Business & Commercial Litigation

Gibbons represents a wide array of sophisticated clients, including corporations, partnerships, unincorporated associations, individuals, and nonprofit organizations. The prosecution and defense of complex litigation matters have long been very significant components of our practice. However, concerns about the expense and delay associated with traditional litigation in state and federal judicial systems have led to a national movement to seek alternative forms of dispute resolution. Gibbons has a long commitment to affording clients flexible and cost-effective legal representation. To further this goal, the firm has created an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) practice within our Commercial & Criminal Litigation Group. The members of the practice include retired senior appellate judges of the federal and state court systems, as well as a distinguished group of experienced practitioners, each with long experience in alternative adjudicative processes.

Gibbons enjoys a nationwide reputation as one of the premier firms in antitrust litigation. Our long, multi-faceted history of antitrust litigation dates back to the firm’s 20-year role in the alleged Japanese electronics cartel case, which was ultimately resolved in our client’s favor in the landmark United States Supreme Court decision, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Grp. Our experience with multi-party price fixing cases, together with single-firm monopolization allegations has continued to this day. In addition, on a daily basis, we provide counseling to numerous clients involving antitrust, sales and distribution, franchise, and professional association matters.

Litigated controversies are likely to result in appeals. Consequently, it is in a client’s interest to have experienced appellate counsel involved at various stages in the process, including initial evaluation and dispositive motion practice. Gibbons has a highly respected Appellate Team and comprehensive appellate practice that are fully integrated with our litigation and regulatory practices. In our experience, this integrated practice structure provides the most well-rounded perspective on a case and enables us to provide the best service to clients while also affording clients the flexibility to use a single litigation team for both trial and appellate work where that is advantageous, or to assemble a special appellate team when that is preferable. The Gibbons Appellate Team can provide internal moot court reviews and counseling to the trial attorneys preparing an appeal.

Gibbons attorneys have extensive experience in all aspects of bankruptcy litigation, in addition to business and commercial and chancery court litigation. This litigation practice includes:

• • Representation of corporate directors and officers who are sued, typically following the bankruptcy of the corporation, for breach of duty, negligence, and related claims brought by lenders, trustees, and committees seeking to recover losses arising from the insolvency proceeding.

• • Representation of both chapter 11 and post-confirmation litigation trustees in a wide variety of proceedings including securities litigation, RICO claims, and fraud and malpractice claims.

• • Prosecution and defense of complex fraudulent transfer and preference claims, including the management of portfolios of hundreds of avoidance claims for chapter 11 or litigation trustees and debtors-in-possession.

• • Ponzi scheme litigation, in which the proof of a Ponzi scheme serves as the basis for proving debtors’ actual fraud, thereby expediting the proofs in fraudulent transfer and securities fraud claims.

• • Contested chapter 11 plan confirmations, including all aspects of expedited discovery and expert proofs necessary to prove the requisites for confirmation of chapter 11 reorganization plans.

• • Complex commercial mortgage foreclosures.

Class action litigation represents an ideal match of Gibbons’ abilities and client needs. These are “bet the company” cases for all but the largest entities. Numerous first impression and cutting-edge issues typically emerge. Class actions usually require ongoing and frequent judicial intervention, for which Gibbons’ reputation and high profile in the region’s courts serve clients well. The firm’s senior litigators bring decades of hands-on experience with the most sophisticated, complex litigation projects, backed by a deep bench of former federal and appellate law clerks. Gibbons understands and delivers the intensity needed for these types of cases, and can deploy the multi-disciplinary talent they require. Always alert for the efficient result, frequently Gibbons has been able to engineer resolutions before the class discovery and certification stage. As one national class action client put it, “why would you go anywhere else in New Jersey.”

A host of legal issues and potential disputes accompany every construction project, from the most basic project to more complex capital improvements. How those issues are addressed can determine whether the project ultimately meets the expectations of everyone involved. The Gibbons Construction Law & Litigation Team works with owners, developers, design professionals, contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers on a wide range of construction projects, handling contract counseling, public procurement, insurance, and surety issues, among others, as well as all aspects of litigation and dispute resolution.

In the area of e-discovery, an interdisciplinary group of Gibbons attorneys, information technology specialists, and knowledge management professionals monitor decisional law, relevant regulations, and emerging trends; offer practical and cost-effective strategies for responding to discovery demands; evaluate e-discovery and litigation support vendors for cost and process defensibility; and draft and implement customized information management, social media, and legal hold policies. We provide both e-discovery and information management counseling, in many cases serving as national discovery counsel for clients with e-discovery concerns across jurisdictions. Our e-discovery team includes litigators from each of the firm’s litigation practice areas, ensuring that, in addition to deep e-discovery knowledge, members have direct, relevant insight and experience in all of the substantive areas of law and types of cases for which we address e-discovery issues.

