of the expropriation of their investments in nationwide FM-frequency radio-broadcasting licenses in Hungary.
Representation of AK Steel in a patent infringement action relating to aluminum coated boron steel products where we obtained a jury verdict in favor of our client.
Covington obtained a ruling from the appellate court that Lilly was entitled to summary judgment on plaintiffs’ claims and that the “third party payor” plaintiffs’ claims related to Zyprexa pricing could not proceed as a class action, as initially certified by the district court.
Representation of ASM Modular in false advertising litigation against a competitor in the modular flooring business in the District of Maryland.
Representation of Armani in trademark litigation in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to recover the ARMANI.COM domain name from a man whose initials and last name are A.R. Mani.
Representation of Warner Chilcott in successfully defending Asacol®, the leading treatment for ulcerative colitis, against ANDAs seeking approval to market a generic version of the drug.
Managed anti-corruption due diligence and follow-up with respect to Latin America sales channels for a leading pharmaceutical company, as well as providing general anti-corruption counseling with respect to the company’s Brazilian affiliate.
Representation of American Petroleum Institute against false advertising claims based on its protocol for certification of branded motor oils that were tried in a preliminary injunction proceeding in the Southern District of New York.
American Petroleum Institute as an amicus curiae in a U.S. Supreme Court case concerning the alleged “constructive” termination of a franchisor who sued under the PMPA.
Representation of a technology company in antitrust litigation and a related arbitration concerning obligations to license technology.
Representation of a semiconductor manufacturer in antitrust licensing disputes.
Representation of the owner of a major oil refinery in Texas in an ad hoc commercial arbitration against an offshore property insurer, seeking insurance coverage for an US$82 million loss sustained as a result of a criminal wire fraud conspiracy relating to shipping contracts for the transport of crude oil from South America to the U.S.
Representation of Adams Laboratories in a false advertising action challenging pharmaceutical advertisements by Carolina Pharmaceuticals in the Southern District of New York.
Represented a manufacturer of industrial equipment in obtaining directors and officers settlements exceeding $30 million.
In an ICC arbitration relating to executive compensation.
Represented Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. in defending mass tort claims involving the prescription acne medication Accutane. In addition to considerable trial level success, Covington has obtained thirteen consecutive appellate victories for Roche in the Accutane litigation.
Assisting AbbVie in structuring and negotiating a novel collaboration with the Google-backed life sciences start-up company Calico to form a $1.5 billion to fund a program focused on aging and age-related diseases.
Representation of The American Automobile Association, Inc. (AAA) in numerous federal and state court actions and arbitration proceedings against third party infringers of AAA’s famous marks.
Representation of a leading online company through advising on instituting global policies and procedures to comply with law enforcement demands for data consistent with best practice privacy principles.
Represented Johnson & Johnson and McNeil Consumer Healthcare in consumer class actions arising out of recall of children’s medicines.
Covington successfully represented the American Petroleum Institute, Independent Petroleum Association of America, U.S. Oil & Gas Association, and International Association of Drilling Contractors in a lawsuit seeking to block a federal program which provides the basis for all oil and gas leasing in offshore federal waters. The D.C. Circuit ruled that the Government had rationally and appropriately balanced the environmental, social, and economic values at stake in proceeding with the leasing program.
Representing Citibank, N.A., and Citigroup in connection with negotiation of OCC and Federal Reserve consent and civil money penalty orders related to Citibank, N.A.’s foreign exchange (FX) trading business.
Negotiated on behalf of a major health care network a class action FLSA consent judgment with the U.S. Department of Labor relating to overtime that avoided liquidated damages and civil money penalties while foreclosing any private right of action.
Representation of Chloé in trademark litigation in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida concerning defendant’s use of the CHLOÉ mark for women’s clothing offered for sale on its website and for a women’s clothing store.
Representation of a major pharmaceutical company in its response to a Chinese government commercial bribery investigation in China.
Conducting internal investigation on behalf of a multinational pharmaceutical company into whistleblower allegations of corruption at its Chinese subsidiary.
An energy company in defending numerous toxic tort claims relating to alleged benzene emissions from an oil refinery in Texas.
Representation of AstraZeneca in its strategic diabetes alliance with Bristol-Myers Squibb, including with respect to collaboration arrangements for the development and commercialization of Amylin Pharmaceuticals’ portfolio of diabetes products following BMS’s acquisition of Amylin in a deal valued at $7 billion (approximately half the cost of which was borne by AstraZeneca).
Representation of AstraZeneca in its $1.26 billion acquisition of Ardea Biosciences. Under the agreement, AstraZeneca will pay $32 per share for all of the outstanding shares of Ardea. AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines for gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation, oncology and infectious disease. Ardea is a biotechnology company based in San Diego, California, focused on the development of small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases.
Represent petroleum refiner in dispute under an asset purchase agreement regarding legacy contamination at a petroleum refinery.
Representation of AT&T in a trial in the District of Maryland concerning claims by a competitor that AT&T’s advertisements for telephone calling cards were misleading.
In securing a stay of antitrust and related class-action claims in deference to arbitration clauses in credit-card agreements. 361 F.Supp. 2d 237 (S.D.N.Y. 2005).
Representation of Bacardi in its defense of a false advertising lawsuit concerning HAVANA CLUB rum in the District Court of Delaware.
Representation of Atari Games in litigation involving home video game trademarks in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Represented automotive parts suppliers in antitrust class actions alleging price-fixing for automotive wire harness systems and other parts.
Lead trial and arbitration counsel for BP in insurance coverage disputes arising from the Deepwater Horizon incident and resulting oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Covington successfully represented Chiquita against a series of Alien Tort Statute claims filed by more than 6,000 individual plaintiffs in Colombia. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissed the cases for lack of jurisdiction, agreeing that they involved conduct committed entirely abroad.
Covington successfully represented CBS against a threat by the FCC to make hundreds of thousands of pages of highly confidential programming contracts and negotiation materials available to hundreds of third parties. The D.C. Circuit ruled in favor of CBS, stating the FCC’s decision was “both substantively and procedurally flawed.”
Representation of Cartier in an in rem action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to recover more than 100 infringing CARTIER domain names.
Covington successfully represented the National Football League in a class-action antitrust case in which the NFL Players Association and ten prominent players sought to enjoin the NFL’s lockout of its player-employees. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled for the National Football League, vacating the injunction entered by the District Court on the ground that the injunction violated the Norris-LaGuardia Act, which prohibits judicial interference in labor disputes.
Representation of Bradley Pharmaceuticals in trademark litigation, including a preliminary injunction hearing, involving the KERALAC mark in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Representation of Business Software Alliance and software publishers in preparation of amicus briefs filed in appellate and Supreme Court cases involving seminal copyright issues, including the Napster, AOL and Grokster cases.
Tried and won a class action lawsuit alleging “pattern or practice” discrimination on the basis of age in connection with a corporate reduction in force.
Won a $3.6 million jury verdict in California federal court after a jury found that apparel giant Quiksilver, Inc. willfully infringed World Marketing, Inc.’s longstanding federally registered “VISITOR” brand. Following a six-day jury trial, the eight-member jury unanimously found that Quiksilver willfully infringed World Marketing’s brand after launching its clothing and apparel brand VSTR, which it pronounced “visitor.” World Marketing, a family-owned company based in New York, has been selling clothing and apparel under its registered VISITOR trademark for more than 20 years, including at stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, and Men’s Wearhouse.
Represented a number of utility companies in obtaining more than $200 million in environmental and toxic tort settlements.
Represented railroad clients in obtaining more than $150 million through scores of settlements for FELA, environmental, and employment practice claims.
Represented Kansas City Power & Light Company in litigation over coverage for property damage caused by a boiler explosion.
Representation of Exxon Corporation in New York-seated arbitration and related judicial proceedings against its insurers for losses arising from the Valdez oil spill, resulting in a reported recovery of US$780 million.
Prepare and submit amicus brief to the Supreme Court on behalf of legislators in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, 134 S. Ct. 2427 (2014).
Defeated an effort by a class of retirees to block Verizon’s purchase of an annuity contract to settle $7.5 billion in pension liabilities.
Secured a sweeping victory for our clients BMS and Eli Lilly. In 2006, BMS/Lilly hired Consumer Health Information Corporation (“CHIC”) to develop patient education materials for their injectable diabetes drug BYETTA. The contract expressly designated these as works made for hire and assigned CHIC’s interest in these materials to BMS/Lilly. BMS/Lilly later terminated CHIC, and CHIC sued for copyright infringement in D.C. district court in 2008, but voluntarily dismissed the action in 2009. Last July, CHIC sued again in the Southern District of Indiana. In an attempt to avoid the contractual ownership provisions, CHIC alleged “economic duress” and sought rescission. CHIC's infringement claim sought to recover our clients' profits, allegedly “in excess of several billions of dollars.” Judge Pratt dismissed the complaint with prejudice, ruling that two separate statutes of limitation barred CHIC’s infringement claim. First, the Court held that the claim was barred by the Copyright Act’s three-year statute of limitations. The Court accepted Covington’s argument that, because the case turned on ownership, not use, the continuing violation doctrine did not apply. The Court pointedly noted the inequity of allowing CHIC to wait while BMS/Lilly developed a market only to “pounce on the prize” years later. Separately, the Court held that the ownership provisions expressly assigned ownership to BMS/Lilly, and that CHIC’s attempted rescission was barred by California’s four-year statute of limitations. The Court also rejected CHIC’s outrageous attempt to invoke equitable tolling by arguing that its own (former) attorneys had dismissed its 2008 action without its consent and subsequently concealed the dismissal from CHIC.
