Practice Areas & Industries: Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney litigators have a passion for success, a determination to serve our clients skillfully and successfully. That commitment -- to excellence in serving our clients and to fulfilling the needs of our clients -- drives all aspects of litigation at Buchanan.

Our Clients

We litigate and provide litigation counseling on behalf of a broad and diverse cross-section of regional, national and international businesses. Our clients expect excellence in advocacy, work product, service and cost-effective representation. They expect prompt return of their telephone calls and timely replies to their inquiries. They expect to be part of the litigation decision-making process. They expect successful results -- at the negotiation table, through arbitration or other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, or at trial. Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney's clients expect to have their litigation expectations satisfied in a cost-effective and successful manner.

Our Team

Buchanan litigators offer broad trial and litigation experience in the legal practice areas confronting people and businesses today.

We are not just litigators; we are trial lawyers.

Our Diverse Practice Areas

We have worked hard to develop and acquire legal talent that couples superb trial skills with proven competence within chosen practice areas. We continue to adapt our legal practice areas so that we are effectively able to serve the current and future legal needs of our clients.

Our Geographic Reach

Buchanan litigators provide broad geographic reach, so that clients may be served effectively wherever their needs arise. From our offices in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Miami, Aventura and Tampa, Florida; Newark and Princeton, New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; New York, New York; San Diego and Silicon Valley, California; and Wilmington, Delaware, we serve our clients in regional, national and international venues.

Our Support and Computer Network

Our commitment to successful client service extends to our broad support and computer network that includes a force of experienced paralegals, committed secretaries and staff, and a state-of-the-art document storage and retrieval system. Through this computerized document system, Buchanan litigators have accessed and summarized as many as 1.2 million documents in a single case. Our broad support and computer network provides our clients with cost-effective representation even in the most complex cases.

Our Zeal to Grow Professionally

Our passion for success includes a professional development program for Buchanan litigators. Each is responsible for annually establishing personal goals for client, professional and community service including continuing professional education. Our clients are assured that Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney litigators are continually striving to set the highest standards of professional growth.

In sum, Buchanan litigators emphasize excellence in service to our clients -- through our attorneys, our diverse practice areas, our geographic reach, our support and computer network, and our zeal to grow professionally. Our comprehensive approach to excellence -- one to which Buchanan litigators are passionately committed -- seeks to provide effective and successful advocacy for our clients.

Services Available

Our Trial Practice -- Meeting Your Needs

Buchanan has litigated and tried cases in the following practice areas:

• Antitrust, trade regulation and securities
• Bankruptcy
• Class actions
• Construction litigation
• Copyrights/trademarks/patents; intellectual property
• Corporate control
• Corporate investigation
• Covenants not to compete; trade secrets
• Eminent domain
• Environmental, natural resource and energy litigation
• ERISA
• Family law
• Financial institutions
• First Amendment/defamation
• Insurance
• Product liability
• Real estate litigation
• Transportation

In addition, our team concept ensures that when client litigation needs span several of these areas, we can utilize the experience and knowledge of our attorneys to develop comprehensive and cost-effective approaches to litigation.

As part of our passion for meeting the litigation needs of our clients, we have developed emphases in important legal areas which have grown in complexity and importance to our clients.

Examples of our recent matters include:

• Successfully defending AmerisourceBergen, one of the nation's largest pharmaceutical services providers, against a shareholder derivative suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the demand for inspection of books and records in the Delaware Court of Chancery.
• Assisting McDonald's Corp. in obtaining a federal injunction requiring a franchisee to cease operating two restaurants in Northern Virginia after being terminated for failure to make scheduled payments to McDonald's and to federal and state taxing authorities.
• Obtaining a summary-judgment dismissal of a whistle-blower's claim against a New Jersey regional mortgage company.
• On behalf of Parker/Hunter, a division of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, and one of its former account executives, successfully defending an arbitration claim in which the panel completely rejected a former customer's $1 million fraud claim filed with the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.
• Successfully handling a fraud and breach of contract case for a specialty sports equipment manufacturer in a multimillion-dollar dispute that arose out of a failed merger.
• In a construction contract dispute involving a multi-plant chemical manufacturing facility, persuading a Texas jury to approve Arkema, Inc.'s withholding of $6 million in contract penalties, reject the contractor's claim for $1.6 million in punitive interest and award Arkema additional breach of contract and attorney fee damages.
• For National City Bank of Pennsylvania, winning appeals before the Pennsylvania Superior and Supreme Courts that upheld the entry of summary judgment in a case in which the plaintiff sought damages in excess of $100 million.
• Winning a significant victory for Eagle Star Reinsurance Company in a $12.3 million reinsurance dispute with Legion Insurance Company and Legion Indemnity Company.
• Securing a dismissal for The Hershey Company and Giant Eagle, Inc., in a products liability case.
• Successfully litigating a replevin action, one of the largest ever in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, involving the posting of a $52 million bond for $26 million in tooling and machining equipment, raw materials and product inventory used in the manufacturing of motor vehicle parts.
• Continuing to represent the owners and operators of commercial properties regarding mold exposure.
• Trying a multimillion-dollar corporate appraisal and breach of fiduciary duty case for a health care client in the Delaware Court of Chancery.
• On behalf of a major cruise line, successfully settling a consumer class action suit in California.
• Successfully representing a nursing home before the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey in obtaining increased retroactive Medicaid reimbursements despite regulatory prohibitions.
• Serving as party-appointed arbitrator for a large coal producer in an action involving force majeure claims and complex mining operational issues as well as the corresponding impact on contractual obligations.
• Representing a major Powder River Basin coal producer in a dispute involving contract mining compensation for developing and mining new reserves.
• Successfully representing a major biotechnology company in shareholder litigation by defeating, on summary judgment, derivative claims alleging excess shares had been issued to certain insiders in connection with a merger and acquisition.
• On behalf of RMI Titanium Company, a subsidiary of RTI International Metals, Inc., persuading the Court of Common Pleas in Stark County, Ohio, not to deny a preliminary injunction that could have undone a completed merger between RMI and Galt Alloys, Inc.
• Defending an international coal marketer in a number of supply dispute matters.
• Representing Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in negotiations leading to an agreement with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in which the Blue Plans will contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to fund low-income health care coverage and programs in Pennsylvania.
• Assisted Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel in a suit against a subsidiary of Massey Energy in a case alleging breach of contract.
• Gaining dismissal of a derivative lawsuit against Stonepath, Inc., and 14 of its current and former officers and directors -- the first time a U.S. court had ruled that a private plaintiff cannot seek disgorgement from a company's officers under Sarbanes-Oxley.
• Winning a precedent-setting case in San Diego on behalf of Sprint in which the court ruled that a county ordinance regulating transmission towers was unreasonable and restrictive.
• Serving as Commonwealth Court counsel for one of the world's largest manufacturers of health care products in a lawsuit filed by the Pennsylvania Attorney General against most major pharmaceutical companies, alleging overcharging for drug purchases by the Commonwealth in its Medicaid program.
• Representing one of the nation's largest financial institutions in an ongoing Director and Liability RICO action seeking damages in excess of $50 million against parties involved in a scheme to defraud lenders.
• Representing several major coal producers in both the Eastern and Western markets in complex commercial disputes with utility customers involving significant supply issues.
• Representing a major Powder River Basin coal producer in a dispute involving contract mining compensation for developing and mining new reserves.
• Defeating derivative claims brought against Celgene Corporation, a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company, by a former shareholder who challenged the issuance of additional shares of stock to founding shareholders.
• Successfully defending a client in Atlanta in a case involving jurisdiction of the court specific to an FDA-approved product.
• Defending McDonald's Corporation against a multimillion-dollar lease dispute that ultimately was dismissed before the first deposition.
• Representing Highmark, Inc. in proceedings before the Pennsylvania Insurance Department leading to the Determination and Order of the Insurance Commissioner concerning the reserves and surpluses of the Blue Plans in the Commonwealth.
• Obtaining the dismissal of a shareholder derivative suit against the directors of AmerisourceBergen Corporation prior to discovery.
• Acting as counsel to the Board of Governors of The Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University Association in the negotiations and litigation relating to the potential relocation of the Dickinson campus.
• Successfully defending Ashland Inc., a Fortune 500 company, in a Delaware Court of Chancery action to enjoin Ashland's $300 million divestiture of its electronic chemicals division.
• Securing one of the highest awards ever given to a foreign entity in the Japanese courts in a copyright infringement and unfair competition case, we represented Dale Carnegie in a suit over the publication and sale of its book How to Win Friends and Influence People.
• For one of the world's largest hotel franchisors, negotiating settlements of five cases claiming RICO violations and convinced a court to dismiss the claims in a sixth case.
• Representing a large health insurer in a $2.7 million regulatory dispute with a state agency over contributions to an industry-funded program to promote individual health insurance policies.
• Successfully defending a nursing home and majority shareholder in a corporate dissolution action.
• Serving as litigation counsel to a national television broadcaster, we defended it from defamation claims.
• Assisting a large international bank in enforcing its rights to a multimillion-dollar line of credit in a successive series of cases in state court, bankruptcy court and three federal district courts, and in five subsequent appeals.
• Successfully defending Century 21 Real Estate Corporation in lawsuits brought by franchisees seeking a declaration of rights under franchise agreements relating to the sale of time share units in Florida.
• Defeating a highly contentious mold claim in San Diego for Whirlpool Corporation, the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances.
• In a major contract dispute between two pharmaceutical wholesalers, the United States Court for the Fifth Circuit reversed the decision of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas that had entered judgment against our client, AmerisourceBergen Corporation.
• Securing a victory in the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District for an international pharmaceutical company named in a lawsuit involving claims of trade libel and defamation.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") often provides an expeditious, economical and just method for settling disputes when contrasted with the normal litigation process played out in state and federal courts. While many people associate ADR exclusively with arbitration, its reach is far broader and encompasses binding and non-binding mediation, mini-trials, private judges and a variety of other methods. In appropriate circumstances, one or a combination of the above can significantly reduce the cost of discovery, minimize delay, maintain confidentiality and eliminate the possibility of an appeal. Our litigators realize that while not all disputes are amenable to the use of ADR, ADR should at least be considered for use in most disputes.

Exemplifying this desire to present the client with a variety of options, Buchanan is a signatory to a pledge originated by the Center for Public Resources ("CPR") wherein we have agreed to discuss the applicability of ADR procedures with clients in appropriate circumstances. Several of our attorneys serve on the panel of "Distinguished Mediators" established by CPR, and Buchanan is a participating member in CPR.

Our attorneys also have served as "judges" and "arbitrators" in ADR proceedings, which provide our attorneys with a comprehensive perspective on the ADR process.

The attorneys at Buchanan not only can suggest and implement suitable ADR options when a dispute arises, but also can suggest language to insert in contracts so as to effect ADR before a dispute occurs. With the expense and delays of judicial litigation, it makes sense to retain attorneys who can provide all the options.

Our Commitment to You, Our Clients

• We will listen . . . so we understand your objectives.
• We will respond promptly and in a cost-effective manner . . . so your objectives are timely and efficiently met.
• We will provide excellence in work product and service . . . so your objectives are successfully achieved.