Engaged by a leading alternative energy company to take over its defense less than 30 days before trial.
The company was facing allegations of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty leveled by a former co-owner. Discovery had closed, which was a particular challenge, and prior counsel had not conducted any affirmative discovery. They had also failed to secure and preserve key third party testimony that would have helped establish the plaintiff’s own fraudulent and self-dealing transactions.
Nevertheless, the Willenken team immediately commenced investigations and identified key third-party witnesses to refute the former co-owner’s claims. To strategically obtain additional time to complete this critical investigation, at the pretrial conference we persuaded the court to bifurcate the trial and proceed with an initial bench trial on certain discrete equitable claims.
After we completed the investigation and presented the compelling new evidence to opposing counsel, the plaintiff decided to quickly settle the matter on terms highly favorable to our client.