Obtained a court order for Verizon reforming a $1.7 billion drafting error in a pension plan formula. This was the first court order correcting a scrivener’s error in an ERISA plan.
Represented United Technologies in settling a criminal and civil export controls matter with the United States Department of Justice and Department of State.
Resolved contentious investigations by the US Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service, in which the government took positions that exposed our clients to many millions, and in some cases over $1 billion, of potential liability. In several of these cases, we replaced counsel that was unable to reach agreement with the government, when litigation appeared to be imminent.
Provided UK Bribery Act advice to a large health insurance company regarding operations in Brazil.
Participated extensively in the consultations leading to the enactment of the 2010 UK Bribery Act.
Representation of a joint venture of Newmont Mining and Sumitomo in an UNCITRAL arbitration against Indonesia relating to the government’s attempt to terminate rights to copper and gold resources under a Contract of Work.
Defending Huawei, a Chinese mobile handset maker, in a putative class action alleging violations of the Wiretap Act, Stored Communications Act, and various state laws. The suit stems from the allegation that third-party mobile analytics software transmitted data about mobile device users’ activities to other parties without authorization.
Achieved dismissal on summary judgment of a putative class action against Hulu alleging violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act. The complaint alleged that Hulu disclosed to third parties the video viewing information of individual Hulu users.
Achieved dismissal of a putative class action against The Huffington Post alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The suit asserted unlawful transmission of unsolicited text messages.
Representing one of the world’s largest mining companies in a contract and treaty law dispute against an African government relating to the violation of stabilization and other comments in a development agreement and related acts of indirect expropriation.
Co-lead counsel for POM Wonderful in landmark advertising litigation with FTC concerning health claims for food products.
We represented a global manufacturer of advanced medical devices in concurrent investigations in the House and Senate regarding reported injuries to patients. The investigation included parallel regulatory inquiries and significant litigation risks.
Counseling clients on compliance with European Union and national requirements regarding the use of “green dot” labels related to product disposal, “CE” labels on prototype products, and use of national languages on product labels.
We have represented clients in numerous other congressional investigations and oversight hearings, including a major internet services company in an investigation of its practices abroad, a chemical manufacturer in an investigation of the safety of its products, an insurance company in a hearing on the federal long term care insurance program, a financial services company in an investigation of credit card terms, and drug companies in investigations concerning such matters as payments to doctors, marketing practices, generic approvals, drug importation, and drug safety.
Obtained dismissal of a wrongful death case brought against a major government contractor for alleged gamma radiation exposure from a cargo screening device it manufactured for national security/border protection purposes. Early in the case, and only after minimal discovery, we successfully asserted the government contractor defense and convinced the trial court that the government had meaningfully reviewed and approved the product’s design specifications, that the product conformed with those specifications, and that the contractor had no knowledge of any product risks or hazards unknown to the government.
Represent debtor in chapter 11 case with respect to insurance matters in connection with breast-implant liabilities.
Representation of a mining company in a Department of Justice investigation concerning anti-corruption (FCPA) matters and related civil RICO litigation.
Advised an oilfield services company on the design and implementation of a corporate responsibility program for its Angolan operations following an FCPA enforcement action.
Obtained dismissal of wrongful death claims against a military support contractor following an insurgent attack on a supply convoy in Iraq. After the district court refused to dismiss the case, we successfully brought an interlocutory appeal and persuaded the court of appeals that the Defense Base Act provided an exclusive remedy and barred the employee claims.
Persuaded a district court to dismiss a tort suit brought against a large logistical services contractor for injuries sustained by a soldier on a military base in Iraq. The district court and the court of appeals agreed that the case raised political questions because of the involvement of the military that were outside the scope of judicial review.
Representing a national hotel company in litigation over coverage for property damage and business income losses caused by Hurricane Katrina.
Representation of Hewlett-Packard in patent litigation matters involving blade servers, modular computer systems, network gateway devices, and software for mobile devices.
Advised a large pharmaceutical company in connection with litigation involving the alleged infringement of patient privacy by a pharmacy chain that collects personal information about prescription drug users.
Successfully argued a whistleblower retaliation case arising under the False Claims Act in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on behalf of a pharmaceutical company after winning dismissal at summary judgment stage.
Won summary judgment and Ninth Circuit affirmance of a whistleblower/discrimination case brought against a major pharmaceutical company.
Representation of Yahoo! in a trademark infringement suit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California in which Yahoo! was accused of infringing the mark “Street Buzz” by using the term on its website in connection with web-based video segments.
Young v. Verizon’s Bell Atl. Cash Balance Plan, __ F. Supp. 2d __, 2009 WL 3677350 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 2, 2009). For Verizon, we secured a court order reforming a $1.7 billion drafting error in a pension plan formula. This was the first court order correcting a scrivener’s error in an ERISA plan.
Investigating allegations of fraud, bribery, and collusion in a contract financed by the World Bank and representing the client before the World Bank Integrity Vice Presidency in anticipation of a potential debarment action.
Secured victory for Xerox in the Supreme Court on the deference owed plan administrators. Coming into the case after an adverse decision in the Second Circuit, and despite vigorous opposition from the Solicitor General, the Department of Labor, and the Internal Revenue Service, we persuaded the Supreme Court that the lower courts erred in refusing to give deference to the plan administrator's reasonable interpretation of the plan made in the course of litigation after his pre-litigation interpretation was held to be mistaken.
Representing Wachovia Bank, N.A. before the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark preemption case, Watters v. Wachovia Bank, N.A., which held that federal preemption barred Michigan State officials’ efforts to regulate a mortgage subsidiary of Wachovia Bank.
Representation of Washington National Cathedral in a copyright action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to enjoin a major movie studio from its unauthorized use of a Cathedral sculpture in a popular feature film.
Representing Merck in two related London arbitrations involving insurance coverage for claims relating to Vioxx.
Represented Wells Fargo Bank in consumer class actions under the laws of multiple states challenging fees, disclosures, and other banking practices.
Representation of Wells Fargo Bank in numerous consumer class actions brought in state and federal courts in California invoking the state’s false advertising statutes with respect to the bank’s sales of products and services.
Represent Wells Fargo & Co. and Wells Fargo Financial, Inc. in connection with a Federal Reserve Board investigation, enforcement action involving allegations of customer income alteration and customer steering by Wells Fargo Financial sales personnel in originating nonprime mortgage loans—and with implementation of the resulting consent order.
Dismissing a purported class action antitrust suit brought by retired players alleging a conspiracy to restrain a market for the sale of their images and likenesses.
Covington successfully represented Wachovia Bank in a National Bank Act preemption case. In ruling for Wachovia, the Supreme Court held that the state law at issue was preempted because national bank operating subsidiaries are supervised exclusively by the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Represented Valeant Pharmaceuticals Int’l, Inc. in antitrust class action alleging wrongful exclusion of generic competition.
Represented Chloé in trademark litigation in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida concerning defendant’s use of the CHLOÉ mark for women’s clothing offered for sale on its website and for a women’s clothing store.
Served as lead U.S. counsel on negotiations for bilateral advance pricing agreement that proposed a transfer pricing methodology that was new to the industry and the two treaty countries; successfully assisted the two treaty countries in reaching agreement and voiding binding arbitration in dispute spanning 14 tax years and involving intercompany transactions of more than $3.3 billion.
In the first appellate ruling on the question of whether cash balance plans are age discriminatory, obtained the Seventh Circuit victory reversing the trial court and holding that IBM’s cash balance plan was not discriminatory. The appellate victory avoided $1.4 billion in damages. Cooper v. IBM Personal Pension Plan, 457 F.3d 636 (7th Cir. 2006).
Waging on behalf of the Network Affiliated Stations Alliance and the National Association of Broadcasters a multi-year, multi-venue battle before Congress, the FCC, and the Third and D.C. Circuits Courts of Appeals on the national television ownership rule, successfully achieving a legislative reversal of the FCC’s decision.
For New Skies, a spin-off of Intelsat, we have provided FCC advice and also have handled arbitration, litigation, export control and intellectual property projects.
Won a Supreme Court victory for our client Harris Trust and secured ruling that ERISA permitted a fiduciary to sue a non-fiduciary party in interest that had participated in a prohibited transaction. Harris Trust and Sav. Bank v. Salomon Smith Barney, Inc., 530 U.S. 238 (2000).
Persuaded Third Circuit to vacate a district court's certification of a class of participants in a "stock drop" lawsuit against our client Schering Plough that alleged breach of fiduciary duty for imprudent retention of a company stock fund in a 401(k) plan. In re Schering Plough Corp. ERISA Litig., 589 F.3d 588 (3d Cir. 2009).
Advised XM Satellite Radio on an insurance claim arising out of the solar array anomaly in its two Boeing 702 satellites and have advised a leading aerospace insurance broker on the wording of satellite-in-orbit policies.
Advised two major national news and public affairs magazines and a national newspaper on international newsgathering and libel exposure issues. For example, we have advised on the use of hidden cameras in Africa, India and Europe. We also represented a 50-member media coalition in successfully persuading Canadian courts not to exercise jurisdiction over the Washington Post in Bangoura v. Washington Post.