The General Equity Team focuses on expedited litigation and crisis management situations. Many of the team’s matters arise in emergent circumstances, sometimes involving bet-the-business scenarios, and require the full attention of our seasoned litigators. Members of the Team are skilled in creative litigation strategies and litigation avoidance in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, routinely involving:

• Injunctive relief – prosecution and defense of temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, and permanent injunctions
• Restrictive covenant and trade secret litigation
• Minority/majority shareholder and partnership disputes and litigation
• Crisis management
• Real estate litigation
• Probate litigation

The General Equity Team has represented corporations, public agencies, and individuals in high-stakes, emergent, and often sensitive litigation, using decades of experience in the state, federal, and arbitration arenas driven by results-oriented approaches and cost-effective solutions for its clients.

The Gibbons Insurance Coverage Team provides practical, up-to-date advice regarding rights and obligations related to a wide variety of coverage-related insurance claims and disputes. We also assist clients in obtaining appropriate insurance coverage for effective management of the myriad risks that may impact their business. Attorneys on the Gibbons Insurance Coverage Team have been recognized by Best Lawyers® and New Jersey Super Lawyers.

Our experience and knowledge in this area enable us to provide efficient and effective counsel to a range of clients that includes pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing companies, utility companies, educational institutions, financial services companies, technology companies, professional service providers, construction companies, transportation companies, public relations firms, and government agencies.

Comprised of experienced defense attorneys and former government attorneys from various investigative agencies – including the United States Attorneys offices and state prosecutors’ offices – Gibbons represents corporations and individuals in both civil and criminal investigations and enforcement proceedings, brought by: the U.S. Department of Justice; the Attorneys General of New Jersey, New York, and other states; and many regulatory agencies, including the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), among many others. We have handled significant investigations on behalf of Fortune 100 companies, pharmaceutical companies, telecommunications and financial services firms, government contractors, and nonprofits. Gibbons offers a multi-disciplined and client-oriented approach to internal investigations that seeks to ferret out the truth without unduly burdening the corporate entity, ultimately seeking to bring to justice those who may have committed corporate wrongdoing, as well as recommending internal reforms aimed at preventing future defalcations or compliance problems.

Helping our clients to protect themselves in the competitive marketplace, our attorneys have significant experience both defending against and making unfair competition claims under the Lanham Act, state unfair competition statutes, and the common law. The breadth of our litigators’ experience in this area encompasses all varieties of claims arising in the context of business advertising and promotional activities, including false advertising, misleading comparative advertising, confusing website presentations, and trademark infringement. Our substantive knowledge in these areas is complemented by our litigators’ significant experience in expedited proceedings in both state and federal courts seeking and opposing injunctive relief, which is often implicated where competitive injury is alleged.

The evolution occurring within the media—as the print media become more internet-based—not only poses questions of constitutional free speech but also presents significant issues of a non- constitutional dimension, including trademark and copyright concerns, with First Amendment and intellectual property issues converging more frequently. As this transformation occurs, questions will persist about what can be said and when and where it can be said. These questions are not limited to the media; similar issues arise for corporations with regulated marketing practices. The Media Law practice at Gibbons provides comprehensive service to media clients throughout the industry, as well as to individual and corporate clients—for example: trade organizations, including the New Jersey Press Association; daily newspapers, including Asbury Park Press, Home News Tribune, Courier News, Daily Record, Courier Post, and Press of Atlantic City; weekly newspapers, such as Worrall Community Newspapers, Greater Media Newspapers, and Hudson Reporter Associates; media personalities; and media insurance companies, such as One Beacon Professional Insurance.

Gibbons attorneys regularly represent both plaintiffs and defendants in expedited litigations in state and federal courts over the enforcement of restrictive employment covenants, non-compete agreements, and unauthorized disclosure of trade secrets by employees. Our experience in this area allows us to help protect our clients’ proprietary information and their own client relationships. Gibbons counsels clients on the most practical and effective means of protecting their assets through the negotiation of key employment agreements containing restrictive covenants and confidentiality agreements, the establishment and enforcement of confidentiality and ethics policies, and the creation of mechanisms to keep truly trade secret information secret. Often, the protection of these valuable assets involves the enforcement of such agreements and policies through emergent litigation and other court battles that occur throughout New Jersey, New York, and nationwide.

Gibbons attorneys have extensive experience both prosecuting and defending civil RICO actions in state and federal courts. Representative federal RICO matters in which the firm has been involved include Armco Steel v. Rossi and Stinson (S.D.N.Y.), Franco v. CIGNA (D.N.J.), and numerous RICO actions representing a Bankruptcy Trustee in both the Delaware and Idaho District Courts. Some recent examples of litigation involving state RICO claims include TI Investment Services v. Vonage (Monmouth County Law Division), Thomason v. Chamco Automotive, (Morris County Chancery Division and D.N.J.), and Fairfax Financial Holdings v. S.A.C. Capital Mgmt. (Morris County Law Division).

Securities litigation can pose some of the highest stakes for a business. The Securities Litigation Team at Gibbons has significant trial and appellate experience at the federal and state levels, in civil and criminal actions, in arbitration and mediation proceedings, and in internal and regulatory investigations, in cases ranging from single-plaintiff matters to “bet the company” class actions.