Fishkin Lucks prevailed today in the Supreme Court of New York (New York County, Comm. Div.) (Oing, J.) on a motion to dismiss ten claims asserted against the Firm’s clients, an international telecommunications company and its individual members, brought by one of the company’s former members. Following extensive briefing and a lengthy hearing, the Court dismissed Plaintiff’s derivative action, along with his direct claims for breach of the parties’ operating agreement, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, conversion, civil conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, and corporate waste and mismanagement, as well as Plaintiff’s equitable claims seeking an accounting, appointment of a receiver, and judicial dissolution.
Fishkin Lucks prevailed today before The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, which entered a Final Award in the principal sum of $6,583,004 plus another $361,347 in costs in favor of the Firm’s client, an international money transfer service provider, against its former money transfer agent in Pakistan. The client and its former agent were parties to a Representation Agreement (“Agreement”), pursuant to which the former agent agreed to provide money transfer services within the client’s money transfer network into and out of Pakistan. Under the Agreement, the former agent was required to turn over the principal and a percentage of the fees it collected on transfers from locations within Pakistan. After the former agent ceased making payments in accordance with the client’s settlement calculations, and breached the terms of a Repayment Agreement, the Firm commenced arbitration on the client’s behalf pursuant to the terms of the Agreement. The Final Award entered by an arbitral tribunal composed of three arbitrators, following written submissions and live testimony, represented a complete victory for the client.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Mauskopf, J.) granted today the Firm’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s action brought against our clients The Western Union Company and two of its former employees, and Western Union’s former parent and two of its former employees, pursuant to the doctrine of forum non conveniens. Plaintiff alleged that defendants had corruptly instigated criminal proceedings against him in Rome, Italy for extortion, resulting in his arrest, prosecution and incarceration. The Italian criminal proceedings lasted nine years before plaintiff’s conviction was ultimately overturned by the Court of Appeal of Rome. With that, plaintiff brought suit against defendants in the Eastern District of New York alleging malicious prosecution, false arrest and imprisonment, abuse of process, defamation, infliction of emotional distress and that defendants had violated the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991. In granting the Firm’s motion and dismissing the action, the Court agreed with the Firm’s arguments that: (i) plaintiff’s choice of forum was entitled only “limited deference” given that he is a foreign citizen who never resided in the United States and his allegations had no connection to New York outside of a tenuous allegation that defendants conspired there; (ii) Italy was a suitable alternative forum for the parties’ dispute, as established in submissions made by the parties’ Italian legal experts; and (iii) the public and private interests weighed “decidedly in favor of dismissal” including because “New York has virtually no interest in the matter” and based on plaintiff’s “own allegations the vast majority of relevant evidence is in Italy.”
A copy of the Court’s decision granting the Firm’s motion can be found here.
Fishkin Lucks is pleased to announce that Andy Fishkin was named a 2016 Super Lawyer® in the area of Civil Litigation, and Steven Lucks and Zack Silverman were each named 2016 “Rising Stars” in the areas of Civil Litigation and Business Litigation, respectively, by Super Lawyers®, the premier rating service for the legal community. Super Lawyers® bestows the “Super Lawyer” designation upon top lawyers in the country, and the “Rising Star” designation upon “the top up-and-coming attorneys” who are 40 years old or younger. The selection process is a multi-phased, rigorous combination of peer nominations and review by an attorney-led research team. Lawyers nominated Andy, Steve and Zack based on first-hand observations of them in the courtroom, including as opposing counsel and co-counsel. Less than 5 percent of lawyers receive the prestigious Super Lawyer designation, and less than 2.5 percent of lawyers under the age of 40 are selected as Rising Stars.
The United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Eastern Division (Breen, C.J.), entered judgment today in the amount of $2,372,251.80 in favor of our client, GTP Structures I, LLC (“GTP”) on its breach of contract claim against Wisper II, LLC (“Wisper II”). The judgment – for the full amount sought by GTP – followed additional briefing by the parties on the issue of damages after the Court had awarded GTP summary judgment on its breach of contract claim. (See Fishkin Lucks News; Dec. 22, 2015)
Fishkin Lucks won summary judgment today in the Southern District of New York (Furman, J.) on behalf of its clients, American General Life Insurance Company (“AGL”) and American International Group, Inc. (“AIG”), against a claim for death benefits allegedly owed under an AGL group life insurance policy. After extensive briefing, the Court agreed with the Firm that, notwithstanding Plaintiff’s arguments to the contrary, the life insurance policy at issue automatically terminated according to its unambiguous terms years before the insured’s death. Quite significantly, the Firm was able to secure this dismissal before any discovery was taken in the matter.