Representation of U.S. energy companies, which were then subsidiaries of E.ON, in an ICSID arbitration against Argentina arising out of measures taken by the government against the claimants’ investments in gas-distribution companies in Argentina, resulting in an award for damages (annulment proceedings pending).
Representation of the Kingdom of Jordan in securing dismissal of ICSID denial of justice claims brought by a Turkish contractor relating to the collapse of a dike in the Dead Sea. In its award, the tribunal went on to state that, even if there had been jurisdiction, it was “unconvinced” by claimant’s denial of justice claim.
Representation of Tidewater, a leading provider of maritime support services to the energy industry, and its subsidiaries in a pending ICSID arbitration against Venezuela arising out of the expropriation of 15 vessels and other investments in Venezuela.
Representation of MTD, a Malaysian construction and development company and its subsidiary in an ICSID arbitration against Chile concerning claims for breach of the bilateral investment treaty between Malaysia and Chile, resulting in an award for the claimants that was sustained in annulment proceedings.
Representation of a leading Caribbean-based international beverage company in an LCIA arbitration against the former controlling shareholders of a major European-based company that was acquired by our client and in successfully handling a London-sited UNCITRAL arbitration administered by the LCIA.
Counsel for AstraZeneca in the Seroquel litigation, including obtaining a defense jury verdict in the first case to go to trial.
Representation of Amoco (now BP America) against the Islamic Republic of Iran before the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal. We obtained an award of over US$850 million, one of the largest awards ever rendered by that tribunal and one of the largest arbitration awards ever fully paid by a respondent state.
Representation of Hess and Tullow affiliates in a pending ICSID Additional Facility conciliation proceeding against Equatorial Guinea arising out of tax measures that the claimants allege to be in breach of a contract between the parties.
Representation of a Lithuanian petrochemicals company in a an LCIA arbitration against a U.S. contractor, in a dispute arising out of alleged breaches of a project management agreement.
Representation of Maxim Integrated Products in trade secret litigation involving analog-to digital converters.
Representation of Metal-Tech, a metals refining company, in an ICSID arbitration against Uzbekistan arising out of the failure of a joint venture with state-owned enterprises.
A coalition of eleven oil and gas companies whose efforts to pursue development of their California offshore oil and gas leases were thwarted by the federal government, recovering more than $1.0 billion, including judgment after trial on complex geological and reservoir engineering issues.
Representation of Mohamed Bin Hammam, former president of the Asian Football Confederation, in his successful challenge to his FIFA-ordered lifetime ban from football (soccer) before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Bin Hammam had been banned for alleged vote-buying on the eve of the election for FIFA’s Presidency, in which he was the only challenger to the re-election of Sepp Blatter. In July 2012, the three-judge panel found insufficient evidence and annulled the ban.
Represented the Association of Public Television Stations before the D.C. Circuit, in successfully defending an FCC order providing that public television stations may use their surplus digital capacity for commercial purposes, including non-broadcast advertisements.
Representation of a major European shipbuilder in successfully defeating claims brought in an ICC arbitration in New York by a U.S. engine supplier for alleged breaches of contract and intellectual property rights relating to stealth-enabled engine technology for warships.
Representation of Kyocera Corporation, successfully obtaining a summary judgment dismissing over US$150 million in damages claims and then successfully defending that award in a set-aside action in the U.S. federal courts.
An E&P company in litigation challenging an order requiring it to spend many millions of dollars to permanently plug an exploratory well on an offshore lease, winning an appellate decision vacating the order.
Representation of a major software company in the successful mediation of multi-million dollar software errors and omissions insurance claims.
Represented the American Petroleum Institute in a challenge to federal renewable fuel standards under the Clean Air Act that resulted in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling in favor of our client.
Developed a litigation strategy for several members of an industry federation to challenge an advertising ban imposed by an EU directive for violations of the free speech provisions of Article 10 of the European Human Rights Convention.
Successfully defended 20th Century Fox Film Corporation and Chernin Entertainment in a federal copyright infringement lawsuit filed in the Central District of California. After extensive litigation, the case settled, with a complete walkaway and limit on future suits.
In successfully resisting U.S. enforcement of one of the largest ICC awards in recent years, following an arbitration handled by other counsel. 458 F.3d. 172 (3d Cir. 2006).
In an American Arbitration Association (AAA) arbitration brought by its joint venture partner and co-owner.
Taylor v. United Technologies Corp., 2009 WL 4255159 (2d Cir. Dec. 1, 2009), aff’g 2009 WL 535779, 46 Empl. Ben. Cas. (BNA) 1935 (D. Conn. Mar. 3, 2009). The Second Circuit affirmed the summary judgment entered in favor of our client United Technologies in a 401(k) plan expense class action lawsuit. The court upheld the rejection of all of plaintiffs’ claims concerning a variety of fiduciary decisions over more than a decade, for which plaintiffs had calculated alleged damages of $230 million.
Providing litigation counsel to several industry trade associations, including Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), and Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS).
Representation of subsidiaries of Tidewater, Inc., the world’s leading provider of maritime services to the oil industry, in an ICSID arbitration arising out of the expropriation of certain investments in Venezuela.
Obtained a complete taxpayer victory following a trial in the Tax Court involving adjustments of over $350 million relating to homebuilder’s use of the completed contract method of accounting. The case represented, by dollar value, the largest taxpayer victory in the Tax Court in 2014. Currently represent taxpayer before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in connection with the Government’s appeal of the case. Shea Homes v. Commissioner, 142 T.C. No. 3 (2014).
Prior to trial, obtained a concession from the Government with respect to adjustments of over $250 million relating to a worthless partnership interest deduction, and identified computational errors resulting in additional refunds of $15 million. JELD-WEN v. Commissioner, Tax Court Docket No. 003055-14.
Counseling companies with rising volumes of asbestos and silica liability claims in the energy, automotive, construction, mining, respiratory protection, and railroad industries.
Achieved a favorable settlement on behalf of a telecommunications client filing a claim against a former employee accused of breaching post-employment restrictive covenants and confidentiality obligations, as well as misappropriating trade secrets.
In persuading the courts to compel arbitration of claims relating to alleged wrongs by a brokerage firm. 394 F.3d 444 (6th Cir. 2005).
Challenged solvent schemes of arrangement in the English High Court, which were proposed by insurance carriers and sought to extinguish coverage for future policyholder claims.
A major oil company in a SEC investigation into activities in a Middle Eastern nation.
Representation of A.P. Moeller-Maersk in a SCC arbitration concerning a licensing dispute for technology related to reduction of shipboard emissions.
After five-month bench trial, won verdict of nearly $30 million on behalf of New Media Holdings in multinational corporate control dispute over ownership of Ukrainian television network.
Representation of Texas Instruments Incorporated (“TI”) as petitioner in an IPR proceeding relating to monolithic battery chargers. In a clean sweep victory in a patent office trial, the patent owner, Unifi Scientific Batteries (“USB”) ultimately requested judgment in TI’s favor. USB had sued TI in the Eastern District of Texas in March 2012, alleging infringement of its patent directed to monolithic battery chargers. In March 2013, Covington filed a petition on behalf of TI in the Patent Office seeking invalidation of 16 claims. One week before oral argument, USB filed a Request for Adverse Judgment, disclaiming all of the 16 challenged claims. In June 2014, the Patent Office granted the Request and entered the judgment, successfully ending the trial. Covington also represented TI in the co-pending litigation, which settled successfully.
Representation of Bockstar Technologies LLC as patent owner in an IPR proceeding brought by Cisco Systems Inc., challenging the validity of four patents related to routers, switches, and computerized telephony. Covington filed substantive initial responses for three of the four petitions. In decisions on February 2 and 3, 2015, the PTAB rejected one of the petitions in its entirety, and instituted only as to a single patent claim in a second petition—effectively eliminating half of Cisco’s petitions at a single stroke. The proceedings were terminated shortly thereafter as part of a global settlement.
Representation of Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd. as petitioner in nine IPR proceedings relating to mobile communications and network-enabled audio/video devices and players. Samsung prevailed in all nine of the IPR proceedings. After oral argument in two of the proceedings, the Board issued Final Written Decisions finding all challenged claims unpatentable. Black Hills requested adverse judgment on all challenged claims in five of the proceedings, and filed motions to amend to cancel the challenged claims in the remaining two proceedings.
Representation of Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd. as petitioner in two IPR proceedings adverse to patent owner Boston University relating to gallium nitride semiconductor devices. The two proceedings were terminated following successful settlement of the underlying litigation, in which Covington represented Samsung.
Representation of Peregrine Semiconductor as patent owner in an IPR proceeding brought by RF Micro Devices. The patent is directed to high frequency RF switches for 4G access technologies. Covington also represented Peregrine in the co-pending litigation. Both the IPR and the litigation were settled successfully for Peregrine.
Representation of Knowles Electronics, LLC as patent owner in four IPR proceedings relating to silicon microphone packages and MEMS microphones, all of which were successfully terminated by settlement. Covington also represented Knowles in the co-pending litigation, which successfully settled.
Representation of JPMorgan Chase as petitioner in four CBM proceedings for patents owned by Maxim Integrated Products relating to secure electronic transactions, which were terminated by settlement of the co-pending litigation.
