Business Litigation

FITCH excels in the litigation of large and complex business cases, bringing decades of experience and an approach that is aggressive, personal, and exacting. We represent sophisticated clients involved in difficult business-related problems who are seeking superior skill and analysis — and the development of a winning strategy. We recognize the urgency of all business litigation problems and work tirelessly for the achievement of favorable, expeditious, and cost-effective resolution.

We have handled hundreds of business litigation cases over a broad range of subject matter, including, for example, intellectual property, securities, trade secrets, technology and biotechnology manufacturing, technology licensing and supply agreements, franchisor-franchisee rights, fiduciary duties, and stakes in partnerships and privately held corporations.

The firm is also a leader in the use of alternative fee arrangements which appeal to our clients in especially large litigation cases. Such arrangements may include a fixed fee for the entire matter, a fixed monthly fee, capped fees, discounted hourly rates combined with success fees, contingent fees, and other arrangements tailored to the specific needs of the client.

Attorneys practicing
in business litigation

+Heather V.
Baer

Heather V. Baer

+Peter E.
Ball

Peter E. Ball

+Michele E.
Connolly

Michele E. Connolly

+Jonathan W.
Fitch

Jonathan W. Fitch

+Ryan M.
Cunningham

Ryan M. Cunningham

+Kurt S.
Kusiak

Kurt S. Kusiak

+Malgorzata
Mrozek

Malgorzata Mrozek

+Andrea Peraner-
Sweet

Andrea Peraner-Sweet

+Stephen C.
Reilly

Stephen C. Reilly

+Laura K.
Hennessey

Laura K. Hennessey

+Nathalie K.
Salomon

Nathalie K. Salomon

+Andrea Studley
Knowles

Andrea Studley Knowles

+Srish
Khakurel

Srish Khakurel

business litigation
Case Results

– Business Contracts

We recovered $18.25 million in lost profits for our client in a breach of contract case.

We obtained summary judgment for a major media company that was sued over an alleged long-term contract to provide insurance placement services for our client’s employees.

We secured an order dismissing all claims against a group of former corporate officers and directors accused of various breaches of contract and breaches of fiduciary duty.

A contractor claimed that an accidental oil spill by our client caused it to delay a construction project and thus lose profits. We obtained summary judgment denying the claim, and we won again on the contractors’ appeal in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

We successfully represented six former executives of a software company in mediations involving breach of contract cases against the company’s parent corporation.

On behalf of a national energy company, we successfully recovered a large amount owed by a municipality on a long-term supply contract.

We reached a favorable settlement for our client, the purchaser of a large boat, when the seller refused to compensate our client for mechanical defects that were present at the time of purchase.

We successfully protected the rights of a group of investment professionals in a contract dispute arising out of their departure from their former company.

– Business Torts

We won a jury trial for our client, whose insurance had been insufficient to cover a large loss sustained when his commercial building was destroyed by fire. The jury returned a verdict against our client’s insurance broker for negligence and negligent misrepresentation.

We won a lengthy jury trial for our clients against a real estate developer, law firm, and real estate brokerage company and obtained a fraud verdict and chapter 93A verdict in our clients’ favor.

– Close Corporations and Minority Shareholder Rights

In a highly publicized case, we represented the interests of a group of family members in the sale of one of the world’s largest privately-held media companies.

On behalf of clients who were “frozen out” of a family business, we obtained a judgment dissolving the corporation, compensating our clients for nearly one million dollars in corporate losses sustained during the period of freeze-out, and ordering the other shareholder to pay back corporate funds which he had misappropriated. The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed that judgment.

On behalf of clients who were sued for allegedly freezing out a partner in a joint venture involving several restaurants, we defeated a claim for substantial damages.

We represented one of two shareholders in a leading convention-industry business in a series of lawsuits brought against him by the other shareholder. We achieved a favorable settlement in which our client obtained full control of the business and the other shareholder agreed not to compete with the business for two years.

– Partnership Disputes

Our client prevailed at a binding arbitration of a multifaceted dispute with fellow partners, and in obtaining summary judgment in which the court upheld the arbitrator’s award against the adversary partners’ intensive efforts to have the court vacate it.

We successfully helped our client disentangle and separate his interests from those of various entities and partners involved in an Internet business solutions company.

We obtained a substantial buy-out and protected the future employment rights of the managing officer of a substantial real estate partnership who was being forced out by his partners in the business venture.

– Securities Litigation

We have represented numerous corporate officers in securities-related litigation and investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, and other government entities.

We won a dismissal of our client, a portfolio manager at a large investment company, from a class action suit alleging violations of Rule 10b-5, Section 36(a) of the Investment Company Act, unjust enrichment, and breaches of fiduciary duty.

We won a substantial settlement in a shareholder action in which we sued an investment advisor for failing to disclose information affecting shareholder investment decisions.

– Class Action and Multidistrict Litigation

We won a dismissal of our client, a portfolio manager at a large investment company, from a class action suit alleging violations of Rule 10b-5, Section 36(a) of the Investment Company Act, unjust enrichment, and breaches of fiduciary duty.

We represent a large pharmaceutical consulting and services company in connection with ongoing complex multidistrict class action litigation.

– Intellectual Property, Copyright, Trademark and Licensing

We successfully enforced the rights of an entrepreneur in the clothing industry against a large competitor accused of misappropriating our client’s proprietary clothing designs.

We obtained money damages, attorneys’ fees, and an order for injunctive relief preventing copyright infringement on behalf of a well-known clothing designer in a federal jury trial, and successfully defeated a subsequent appeal.

We enforced the rights of our inventor client in a proprietary real design against a competitor attempting to misappropriate the design.

– Unfair Competition, Misappropriation of Trade Secrets

When our client was sued by a competitor for misappropriation of trade secrets and the competitor sought to examine all of our client’s files and computer hard drives, we successfully stopped the discovery, obtained sanctions against the competitor and ended the litigation with our client, incurring zero damages.

We successfully represented a group of lawyers who were sued for breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of confidential information when they left a firm and started their own firm.