Business and
Civil Litigation
The attorneys of Hamilton, Brown & Babst have
litigated, arbitrated and mediated solutions for businesses
and individual clients in a broad range of business
disputes. Those cases have included:
Claims arising out of the relationships between businesses, their customers,
and their competitors, including antitrust, unfair competition and trade
regulation claims arising under:
- the Uniform Trade Secrets Act,
- the Lanham Act,
- the Sherman Act,
- the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practice and
Consumer Protection Law,
- Louisiana antitrust law,
- and other laws;
Claims asserting breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, gross negligence,
and fraud, and claims arising under RICO,
Claims involving breach of contract, breach or non-performance of construction
contracts (including claims for delay and disruption), claims arising in
connection with the purchase or sale of a business, the claimed breach
of commercial leases, partnerships, and joint ventures, claims arising
out of the management, operation and control of corporations, partnerships
and other business entities, and the protection of the rights of shareholders
and other business owners,
Claims involving corporations and partnerships, and their officers, directors
and partners, and their attorneys and accountants, in which claims of breach
of fiduciary duty, negligence, malpractice, fraud, the violation of Louisiana
corporate and partnership law, and claims of the violation of other particular
statutes,
Representative Matters that the attorneys
of Hamilton, Brown & Babst have handled over many
years of litigation in the field of complex business
litigation include the following:
Counsel for a nationwide class of retirees
in litigation entitled "Patrick J. Cunningham,
et al. v. International Business Machines Corporation",
a case currently pending in Louisiana District
Court involving alleged breaches of defendant's
contractual engagements with a class of retired
and retiring employees; class certification has
recently been obtained in this case and affirmed
on appeal.
Counsel for two named representatives of, and member of counsel group for,
a nationwide class of institutional purchasers (as well as individual residents
of eight states) “In re: Compact Disc Minimum Advertised Price Antitrust
Litigation”, MDL docket no.1361 in the United States District Court,
District of Maine, complex multi-district litigation involving claims asserted
by Attorneys General of 40 states, suing parens patriae, on behalf of the
natural persons resident in their states, as well as residents of United
State territories, and individual purchasers of pre-recorded CD’s
resident in eight states and institutional purchasers of pre-recorded CD’s
in all states and several territories of the United States.
Counsel for parties to private arbitrations involving claims of violations
of federal securities laws, state blue-sky laws, breaches of contract and
breaches of fiduciary duty on the part of securities brokerage firms and
their account executives.
Counsel for petitioners before the United States Court of Appeal for the
Fifth Circuit, on petition for review of an order of the Securities and
Exchange Commission, in disciplinary proceedings against a broker dealer
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Counsel for respondents before NASD Regulation, Inc., a proceeding involving
alleged deficiencies in the calculation of mark-ups and the documentation
of the status of parties to transactions involving the purchase and sale
of municipal securities.
Counsel for petitioners in the assertion of claims for breach of contractual
and other obligations in connection with the purchase and sale of a major
real estate brokerage firm.
Counsel for defendant in a complex multiparty case involving multiple claims
of violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act,
the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Louisiana's
Blue Sky Law and state laws relating to fraud, misrepresentation and breach
of fiduciary duty.
Counsel for plaintiff in complex litigation arising out of the breach of
a building contract for the erection of the structural steel frame on the
main reactor building and auxiliary building of the Waterford III nuclear
power plant at Taft, Louisiana.
Counsel for plaintiff in complex multi-party litigation in the United States
District Court, Middle District of Louisiana, involving claims of breaches
of the Lanham Act, Louisiana's Unfair Trade Practice and Consumer Protection
Law, the Sherman Act, Louisiana antidilution law and state anti-monopoly
laws.
Counsel for co-defendants in the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Louisiana, in a multi-party proceeding focusing on contract
and tort claims arising out of the operation of an automobile manufacturer’s
distribution system and the purchase and sale of an automobile dealership.
Counsel for third-party defendants in a multi-party, multi-forum proceeding
involving claims of breaches of fiduciary duty and breach of contract in
connection with investments made on behalf of a financial institution,
on the part of brokerage houses; professional malpractice on the part of
an auditing firm; and alleged breaches of fiduciary duties on the part
of officers and directors.
Counsel for co-defendant in "Abell, et al. v. Potomac Insurance Company,
et al", No. CV 84-178C, in the United States District Court, Western
District of Louisiana, involving claims for damages, for alleged breaches
of professional duties owed by issuer, counsel for issuer, underwriters,
counsel for underwriters and others, violations of the Racketeer Influenced
and Corrupt Organizations Act, the Securities Act, the Securities Exchange
Act, and state law; reported on appeal at 858 F.2d 1104 (5th Cir. 1988),
cert. granted, 492 U.S. 914, 109 S.Ct. 3236 (1989).
Counsel for defendant-counterclaimant in the case of "J. T. Gibbons,
Inc. v. Crawford Fitting Co., et al", No. 79-1127 on the docket of
the United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, a complex
antitrust case centering on allegations of horizontal territorial and customer
allocations, boycott, price-fixing and attempted monopoly, reported in
565 F.Supp. 167 (E.D. La. 1981) affirmed in part, 760 F.2d 613 (5th Cir.
1985), cert. dismissed 474 U.S. 890 (1985); on rehearing 790 F.2d 1193
(5th Cir. 1986), affirmed and remanded 107 S.Ct. 2494, 55 U.S. Law Week
4820 (1987), on remand, 826 F.2d 309 (5th Cir. 1987).
Counsel for co-defendant in "Red Diamond Supply, Inc. v. Liquid Carbonic
Corp., et al.", No. 84-1517 on the docket of the United States District
Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, reported on appeal in 637 F.2d 1001
(5th Cir. 1981), an antitrust case involving the legality of customer allocations,
territorial allocations and other issues alleged to surround termination
of a distributorship.
Counsel for plaintiff in "Tube Alloy Corporation v. Homco International,
Inc.", Civil Action No. 85-5829 on the docket of the United States
District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, a complex suit involving
alleged multiple violations of state and federal antitrust laws, the Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices
and Consumer Protection Law, the Lanham Act and state tort law.
Counsel for defendant, Walgreen Company, in "Mutual Savings Life Insurance
Co. v. Walgreen Louisiana Co., Inc.", consolidated with "American
Bank & Trust Company of New Orleans v. Mutual Savings Life Insurance
Company and Walgreen Louisiana Co., Inc.", Civil Action No. 85-1714
on the docket of the United States District Court, Eastern District of
Louisiana, a suit involving claimed breaches of a ground lease and financing
agreements on the part of the lessee.
To consult in these areas, you may contact us by e-mail at:
chamilton@hamiltonfirm.net
kmilner@hamiltonfirm.net |