Representation of Ariba, Inc. as patent owner in a CBM proceeding relating to operating resource management systems. Covington also represents Ariba in the co-pending litigation. The CBM proceeding was terminated following successful settlement of the patent infringement aspect of the litigation. We have also represented Ariba as requester in two inter partes reexamination proceedings relating to a business-to-business electronic clearinghouse. All original patent claims, as well as claims added during both reexamination proceedings, were rejected. Favorable settlement for Ariba was promptly obtained pursuant to filing of the reexamination requests.
Represented an ExxonMobil subsidiary in an ICC arbitration against the Venezuelan state-owned oil company, PDVSA, resulting in a US$908 million award for breach of contract.
Representation of multiple petitioners, including The New York Times Company and CBS Interactive, in an IPR proceeding (and in seven inter partes reexamination proceedings) for patents held by Helferich Patent Licensing, LLC. The patents relate to cell phone messaging and were the subject of co-pending litigation in which the requesters were defendants. In March 2014, the PTAB provided another clean sweep IPR victory when it invalidated all 41 challenged claims of the patent. Following Covington’s argument in April 2015, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB’s decision, securing the clients’ victory.
Representation of Warner Chilcott as patent owner in an IPR proceeding, brought by the generic company Mylan Pharmaceuticals, challenging the patent claiming LO LOESTRIN, Warner Chilcott’s oral contraceptive. After Mylan filed its petition, the parties settled favorably without a single claim being invalidated or the PTAB instituting review on a single claim of the LO LOESTRIN Patent. Covington successfully represented Warner Chilcott in ANDA litigation against prior generic filers on LO LOESTRIN, obtaining a favorable judgment after a bench trial which was upheld by the Federal Circuit.
Representation of Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. in its acquisition of Santarus, Inc. for a total value of approximately $2.6 billion. The transaction closed on January 2, 2014. According to Carolyn Logan, Salix President and Chief Executive Officer, “The acquisition of Santarus is a transformational event for Salix and an important milestone in our growth as the leading gastroenterology-focused specialty pharmaceutical company in the United States.”
Represented a global bank in class actions involving antitrust, commodities fraud, and RICO claims relating to alleged manipulation of financial benchmarks, including the London Interbank Offering Rate (LIBOR), foreign currency exchange benchmarks, and ISDAFIX®
Counsel for Expedia in obtaining dismissal of all claims in MDL litigation.
Won summary judgment for a major auto dealership network in a fight for control of a family-owned company. In this high-profile Washington, DC-area case, Plaintiff Tammy Darvish sued her father, her brothers, and her former employer in January 2015 claiming that she had been promised one-third ownership and control of DARCARS and that her brothers tortuously interfered with this alleged “contract.” Covington developed evidence showing that Ms. Darvish’s alleged “contract” was fatally vague and illusory and that her tortious interference claims were unfounded. Covington moved for summary judgment on all claims, and the court granted the motion in its entirety with trial just weeks away.
Representing LifeCell Corporation as petitioner in an IPR proceeding challenging a patent owned by LifeNet Health directed to soft tissue graft compositions. Trial was instituted in March, with a final written decision due by March 2017, and the PTAB granted the patent owner’s request for adverse judgment in August 2016, cancelling all claims in the patent and handing our client LifeCell, a complete win.
Represented Spanish investors in Yukos Oil Company in an SCC arbitration against the Russian Federation arising from Russia’s expropriation of the company. The tribunal issued an award in our clients’ favor that valued Yukos at more than $60 billion at the time the company was expropriated.
Represented Russian businessman Vladimir Gusinski and his family of Russian and U.S. companies in connection with disputes in Russia, the United States, and elsewhere.
Advising a European oil and gas company on an investment-related dispute in Uzbekistan.
Representing an investment company in an LCIA arbitration relating to an oil terminal connected to the CPC Pipeline near the Black Sea. The value in dispute is over $80 million.
Represented Newmont Mining in related ICSID and SCC arbitrations against Uzbekistan concerning termination of rights to exploit mineral resources.
Represented an Israeli businessman in a dispute with the Government of Georgia related to an investment arbitration matter and resulting ICSID award.
Represented a U.S. corporation and its principal in connection with a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into alleged FCPA violations involving Russian government officials. The investigation was closed without charges being filed against our clients.
Conducted an internal investigation for a client concerning allegations of bribery involving Russian hospitals and public educational institutions.
Conducted an internal investigation for a manufacturing company relating to sales to Georgia’s Ministry of Agriculture.
Assisted client in negotiating a global settlement of an FCPA investigation, the centerpiece of which concerned bribery involving a major Russian agency.
On behalf of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, appeared before a hearing of a committee of the Duma on proposals to establish greater protection for innovative pharmaceutical products, including protection of patents and regulatory exclusivity periods.
Conducted an internal investigation for a client concerning allegations of bribery involving Russian customs agencies.
Advising U.S. shareholders in a Russian oil and gas company on securing compensation for the expropriation of their investments.
Supported client in conducting anti-corruption due diligence concerning the acquisition of a Russian company.
Representation of a Bermuda company in a pending LCIA arbitration against a Russian investment firm arising out of investment brokerage arrangements.
Representing the Russian Federation’s former Minister of Atomic Energy in a U.S. criminal action alleging that the minister stole tens of millions of dollars provided to Russia by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Representing SPI Group in a trademark dispute with a designee of the Russian Federation concerning rights to sell Stolichnaya vodka in the United States.
Representation of Elbit Systems of America, LLC as petitioner in an IPR proceeding relating to a patent directed toward a system and method for tracking the motion or orientation of an object relative to a moving reference frame, such as in a head-mounted display. The patent is owned by Thales Visionix, Inc., and Covington also represents Elbit in the co-pending litigation in the Court of Federal Claims. In October 2016, the PTAB issued its final written decision holding as unpatentable more than half of the challenged claims.
Represented Indivior UK Limited (f/k/a RB Pharmaceuticals Limited), as patent owner in an IPR proceeding, brought by Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., challenging one of three Orange Book listed patents for Suboxone® sublingual film, a treatment for opioid dependence. In a decision rendered on June 10, 2016, the PTAB denied Teva’s petition in its entirety, adopting the rationale presented in Covington’s patent owner preliminary response.
Representing Knappco, a subsidiary of Dover Corporation, in an IPR against CHS Inc. regarding systems and methods to reduce the potential for unintentional mixing of liquid types in tank systems. In June 2016, the PTAB instituted proceedings on all claims on all grounds. The patent owner failed to file any responsive papers, and the PTAB entered adverse judgment against CHS cancelling all challenged claims.
Secured district court ruling dismissing a putative ERISA class action on the basis of the statute of limitations. Gelesky v. AK Steel Corp. Pensions Agmt. Plan, 828 F. Supp. 2d 935 (S.D. Ohio 2011).
Representation of First Wind Holdings with regard to insurance claims arising out of fires that occurred at its Kahuku Wind farm, Oahu, in 2011 and 2012. Coverage issues include property damage, business interruption, and potential environmental liability issues.
Following a seven-day jury trial in the Southern District of New York, our litigators won a jury verdict in favor of Efans Trading Corporation and Unicorn Tire Corporation in a high-profile civil forfeiture case involving the export of high-end luxury cars to China. Our clients ran two companies—Unicorn Tire, a tire import business, and Efans Trading Corporation, which bought and exported high-end luxury automobiles to China. In 2013, the Government seized 47 vehicles and over $3.3 million in funds based on the allegation that Efans had defrauded dealers and manufacturers, and that Unicorn had provided essential facilitation of that crime. At the February 2017 trial, because of the unusual civil forfeiture context, we had the burden of proving that our clients had not committed mail and wire fraud, as the Government alleged. Based on the evidence of dealership knowledge, lack of harm, and Claimants’ good faith belief that their business was proper, it took jurors three hours to return a verdict for our clients, answering each of 53 questions on a lengthy verdict form in our favor. We expect that this verdict will soon lead to the return of our clients’ property.
Representation of Caliper Life Sciences in which we secured a $52 million jury verdict of trade secret misappropriation in California state court related to microfluidics technology. Two related patent infringement cases settled shortly thereafter on terms favorable to our client.
Representation of Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. in a trade secret, antitrust and false designation of origin dispute in the International Trade Commission involving processes for making Advanced High Strength Steel. In November 2016, Sturgis Sobin, Derek Ludwin, and James O’Connell were named “Litigators of the Week” by American Lawyer for an initial determination at the ITC on behalf of our client. This was the first price-fixing case in almost 40 years at the agency, terminating U.S. Steel’s antitrust claim.
After being retained months prior to trial following nearly a decade of litigation, Covington obtained a complete defense verdict for a subsidiary of McKesson Corporation in a bench trial in New York Supreme Court. The plaintiff had alleged breach of a non-disclosure agreement and trade secret misappropriation related to a drug discount program. Plaintiff sought the assignment of certain McKesson patents and half a billion dollars: nearly $250 million in damages and 11.5 years’-worth of prejudgment interest. PSKW, LLC v. McKesson Specialty Arizona, Inc. (S. Ct. NY).
Representation of the former CEO of a medical device company in defeating claims of theft of trade secret and employment contract claims, and obtaining a multimillion dollar jury verdict on counterclaims based on a technology licensing agreement in which the CEO (who was also the inventor of a heart valve) licensed the technology to the company.
