In re Intelsat S.A.: Represented Debtors in $1.8 billion contested matter in which SES, Intelsat’s largest competitor, brought a variety of claims arising out of a contract to jointly pursue a private auction of the C-band spectrum for use in 5G communications. Following a bench trial, the court disallowed SES’s claims in full, accepting Kirkland’s arguments for Intelsat on every issue and holding that the parties’ contract did not apply to the FCC’s chosen public-run approach for reallocating the C-band spectrum — leaving SES with zero recovery. The trial victory was profiled in Law360 and The American Lawyer.
Securitized Asset Funding 2011–2, Ltd. v. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce: Counsel for Cerberus-affiliated investment vehicles in lawsuit bringing breach of contract claims against CIBC, stemming from CIBC’s payment obligations related to deals aimed at reducing CIBC’s exposure to risk in its portfolio of U.S. residential cash and synthetic securitized assets. After a 13-day bench trial in the Commercial Division of the New York Supreme Court, the court entered judgment for Cerberus to the tune of over $855 million, embracing Cerberus’s reading of the complex deals. The American Lawyer recognized the Kirkland team as Litigator of the Week runners up following the win, and the result was reported in numerous publications, including Reuters, Bloomberg, and Law360.
United States v. UnitedHealth Group: Obtained complete victory for United following bench trial in antitrust action brought by the Department of Justice seeking to enjoin United’s $13 billion acquisition of Change Healthcare. The court’s denial of the government’s requested injunction was highlighted in the Wall Street Journal and Law360, while the Kirkland team was honored as Litigators of the Week by The American Lawyer.
La Fosse, et al. v. Sanderson Farms, Inc.: Secured dismissal on behalf of Sanderson Farms in putative class action brought by class of consumers alleging false advertising of poultry products. After successfully moving to reduce the size of the putative class through motions practice, Kirkland obtained voluntary dismissals from the remaining plaintiffs with prejudice following discovery and upon threat of summary judgment. As part of a stipulated dismissal, plaintiffs conceded that “after a considerable expenditure of legal resources and a detailed review of the facts and law,” they determined to voluntarily dismiss the remaining claims and acknowledged that Sanderson had not paid them any consideration or provided any other form of relief.
Counsel for Navient Solutions LLC in wide-ranging state AG litigation matters and government investigations regarding student loan origination, servicing, and collection practices. Following years of litigation, Kirkland secured a complete, forty-state settlement in which the company maintained its express denial of any borrower harm and the claims brought against it.
In Defense of Animals, et al. v. Sanderson Farms, Inc.: Motion to dismiss granted based on consumer organizations’ lack of standing in case advancing false advertising allegations.
Grissom, et al. v. Antero Resources Corporation: Counsel for Antero in class action brought by lessor challenging royalty payments made pursuant to oil and gas leases in Ohio.
