The firm represented a client who had a claim based upon an oral contract for the purchase of securities. The client had been informed by a large Chicago law firm that because the agreement was not in writing, he could not enforce it. We obtained a unique, unprecedented decision from the Circuit Court of Cook County confirming that, under the Uniform Commercial Code, oral contracts involving purchase and sale of securities were enforceable. We tried the case and obtained a $6.5 Million judgment, which we then settled favorably and promptly for our client.
The firm represented a young lady who claimed the premise of the popular television show Fantasy Island had been stolen from her. She went to many trademark and copyright lawyers and was told that she had no case. The firm sued Spelling Goldberg, the well-known producers of the show and ABC Television on her behalf. In the course of discovery, we demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of theft and after having successfully fended off a motion for summary judgment, we were able to settle the case for the entire amount of the substantial insurance proceeds.
The firm represented a small manufacturer whose business was severely threatened by a massive advertising campaign funded by Bristol-Myers, the leader in the market in which the company competed. We challenged the television commercials administratively before the various networks and also in a State Court lawsuit claiming trade libel. We tried the case in the Illinois state courts and obtained an unprecedented injunction against two network television stations (ABC and NBC) showing the commercials and recovered for the client all of his lost sales. Prior to our having taken the case, the client had received a legal opinion that he had no case and that he would have serious difficulty in enjoining a commercial on television for constitutional reasons.
The firm was hired by several of the departing partners during the breakup of the Trammell Crow real estate organization to help them recoup their partnership equity. Under the terms of their partnership agreement, these funds were not supposed to be available to them until up to 20 years after their departure. We succeeded in obtaining distribution in full for our clients in less than five months.
The firm was able to achieve a substantial multi-million dollar settlement for our clients by successfully obtaining a Delaware Chancery Court ruling on the issue of which proxies could be voted by testamentary trustees in a meeting of shareholders. At the time we secured the decision, all other lawyers who had advised the client advised that the law was to the contrary.
The firm tried a complicated real estate brokerage commission case and obtained (for the first time, we believe, in Illinois), prejudgment interest in a contract case. The case was then settled favorably for our client pending appeal.
The firm represented the holder of complicated technology rights to coal waste products. When referred to our office, the client had sketchy documentation and had been told by his former lawyers that he had no case. We were successful in constructing a unique legal theory and, shortly before trial, obtained a multi-million dollar settlement from the entity that had earlier refused to acknowledge his rights.
The firm was retained by an American Indian tribe that was operating what the United States government deemed an illegal casino. Through a series of negotiations and lawsuits, we were successful in obtaining for the Indian tribe the authority to operate the casino. During the entire period of time of this dispute, we were able to keep the casino operating.