Represented the Protect Trade Secrets Coalition in successfully seeking to enact legislation to create a federal civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation to supplement state-level remedies and testified before the House Judiciary Committee on the need for legislation. The legislation was enacted in 2016 after being passed by the Senate 87-0 and by the House 410-2.
Representation of National Geographic in trade secret litigation, including a lawsuit and an arbitration, in defending against allegations of misappropriation of trade secrets relating to a database schema and functionality and a website.
Representation of Hewlett-Packard in a trade secret case involving electronic design automation (EDA) technology.
Representation of Huawei Technologies in trade secret lawsuits against Motorola Solutions involving wireless base station technology; obtained a preliminary injunction preventing the transfer of confidential information in the context of a corporate acquisition and an award of licensing fees.
Represented Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, as patent owner in an IPR proceeding brought by Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., challenging the validity of a patent covering the formulation of BMS’s biologic ORENCIA. The PTAB entered a final written decision in December 2016 entirely rejecting Momenta’s challenges and upholding all claims of the patent.
Representation of Elbit Systems Land and C4I Ltd. in securing the PTAB’s denial of four separate Patent Office challenges over the course of 2016. In the latest decision, issued in mid-July 2016, the PTAB denied the fourth and final patent office challenge filed by Hughes Network Systems, LLC against Elbit’s patents. In November 2015, Hughes filed two petitions for inter partes review against Elbit’s ’073 patent, and one petition against Elbit’s ’874 patent, both of which are asserted against Hughes in the co-pending district court litigation. Hughes filed a second petition against the ’874 patent in January 2016. The PTAB denied the first challenge to the ’874 patent, and both challenges to the ’073 patent, in April. Hughes’s request for rehearing on the first petition also was rejected in July 2016.
Representing Eli Lilly and Company as petitioner in an IPR proceeding challenging the validity of a patent owned by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania (“Penn”). In concurrent district court litigation (in which we also represent Eli Lilly), Penn alleges that its patent covers methods of using Eli Lilly’s biologic Erbitux® for treating cancer patients. In July 2016, the PTAB instituted trial on all challenged claims, and later that month, the district court entered a stay of the litigation pending the IPR proceeding. The PTAB hearing took place in March 2017, and a final written decision is expected by June 2017.
Representation of Aristocrat Technologies Inc. in patent infringement litigation brought by IGT on an array of patents directed to gaming devices. On behalf of Aristocrat, Covington prepared and filed IPR petitions on eleven patents, and Covington represented Aristocrat as the patent owner in four IPR proceedings initiated by IGT. The parties reached a favorable settlement of the litigation, and have terminated all of the IPR proceedings.
Represented Biogen in defeating Swiss Pharma’s attacks on three patents covering TYSABRI®, an antibody biologic for treating patients with multiple sclerosis. The PTAB declined to institute a trial on all three of Biogen’s patents. The PTAB adopted the detailed reasoning from Covington’s briefs, finding that Swiss Pharma’s evidence and expert testimony did not demonstrate a reasonable likelihood of prevailing at trial.
Represented Research Corporation Technologies, Inc., and licensees Harris FRC Corporation, and UCB, Inc. in a series of six IPR proceedings filed by various generics companies, challenging the patent claiming Vimpat®, UCB’s anti-epileptic drug. The first petition, filed by Actavis, Inc. in 2014, was denied institution. The second petition, filed by Argentum Pharmaceuticals LLC in 2015, was later joined to another four IPR petitions filed by Alembic Pharmaceuticals, Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, and Mylan Pharmaceuticals. The PTAB entered a final written decision on March 22, 2017 entirely rejecting all the challenges and upholding all claims of the patent. In concurrent district court litigation (in which we also represented UCB), the court rejected all the generics’ invalidity arguments in August 2016.
May 18, 2017, Covington Alert
On May 18, 2017, newly confirmed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer formally notified Congress that President Trump intends to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Trump Administration has indicated that it will request public input on the “direction, focus, and content” of these negotiations, and will publish notice in the ...
May 17, 2017, Covington Alert
Last Friday may mark the start of a new era in cyber crime. The first worldwide ransomware attack, commonly dubbed “WannaCry,” emerged on May 12. The malware is believed to have infected more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries to date. A cyber criminal or ring of criminals, taking advantage of an exploit made available by the ShadowBrokers hacker group that ...
May 11-12, 2017, American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel
May 10, 2017, Law360
Richard Mattick is quoted in a Law360 article regarding the current state of the cyber insurance market. According to Mattick, "An increasing number of UK insurers are issuing cyber policies, but there is no market standard." He adds, “Because of the novelty and variety of the product, policyholders are worried about what they are buying. There is no specific ...
Miguel López Forastier is quoted in a Law360 article examining the International Centre for Settlement Investment Disputes' updates to its rule amendment project. According to López Forastier, “The Centre is focusing on all the critical areas that require updates to keep up with the changes and developments of the last ten years.” He adds, “The process also ...
May 2017, Corporate Counsel
Covington’s successful representation of McKesson in a trade secrets case with half a billion dollars at stake is featured in Corporate Counsel’s “Big Suits” section. According to Clara Shin, "In addition to showing [PSKW] was not able to prove their case, we used documents we found to tell an affirmative story that [McKesson] developed" the co-pay method on its ...
May 8, 2017, Law360
Richard Mattick is quoted in a Law360 article examining the UK's newly imposed laws on insurance policyholders, which is expected to lead to increased litigation in the area. According to Mattick, "Lawyers will be recommending that their policyholder clients be as vigilant as possible for delays by insurers and remind insurers of the new law." He further ...
May 7, 2017, Africa Capital Digest
Graham Vinter is quoted in an Africa Capital Digest article regarding the expansion of Covington's Project Finance practice with the arrival of four new partners and the opening of offices in Johannesburg and Dubai. “The team’s reputation in project finance is absolutely first class, and we are delighted with their decision to join the firm,” says Vintner. “Not ...
May 4, 2017, African Law & Business
Timothy Hester and Graham Vinter are quoted in an African Law & Business article regarding the expansion of Covington's Project Finance practice with the arrival of four new partners and the opening of offices in Johannesburg and Dubai. According to Hester, the additions are “a natural progression of our strategy to build a leading projects practice.” He adds ...
May 4, 2017, Slate
Mónica Ramírez Almadani is quoted in a Slate article that discusses the role and potential impact of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Almadani explains that, "Obviously the attorney general is the final decision-maker and the visionary for the department. He's in charge…but the DAG's office is essentially the nucleus of the department. It's where major ...
May 4, 2017, Department of the Navy Office of the General Counsel Intellectual Property Seminar
May 4, 2017, Covington Alert
With effect from today, policyholders may recover damages from insurers for late payment of some insurance claims. For insurance contracts agreed or renewed on or after May 4, 2017 and governed by English law, the UK Enterprise Act 2016 introduces an implied term, affording the policyholder the right to recover losses caused by the insurer’s failure to pay valid ...
Investments in developing economies offer substantial benefits for many reasons, including their growth potential. But they often come with greater economic and political risks. Investment-protection treaties are an important and relatively inexpensive tool to manage some of those risks. Most bilateral and multilateral investment treaties provide foreign ...
May 2, 2017, Law360
Emily Henn is quoted in a Law360 article regarding the evolving state of class action litigation following the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) and 2011 Concepcion decision. According to Henn, “There’s a level of attention that courts pay to certification decisions now that makes them much more predictable now that class actions are increasingly brought in ...
May 2017, Pratt's Government Contracting Law Report
April 27, 2017
LONDON—Covington will significantly expand its Project Development and Finance practice with the addition of Ben Donovan, Agnieszka Klich, Richard Keenan, and David Miles, and the firm’s Middle East regional capabilities in corporate and dispute resolution matters with the addition of Jack Greenwald. With these additions, the firm will also open offices in Dubai ...
April 27, 2017, Legal Week
Timothy Hester is quoted in a Legal Week article regarding the expansion of Covington's Project Finance practice with the arrival of four new partners and the opening of offices in Dubai and Johannesburg. According to Hester, “We have been focused on building our project finance capabilities for many years, and these opportunities fit very well with that ...
April 27, 2017, The Lawyer
Timothy Hester and Graham Vinter are quoted by The Lawyer in an article regarding the expansion of Covington's Project Finance practice with the arrival of four new partners and the opening of offices in Dubai and Johannesburg. According to Hester, “We have been looking to build our project finance team for a long time." He adds, "This group became available to ...
April 27, 2017, Commercial Dispute Resolution
Louise Freeman spoke on a panel at CDR’s Spring Competition Litigation Symposium and is quoted in a Commercial Dispute Resolution article regarding the role of expert evidence in class action proceedings and how lawyers can work effectively with economists and industry experts. According to Freeman, “Lawyers need to think a little bit more before getting ...
April 27, 2017, IJ Global
Graham Vinter is quoted in an IJ Global article regarding the expansion of Covington's Project Finance practice with the arrival of four new partners and the opening of offices in Dubai and Johannesburg. According to Vinter, “We already have strong ties in the Middle East and North Africa region and want to be at the table when countries in that region launch ...
April 27, 2017, The American Lawyer
Timothy Hester is quoted in an American Lawyer article regarding the expansion of Covington's Project Finance practice with the arrival of four new partners and the opening of offices in Dubai and Johannesburg. According to Hester, the firm’s Chadbourne recruits in Dubai and Johannesburg will create a bridge between Covington’s outposts in Africa, Asia, Europe ...
