January 14, 2020 - Please click to download the PDF version of the Litigation Wrap: Second Half 2020.
Key Win for Denmark
Bill Maguire, Marc Weinstein and Neil Oxford led the HHR team that won a critical ruling for the government of Denmark in its international lawsuit seeking to recover $2.1 billion stolen in a pension fund scheme. On Dec. 21, a New York federal court denied a U.S. pension plan's request to be dismissed from the lawsuit, ruling that SKAT, the Danish Tax Authority, pleaded sufficient allegations of common-law fraud against the Goldstein Law Group PC 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan, trustee Sheldon Goldstein and Scott Goldstein, a participant in the plan.
Victory in Patent-Antitrust Litigation
Jim Dabney, Patrice Jean and Richard Koehl secured a major victory for Cipla Ltd. and Cipla USA, Inc. in patent-antitrust litigation arising from an attempt by two Cipla competitors, Amgen and Teva, to expand the scope of an Amgen patent by means of an agreed "consent judgment." In July 2020, after having successfully opposed issuance of the requested "consent judgment" in both the district court and the Federal Circuit, Cipla secured final, unrestricted rights to import and sell a generic version of Sensipar, a pharmaceutical product that yielded $1.8 billion in revenues in 2018.
Disability Discrimination Suit Tossed
Robb Patryk and Amina Hassan achieved a decisive win for American University of Antigua (AUA) and Manipal Education Americas (MEA) when a New York federal judge dismissed a disability discrimination suit brought by a medical student over her academic dismissal from AUA. The student, who has dyslexia, was granted extra time to take a series of exams administered by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), necessary to pass before applying for residencies at hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. After failing the test five times despite receiving extra time, she was dismissed from the University.
Trademark Litigation Victory
Jim Dabney, Patrice Jean and Emma Baratta won summary judgment for Citizens Equity First Credit Union (CEFCU) in a trademark litigation brought by San Diego County Credit Union (SDCCU). SDCCU's suit alleged that CEFCU procured U.S. Reg. No. 3,952,993 by "false or fraudulent" means. In September 2020, following more than two years of discovery, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel granted summary judgment dismissing SDCCU's claim as unsupported by any admissible probative evidence.
Pro Bono Case Victory
Félix de Belloy obtained a pro bono victory for 11 victims of police misconduct in a civil lawsuit against the French government. The allegations included verbal, physical and sexual assault during unjustified identity checks, intense frisks, arbitrary arrests and discrimination. The complaint marked the first collective action in France to tackle abusive identity checks, a problem that disproportionately targets youths of Arab or African origin.
Restitution in NYC Art Fraud
In September 2020 on behalf of European art dealer Killala Fine Art Ltd. and a member of the Kuwaiti royal family, Dan Weiner obtained substantial payments from the restitution fund established by the U.S. Department of Justice arising from the largest-ever art fraud in New York City's history. According to the DOJ, the Knoedler Art Gallery and Julian Weissman Gallery sold $80 million of forged artwork over a decade-long period ending in 2011.
Law360 Honors Arbitration Group
HHR's International Arbitration team was named a 2020 "Practice Group of the Year" by Law360. The award honors firms behind the wins that resonated throughout the legal industry in the past year. Law360 highlighted the team's victories before the Swiss Supreme Court upholding arbitration awards finding that the Ukraine-Russia bilateral investment treaty applies to Ukrainian investments in Crimea, as well as the firm's representation of the co-executor of Jeffrey Epstein's estate in establishing a widely acclaimed, independently administered compensation fund for accusers of the late financier.
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