Complex Federal and Commercial Litigation

The attorneys in our complex federal and commercial litigation practice group possess experience with a wide range of federal and state litigation, including:

• Class actions, collective actions, derivative actions, and other aggregate and multi-party cases;
• Civil and criminal antitrust litigation and government investigations;
• ERISA fiduciary liability and benefits litigation, including stock drop, plan conversion, prohibited transaction, and anti-inurement cases, as well as U.S. Department of Labor investigations;
• Federal securities law claims involving securities fraud, Investment Advisor Act claims, proxy and corporate takeover disputes, corporate governance claims, and FINRA proceedings;
• False Claims Act (qui tam) investigations and litigation;
• Whistleblower litigation before OSHA and in federal court under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act;
• Intellectual property litigation, including patent, trademark and copyright infringement cases;
• FLSA and state law wage-and-hour litigation;
• Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) claims;
• Trade secret misappropriation cases;
• Consumer fraud litigation; and
• Major bankruptcy court adversary proceedings.

The litigators in Bond’s complex federal and commercial litigation practice have built an extensive record of successful engagements which include:

• Obtained jury verdict for trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition and breach of contract and an award of compensatory and punitive damages in the amount of $2.65 million.  Spindler v. North American Transmission Forum, et al., 5:15-cv-00779 (2018).
• National Waste Associates v. Waste Harmonics, 194 A.3d 1, 183 Conn.App. 734 (2018) – represented defendant Waste Harmonics -- alleged causes of action for breach of non-solicitation and non-compete clauses, trade secret misappropriation, economic interference claims – verdict in favor of defendant Waste Harmonics on all claims after bench trial; decision upheld on appeal.
• Obtained temporary restraining order restraining former franchisee from violating restrictive covenant.  New Horizons Educ. Corp. v. Krolak Tech. Mgmt of Syracuse, LLC, 2018 U.S. Dist LEXIS 180550 (N.D.N.Y. 2018).
• Obtained preliminary injunction restraining tax return preparer from violating restrictive covenant.  HRB Resources d/b/a H&R Block v. Schon, 6:19-cv-00339-MAD-TWD (N.D.N.Y. Apr. 25, 2019).
• Defended energy service companies in putative consumer class actions alleging overcharges.  Gonzales v. Agway Energy Servs., LLC, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180307 (10/22/18).
• Defended financial services and other companies in putative class actions brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.  
  • Lackawanna Chiropractic P.C. v. Tivity Health Support, LLC, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10631 (1/22/19);
  • Ruffrano v. HSBC Fin. Corp., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 132674 (8/1/17).
• Successfully prosecuted a breach of patent license agreement for an international lighting solutions company in the Southern District of New York.
• Secured dismissal of a qui tam relator’s claims for failing to reimburse the government for payments made to Medicare beneficiaries in violation of the Medicare Secondary Payer Act under the False Claims Act.  
  • United States ex rel. Takemoto v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 674 Fed. Appx. 92 (2d Cir. 2017); 
  • United States ex rel. Takemoto v. Hartford Fin. Servs. Grp., 157 Supp. 3d 273 (WDNY 2016);
  • United States ex rel. Takemoto v. ACE, Ltd., 157 F. Supp. 3d 273 (WDNY 2015).
• Secured dismissal biotech company in suit alleging antitrust violations relating to termination of distribution agreements. Rochester Drug Coop., Inc. v. Biogen Idec U.S. Corp., 130 F. Supp. 3d 764 (WDNY 2015).
• Obtained early dismissal of three direct purchaser antitrust class actions against major agricultural cooperative.
• Obtained summary judgment on all counts for a large utility, in a case brought by a group of employees asserting claims of contractual vesting, promissory estoppel, breach of fiduciary duties, anti-inurement violations and prohibited transactions allegedly arising out of an amendment to the company’s retiree welfare benefits platform.
• Obtained a preliminary injunction against a multi-national conglomerate on behalf of a local medical products manufacturer in a trademark infringement action the New York Law Journal called a case of “David versus Goliath.”
• Defended medical technology company against retaliation complaint under the whistleblower provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as amended by the Dodd- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, filed first with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and then in federal district court.
• Successful representation of regional airline company and its officers and directors through trial and appeal against direct and derivative claims by ESOP participants asserting breach of fiduciary duty and prohibited transaction claims under ERISA and state law claims for breach of contract and corporate waste.
• Obtained summary judgment (affirmed on appeal) dismissing an FLSA “off the clock” – donning and doffing collective action.