April 26, 2017
SAN FRANCISCO—The Daily Journal has named Covington partner Gretchen Hoff Varner one of its “Top 40 Under 40” lawyers in California. The Daily Journal praised Ms. Hoff Varner for her insurance coverage practice, which has successfully recovered millions of dollars from insurers on behalf of a diverse array of clients. The profile also highlighted Ms. Hoff ...
SILICON VALLEY—Silicon Valley Business Journal has named Covington partner Emily Henn to its annual “Women of Influence” list, honoring “100 of the most influential business women in Silicon Valley.” Ms. Henn serves as co-chair of the firm’s Class Action Litigation Practice, specializing in defending antitrust, consumer, and other types of class actions. Ms. ...
April 26, 2017, Commercial Dispute Resolution
Elaine Whiteford chaired a panel at CDR's Spring Litigation Symposium on the European Union Directive on Antitrust Damages Actions and is quoted in a Commercial Dispute Resolution article. According to Whiteford, the Directive provides that national courts are able to order the defendant, the claimant or a third party to disclose relevant evidence. “The ...
April 21, 2017, Covington Alert
On April 20, 2017, President Trump issued a memorandum announcing that the Secretary of Commerce had initiated an investigation to determine the effects of imported steel on national security. The investigation was initiated under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended. While it remains to be seen what actions the Administration might ...
April 20, 2017, Law360
Earlier this month, in Maloney v. T3Media Inc.,[1] the Ninth Circuit held that former college athletes could not assert a right of publicity to prevent the NCAA and its licensee, T3Media, from distributing images of the players. The court ruled that the players’ right of publicity was preempted by Section 301 of the Copyright Act because photographs of the ...
April 19, 2017, Law360
President Donald Trump took a significant step this week toward implementing his often touted objective of protecting U.S. manufacturers and workers by signing the “Presidential Executive Order on Buy American and Hire American” on April 18, 2017. In addition to addressing reforms to the H1-B visa program to protect U.S. workers, the EO sets forth a policy and ...
April 19, 2017, American Bar Association
Two things seem to be relatively certain in the Trump Administration: Federal government contracting will continue, and as a result, there still will be disputes between federal agencies and contractors. In fact, based on reports about increasing infrastructure and defense spending, some areas of government contracting may even be on the rise. This is Part 1 of ...
April 18, 2017, Covington Alert
Last Thursday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the Affordable Care Act (ACA) market stabilization rule, which it originally proposed in February, 82 Fed. Reg. 10,980 (Feb. 17, 2017). This final rule was published today in the Federal Register and will become effective on June 19, 2017. 82 Fed. Reg. 18,346. The final rule includes ...
April 16, 2017, The Litigation Daily
The Litigation Daily highlights Covington’s representation of Roche in the ongoing Accutane litigation, which recently saw a momentous defense ruling, likely leading to the dismissal of the nearly 3,000 remaining cases. Covington’s Product Liability team is led by Paul Schmidt and Michael Imbroscio.
April 11, 2017, Covington Alert
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has adopted amendments to its rules and forms that will require companies filing registration statements and reports subject to the exhibit requirements of Item 601 of Regulation S-K to include an active hyperlink to each exhibit listed in the exhibit index, whether or not the exhibit is incorporated by ...
April 11, 2017, Law360
April 10, 2017, Commercial Dispute Resolution
Andrea Reister is quoted in a Commercial Dispute Resolution article regarding the arrival of Peter Chen and Scott Kamholz to the firm’s Patent Office Trials Practice. According to Reister, “Virtually all significant patent litigation matters involve co-pending IPRs, so having a strong patent office trials practice with a deep bench of senior attorneys is ...
April 6, 2017
NEW YORK—Covington has partnered for the second year with Columbia Law School and its Center for International Commercial and Investment Arbitration to hold the Covington Academy on International Arbitration (CAIA). The program is open to Columbia’s J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. students. The three-day program consists of training followed by practical exercises and ...
April 6, 2017, Public Contracting Institute
April 3, 2017, Litigation Daily
Andrea Reister is quoted in a Litigation Daily article regarding the arrival of Peter Chen and Scott Kamholz to Covington’s Patent Office Trials Practice. According to Reister, “We are thrilled to add Peter and Scott to our team as we expect the demand for patent office trials to continue to grow in the coming years.”
April 2017, The American Lawyer
Covington’s successful representation of McKesson in a trade secrets case with half a billion dollars at stake is featured in The American Lawyer’s “Big Suits” section. According to Clara Shin, "In addition to showing [PSKW] was not able to prove their case, we used documents we found to tell an affirmative story that [McKesson] developed" the co-pay method on ...
March 31, 2017, The Recorder
Scott Kamholz, Peter Chen, and Andrea Reister are quoted by The Recorder in an article regarding the recent additions to the firm’s Patent Office Trials Practice Group. According to Kamholz, Covington’s team stood out for its sophistication. “I was very impressed with their level of skill and preparation, and I found through working that case with them that we ...
March 31, 2017, The National Law Journal
The National Law Journal featured Robert Kelner and highlighted his representation of General Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former National Security Advisor. According to Marc Elias, former general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, Kelner is “a first rate criminal defense lawyer” and Flynn “wisely chose.” Kelner has significant experience ...
March 30, 2017
SILICON VALLEY—Former Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) judges Peter Chen and Scott Kamholz have joined Covington’s Patent Office Trials Practice. Mr. Chen and Dr. Kamholz are the only former PTAB judges to enter private practice who have overseen Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011 (AIA) trial proceedings from institution through final decision. Peter ...
March 30, 2017, Daily Journal
Simon Frankel and Peter Chen are quoted in a Daily Journal article regarding the arrival of Chen and Scott Kamholz to the firm’s Patent Office Trials Practice. According to Frankel, while the firm’s patent litigation activity spans the coasts, most of its patent office practice has been based in Washington D.C. Chen’s addition will help expand the firm’s patent ...
March 30, 2017, Law360
Andrea Reister, Peter Chen, and Scott Kamholz are quoted in a Law360 article regarding the recent additions to the firm’s Patent Office Trials Practice Group. According to Reister, “We are thrilled to add Peter and Scott to our team as we expect the demand for Patent Office trials to continue to grow in the coming years. Their experience in the high-tech and ...
March 29, 2017, The Wall Street Journal
Ian Hargreaves is quoted in The Wall Street Journal’s “Morning Risk Report” regarding the UK Ministry of Justice’s consultation on whether to create new legislation to cover failure to prevent economic crime. According to Hargreaves, “To be required to introduce further systems and controls covering a wide ranging area of economic or financial crime, in addition ...
March 29, 2017, Commercial Dispute Resolution
Ian Hargreaves is quoted in a Commercial Dispute Resolution article regarding the UK Serious Fraud Office’s deferred prosecution agreement with Tesco PLC for false accounting practices. According to Hargreaves, the FCA compensation scheme is of particular interest. “Although we are not privy to the details of the compensation package offered to shareholders and ...
March 29, 2017, Global Competition Review
Elaine Whiteford was a panelist at GCR Live Cartels and is quoted by Global Competition Review in an article regarding ways in which EU member state judges could avoid provisions in the EU’s Damages Directive. Whiteford said European Commission and EU member state enforcers’ decisions being binding on courts is a phrase that “trips very easily off the tongue – ...
March 28, 2017, Law360
Ian Hargreaves is quoted in a Law360 article regarding the UK Serious Fraud Office’s $161 million deferred prosecution agreement with Tesco PLC for skewing the prices of its shares and bonds with false accounting. “The arrangement with the [Financial Conduct Authority] is of particular interest,” says Hargreaves. “Although we are not privy to the details of the ...
March 26, 2017, Law360
March 24, 2017, Covington Alert
In a highly anticipated copyright decision issued on March 22, the Supreme Court held that the designs on Varsity Brands’ cheerleading uniforms are eligible for copyright protection. In reaching that ruling, the Court set out a standard that aims to harmonize a multitude of tests across the country.
March 20, 2017, The National Law Journal
Ben Razi is quoted by The National Law Journal in an article about clients who make bold, public statements and how they can impact litigation. According to Razi, it's crucial to be aware of any and all public statements a client made before taking a litigation position. He adds that if lawyers aren't aware of every word, they risk "taking a position that's ...
March 15, 2017, The National Law Journal
Beth Brinkmann is quoted by The National Law Journal in an article regarding a research project uncovering how many women argued at the Supreme Court throughout its history. Brinkmann, who clerked for Justice Harry Blackmun in the October 1986-87 term, recalls seeing “dozens” of female advocates at the lectern for arguments. According to Brinkmann, seeing women ...
March 13, 2017, The Street
Arlo Devlin-Brown is quoted by The Street in an article regarding the removal of Preet Bharara from his position as U.S. Attorney General of the Southern District of New York by the Trump Administration and its effect on the future of financial enforcement prosecutions. According to Devlin-Brown, "Historically, U.S. attorneys for the Southern District of New ...
March 13, 2017, Law360
Arlo Devlin-Brown is quoted in a Law360 article regarding the effect of the removal of Preet Bharara from his position as U.S. Attorney General of the Southern District of New York on the independence of the Office. "[Bharara] wasn’t afraid of losing, and I think that made a big difference and inspired confidence in the prosecutors who worked for him," says ...
March 9, 2017, Law360
March 8, 2017, Law360
Scott Kamholz is quoted in a Law360 article regarding the impact of allowing patent owners to present expert testimony in their responses to America Invents Act review petitions. According to Kamholz, “Generally speaking, if the patent owner's witness is just contradicting the petitioner’s witness ... then the [Patent Trial and Appeal Board] would tend to order ...
March 2017, Washington Lawyer
Mythili Raman was profiled by Washington Lawyer in its feature, “How Challenges & Strengths Shape Careers.” Reflecting both on her time at the Department of Justice and at Covington, Raman says, “Even as a young lawyer, it never occurred to me that my gender would be an impediment. For better or worse, I never thought about my gender as anything but what makes ...
March 6, 2017, Business Insurance
Lindsay Burke is quoted in a Business Insurance article regarding the risks associated with internal office chat applications. “People think of it as a casual form of communication,” Burke says, “and they forget that it’s business and usually the company is keeping a record of the communication. And if the company finds itself in litigation, then the discovery ...
March 4, 2017, ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Seminar
March 2, 2017, Covington Alert
The Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) quietly released new guidance last month entitled “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs” (the “Guidance”). While noting that “the Fraud Section does not use any rigid formula to assess the effectiveness of corporate compliance programs,” the eight-page Guidance outlines 11 “Sample Topics and ...
March 1, 2017, Commercial Dispute Resolution
Elaine Whiteford and Louise Freeman spoke at Commercial Dispute Resolution’s second Spring Competition Litigation Symposium on the EU Damages Directive and are mentioned in an article providing highlights from the event. According to Freeman, lawyers should enable economists to give the best evidence they can, emphasizing that the same lawyers should completely ...
March 1, 2017, Law360
February 27, 2017
WASHINGTON—Law360 has named four Covington practice groups among its “Practice Groups of the Year.” The practice groups recognized by Law360 are as follows: International Trade Life Sciences Product Liability Sports
NEW YORK—Latinvex has named Covington partners Gabriel Mesa and Nicole Duclos among “Latin America’s Top 100 Lawyers” in 2017. Mr. Mesa counsels corporations in joint ventures and private mergers and acquisitions in Latin America and other emerging markets, as well as in the United States. A client described Mr. Mesa as "an excellent lawyer,” noting that his ...
February 24, 2017, Law360
Law360 highlights Covington’s successful representation of Efans Trading Corporation in a civil forfeiture case against the U.S. Government. “Justice took a long time here, but it was finally done,” says Bruce Baird. “The government should never have brought a case like this and the jury essentially told them so.” The Covington team was led by partners Ben Razi ...
February 23, 2017, The Litigation Daily
Ben Razi and Bruce Baird were named “Litigators of the Week” by The Litigation Daily for successfully representing Efans Trading Corporation in a civil forfeiture case against the U.S. Government. Following a seven-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Polk Failla in the Southern District of New York, the Covington team persuaded the jury that the ...
February 23, 2017, The New York Times
The New York Times highlights Covington’s successful representation of Efans Trading Corporation in a civil forfeiture case against the U.S. Government in a “rare courtroom defeat.” “We are grateful that the jury saw this case for the government overreach that it was,” says Ben Razi. “Even with the victory they deserved, this case took a tremendous toll on our ...
February 22, 2017, Covington Advisory
Selections of Covington’s Intellectual Property Rights Practice Group for the “Top Ten” most significant and interesting developments in U.S. trademark, false advertising, and right of publicity law during 2016.
Selections of Covington’s Intellectual Property Rights Practice Group for the “Top Ten” most significant and interesting developments in U.S. and European copyright law during 2016.
February 15, 2017
John Hall and Deborah Garza are quoted in a Commercial Dispute Resolution article regarding likely litigation challenges in 2017. According to Hall, Covington’s workload is at historic highs, with “no sign of that upward trend abating,” noting that the changing legal and regulatory environment would continue to create demand. Commenting on antitrust and the ...
February 15, 2017, E-Discovery Webinar
February 13, 2017, Law360
Law360 highlights Covington’s successful representation of McKesson in relation to a trade secrets case with half a billion dollars at stake. According to Clara Shin, “We’re gratified by the court’s judgment, which confirms McKesson independently developed its LoyaltyScript product.” The Covington team also included Nathan Shafroth, Robert Haslam, Christopher ...
February 13, 2017, Litigation Daily
Litigation Daily highlights Covington’s successful representation of McKesson in relation to a trade secrets case with half a billion dollars at stake. According to Clara Shin, "In addition to showing [PSKW] was not able to prove their case, we used documents we found to tell an affirmative story that [McKesson] developed" the co-pay method on its own. She adds, ...
February 10, 2017
SAN FRANCISCO—The BTI Consulting Group has named Covington lawyers John Nields and Clara Shin to its 2017 “Client Service All-Stars” list, which recognizes “remarkable attorneys and their ability to rise above all others with the most demanding clients.” Mr. Nields, based in Washington, is a highly regarded trial lawyer and member of the firm’s litigation and ...
SAN FRANCISCO—After being retained just months before trial, Covington obtained a complete defense victory for a subsidiary of McKesson Corporation in a trade secrets bench trial in which plaintiff sought damages of nearly half a billion dollars. In a lawsuit commenced in 2007, plaintiff PSKW accused McKesson of using its “new payment method” to develop ...
February 10, 2017, Law360
Law360 selected Covington’s Life Sciences practice as a “Practice Group of the Year,” highlighting the firm’s involvement in billion-dollar transactions, success in contentious litigation, and regulatory advice on cutting-edge technology. According to Michael Labson, “What we offer and bring to complicated, complex issues is a mixture of deep subject-matter ...
February 9, 2017, Intellectual Property Magazine
Simon Frankel and Jacqueline Charlesworth are quoted by Intellectual Property Magazine in an article regarding Charlesworth’s recent arrival. According to Frankel, “Jacqueline’s experience includes a rare combination of litigation, transactional and policy work in both public service and private practice.” He adds, “At a time of significant technological ...
February 9, 2017, Law360
Mónica Ramírez Almadani and James Garland are quoted in a Law360 article regarding Almadani’s arrival to the firm’s Litigation and White Collar Defense and Investigations practices. “As someone who’s never worked at a law firm, I was looking for the right mix of talented attorneys with whom I could work and also a real sense of creativity and innovation,” says ...
February 9, 2017, Commercial Dispute Resolution
Simon Frankel is quoted in a Commercial Dispute Resolution article regarding Jacqueline Charlesworth’s arrival to Covington. “Jacqueline’s experience includes a rare combination of litigation, transactional and policy work in both public service and private practice,” says Frankel. “At a time of significant technological developments and potential revisions to ...
February 8, 2017
LOS ANGELES—Mónica Ramírez Almadani has joined Covington in the firm’s Litigation and White Collar Defense and Investigations practices in Los Angeles. Ms. Almadani most recently served as Special Assistant Attorney General in the California Department of Justice, where she acted as a senior advisor to former California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris. As a ...
February 8, 2017, IPWatchdog
Simon Frankel and Jacqueline Charlesworth are quoted in an IPWatchdog article regarding Charlesworth’s recent arrival to Covington’s Intellectual Property Rights and Communications and Media practices. “Jacqueline’s experience includes a rare combination of litigation, transactional and policy work in both public service and private practice,” says Frankel. “At ...
February 7, 2017, Law360
Jacqueline Charlesworth and Simon Frankel are quoted in a Law360 article regarding Charlesworth’s arrival to Covington’s Intellectual Property Rights and Communications and Media practices. According to Charlesworth, the firm’s outstanding legal talent and highly collaborative culture drew her to Covington. “And, even though I am based in New York, I will have ...
February 6, 2017
NEW YORK—Jacqueline C. Charlesworth has joined Covington’s Intellectual Property Rights and Communications and Media practices in the New York office. She most recently served as General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights of the U.S. Copyright Office. While at the Copyright Office, Ms. Charlesworth had primary responsibility for interpretation of the ...
February 6, 2017, Law360
Beth Brinkmann is quoted in a Law360 article regarding her recent arrival to Covington’s Appellate and Supreme Court Practice Group. According to Brinkmann, “The teamwork and collaboration at Covington is incredible and the strength of its appellate practice attracted me to the firm.”
February 3, 2017, Global Investigations Review
Ian Hargreaves and David Lorello are quoted in a Global Investigations Review article regarding Hargreaves’ recent arrival to Covington. According to Hargreaves, the firm’s “pre-eminence in dispute resolution, and its immense strength and global recognition as a market-leader in white-collar crime matters and investigations” fueled his decision. Lorello says, ...
February 2, 2017, Commercial Dispute Resolution
Beth Brinkmann and Robert Long are quoted in a Commercial Dispute Resolution article regarding Brinkmann’s arrival to Covington’s Appellate and Supreme Court Practice Group. Citing “Covington’s long history litigating important cases in the Supreme Court,” Brinkmann says she looks forward to the opportunity to help expand the appellate practice. According to ...
February 2017, The American Lawyer
Eric Mogilnicki was featured as a “Lateral All-Star” in The American Lawyer’s Lateral Report, recognizing his move to Covington as one of the “most notable and intriguing” in 2016.
February 1, 2017, The Litigation Daily
The Litigation Daily features Beth Brinkmann, Craig Pollack, and Louise Freeman in an article about the “Top Lateral Litigator Moves in January.” Commenting on her move to Covington, Brinkmann says that the firm “turned out to be just a really unique opportunity,” praising its “culture of teamwork” and “longstanding presence in the legal community.” Alex ...
February 1, 2017, Global Investigations Review
Arlo Devlin-Brown is quoted by Global Investigations Review in an article analyzing the rise in the number of large corporate settlements found in this year’s “GIR Enforcement Scorecard.” According to Devlin-Brown, once the DOJ finds evidence of misconduct at one institution, it often investigates if the same kind of wrongdoing is taking place at similar ...
February 1, 2017, Covington Alert
In response to the Insurance Act 2015, insurers may increasingly include conditions precedent in their policies in place of warranties, whose effect the Act has weakened. In the recent case of Zurich Insurance Plc v Maccaferri Limited [2016] EWHC Civ 1302, the Court of Appeal in London made clear that an ambiguous condition precedent must be interpreted strictly ...
January 31, 2017
WASHINGTON—Beth Brinkmann has joined Covington as a partner in the firm’s Appellate and Supreme Court Practice Group in Washington. Ms. Brinkmann served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2009 to 2016. She has argued 24 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. Ms. Brinkmann is an ...
LONDON—Ian Hargreaves has joined Covington as a partner in the firm’s European Dispute Resolution practice resident in London. Mr. Hargreaves’ arrival follows that of litigation partners Craig Pollack, Greg Lascelles, Elaine Whiteford, and Louise Freeman over the past six months. Mr. Hargreaves advises on major European white collar and related civil and ...
January 31, 2017, The National Law Journal
Beth Brinkmann is quoted by The National Law Journal in an article regarding her arrival to Covington’s Appellate and Supreme Court Practice Group. "Covington turned out to be just a really unique opportunity," Brinkmann says. The firm is "a longstanding presence in the legal community," she adds, praising the "culture of teamwork."
January 31, 2017, Compliance Reporter
David Kornblau is quoted in a Compliance Reporter article regarding industry’s reaction to the SEC’s 2017 examination priorities. “I think everybody is waiting with bated breath to see if the priorities and philosophy of the agency will take a different direction once Clayton and other commissioners are confirmed,” says Kornblau. “We are all in a guessing game ...
Winter 2017, Covington Alert
Anti-corruption enforcement is at a crossroads. In many respects, global anti-corruption enforcement has never been more active. The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in 2016 collected a total of $2.41 billion through FCPA enforcement actions against 27 corporate defendants, including through their share ...
January 30, 2017, New York Law Journal
January 27, 2017, Law360
Law360 selected Covington’s International Trade practice as a “Practice Group of the Year,” profiling the team’s involvement in billions of dollars worth of transactions, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations, and sensitive national security trade reviews. “Our practice in general is distinguished by the sheer number of former senior enforcement officials ...
January 23, 2017, Financial Times
Richard Mattick is quoted in a Financial Times article regarding concerns raised about whether claims on insurance policies will be met following the Buffett-AIG deal. According to Mattick, “This deal would merit close monitoring from policyholders to see how claims are handled under the new deal and ensure that policyholders have options for recourse should ...
January 19, 2017, Law360
January 17, 2017, Law360
Alex Leitch and Jeremy Wilson are quoted in a Law360 article regarding the arrival of Craig Pollack and Louise Freeman to the firm’s European Dispute Resolution practice. According to Leitch and Wilson, “The firm’s growing footprint in London is a reflection of client demand that is fueled by the increasingly challenging regulatory and compliance environment, ...
Law360 selected Covington’s Product Liability practice as a “Practice Group of the Year,” profiling the team’s defense of Takata in litigation over potentially explosive airbags and Bayer Healthcare in multidistrict litigation (MDL) over Mirena IUDs, among other matters. According to Paul Schmidt, the firm’s range of work showcases its diversity of ...
January 17, 2017, Global Competition Review
Louise Freeman and Johan Ysewyn are quoted in a Global Competition Review article regarding Freeman’s arrival to the firm’s European Dispute Resolution practice. According to Freeman, Covington is an exciting firm to join – especially as the firm is “expanding at a phenomenal rate.” She adds, “It’s going to be great fun educating the London market on what is ...
January 16, 2017
LONDON—Craig Pollack and Louise Freeman have joined Covington as partners in the firm’s European Dispute Resolution practice resident in London. Mr. Pollack will also serve as co-chair of the firm’s Global Disputes Initiative with former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and former U.S. Under Secretary of State Alan Larson. Mr. Pollack focuses on complex high ...
January 4, 2017, Covington Alert
One piece of the ongoing debate over the Securities and Exchange Commission’s use of Administrative Law Judges to adjudicate enforcement actions may be heading to the U.S. Supreme Court. On December 27, 2016, in Bandimere v. SEC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit invalidated SEC sanctions against an individual on the ground that the ALJ who ...
January 3, 2017
WASHINGTON—Law360 has named six Covington lawyers as MVPs in their respective practice areas. The awards single out lawyers from across various practice areas based on their “success in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters, and record-breaking deals.” The Covington lawyers recognized as Law360 MVPs are: Shara Aranoff, International Trade. Ms. ...
January 3, 2017, Covington Alert
On December 29, 2016, General Cable Corporation (“GCC”), a global manufacturer of wire and cable products, agreed to pay approximately $75.8 million in connection with a non-prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and a cease and desist order with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to settle allegations that it violated the ...
Winter 2017, Information Law Journal
2017, International Comparative Legal Guide to: Enforcement of Foreign Judgments 2017
December 28, 2016
BEIJING—Asian Legal Business has named Covington partner Ruixue Ran as one of its fifteen “Top IP Lawyers” in China. Ms. Ran is the only lawyer from a non-Chinese law firm on the list. Ms. Ran is one of the few Chinese lawyers who specialize in cross-border intellectual property law and is often called upon to share her knowledge with Chinese companies and ...
December 28, 2016, American Banker
Ethan Levisohn is quoted in American Banker regarding the potential restructuring of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under President-elect Trump and the new Congress. Ethan comments on the PHH Corp. v. CFPB case, which in October found that the CFPB’s single-director structure is unconstitutional. According to Levisohn, PHH may have clipped the bureau's ...
December 21, 2016, Law360
Law360 selected Michael Imbroscio as a 2016 Product Liability MVP and profiled his mass tort defense victories over the past year, which scored notable wins for Eli Lilly, Roche, Bayer, and others. According to Imbroscio, “I think our success is driven by our ability to zero in on the key legal and factual issues in a case and drive the litigation to focus on ...
Law360 selected Derek Ludwin as a 2016 Sports MVP and profiled his work over the past year, including his defense of the U.S. Olympic Committee against an antitrust challenge to its longtime ban on on-field advertising brought by Olympic runner Nick Symmonds through his company, Run Gum. “This is an organization that a lot of us grew up following. It’s the ...
December 19, 2016, Law360
December 14, 2016, Covington Alert
Those who track investment policy issues will have noticed an important theme emerging in recent years of Western economies evaluating their foreign investment regimes, in particular in light of the outflow from China into technology, infrastructure and natural resource assets. The UK is now considering, and is expected to adopt, a new foreign investment regime ...
December 12, 2016, Law360
Peter Hutt II is quoted in a Law360 article providing a roundup of the most significant government contracts cases of 2016. According to Hutt, "Escobar is the case of the decade. ... [Its] effects will continue to ripple.”
December 9, 2016, Law360
Law360 selected Shara Aranoff as a 2016 International Trade MVP and profiled her work over the past year, including her representation of South32 and Union Pacific Railroad Co. at the ITC. Law360 also highlights Aranoff’s ongoing defense of China’s Baosteel Group in a Section 337 case, the first antitrust-based investigation at the ITC in more than 25 ...
December 8, 2016, Covington Alert
On December 6, 2016, in the first insider trading case the Supreme Court has decided in nearly two decades, the Court, in Salman v. United States, unanimously upheld a conviction for trading based on material non-public information provided by the defendant’s brother-in-law as a gift. The decision was a big win for the Department of Justice and the Securities ...
December 6, 2016, Fortune
Arlo Devlin-Brown is quoted in a Fortune article regarding the significance of the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the insider trading conviction of Bassam Salman. “The government was concerned because [the Newman decision] would have left large holes in the insider trading law,” says Devlin-Brown. “Salman largely fixes that.” Devlin-Brown adds, however, ...
December 6, 2016, Reuters
Arlo Devlin-Brown is quoted by Reuters in an article regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Salman case which makes it easier to prosecute insider trading cases. According to Devlin-Brown, the decision also "leaves open the question of whether someone who is at the boundaries of what would be considered a real friend could count, like a minor acquaintance."
December 6, 2016, The Wall Street Journal
Arlo Devlin-Brown is quoted by The Wall Street Journal in an article regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Salman case which restores some of the power the government lost in a 2014 federal case relating to insider trading prosecutions. According to Devlin-Brown, “The problem with the word friend is that it is very elastic. People have dozens of Facebook ...
December 6, 2016, Law360
Arlo Devlin-Brown is quoted in a Law360 article regarding the significance of the Supreme Court’s insider trading case involving Bassam Salman. According to Devlin-Brown, “I think it’s a big win for the DOJ and the SEC, and it really clears a path towards more aggressive insider trading enforcement.” Devlin-Brown adds that the holding in Salman covers “nearly ...
December 5, 2016