Larry (Buzz) Wood represents clients in litigation matters, with extensive experience litigating cases in the following areas:
ˇ business issues, including breach of contract, fraud and other business torts
ˇ intellectual property issues, including misappropriation of trade secrets and non-compete and non-solicit agreements
ˇ employment issues, including discrimination and wrongful termination, fiduciary duties, and claims for benefits and other ERISA issues
ˇ shareholder issues, including minority shareholder oppression
Mr. Wood also has particular experience representing clients in class and collective action matters, as well as counseling and representing clients through the appellate process.
Following graduation from law school, Mr. Wood served as a law clerk first at the trial court level in the Family Court for the State of Delaware and then at the appellate court level in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Early in his career, Mr. Wood also served as an assistant public defender. Mr. Wood has written extensively during his career and recently co-authored the Pennsylvania chapter on class action rules and procedures for the ABA's A Practitioner's Guide to Class Actions (2010). Mr. Wood also regularly represents the National Trust for Historic Preservation and various other state and local preservation organizations on a pro bono basis to protect our nation's and Pennsylvania's historic resources.
Representative Matters
Mr. Wood's experience in litigating business disputes includes the following representative examples:
ˇ Breach of contract and tort action for large mining exploration company relating to asset acquisition.
ˇ Minority shareholder oppression action seeking the appointment of a custodian and other relief under Pennsylvania law.
ˇ Breach of contract action for large health information technology company.
ˇ Summary Judgment on contract interpretation issues in breach of contract action for global industrial and medical gas company.
ˇ Dismissal of putative class Independent Offices Appropriations Act (IOAA) and antitrust action, affirmed on appeal (Byers v. Intuit, et al, 600 F.3d 286 (3d Cir. 2010)).
ˇ Injunction impounding restricted stock and favorable settlement of business purchase/separation claims pending in numerous federal and state courts.
Mr. Wood's experience in litigating intellectual property disputes includes the following representative examples:
ˇ Dismissal of misappropriation of trade secrets action (Raza v. Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., 607 F. Supp. 2d 689 (D.Del. 2009)).
ˇ Achieved favorable settlement for large health information technology company in Lanham Act unfair competition/false advertising claim.
ˇ Injunction enforcing terms of noncompete agreement for a large manufacturing company.
ˇ Dismissal of noncompete action involving call centers (Nova CTI Caribbean v. Edwards, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41 (E.D.Pa. 2004)).
ˇ Injunction enforcing terms of noncompete agreement and decision that stock sale does not changeidentity of corporate employer for noncompete enforcement (Siemens Medical Solutions Health Services Corporation v. Carmelengo, 167 F. Supp. 2d 752 (E.D.Pa. 2001)).
Mr. Wood's experience in litigating employment disputes includes the following representative examples:
ˇ Defense of putative collective and class age discrimination action for global industrial and medical gas company (Mitchell, et al v. MG Industries, Inc., et al., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48331 (E.D.Pa. June 9, 2009)).
ˇ Defense judgment for international staffing provider in employment/product liability action.
ˇ Defense judgment for major east coast utility in putative ERISA class action relating to plan design and discrimination, affirmed on appeal (Charles v. Pepco Holdings, Inc., 314 Fed.Appx. 450 (3d Cir. 2008)).
ˇ Dismissal of intentional discrimination claims involving large retail business (Pollard v. Wawa Food Market, 366 F.Supp.2d 247 (E.D.Pa. 2005)).
ˇ Defeated class certification and obtained summary judgment on equitable claim for large automobile finance company in a race discrimination action brought under Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Smith, et al. v. Chrysler Financial Co., 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28504 (D.N.J. Dec. 30, 2004)).
Community Service & Affiliations
Mr. Wood is on the board of the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, as well as a board and executive committee member for the Foundation for Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Wood also serves on the development committee for the Youth Build Philadelphia Charter School, as a co-chair of the Discrimination and Disability Law Subcommittee of the Federalist Society's national Labor and Employment Law Practice Group, and also recently served as the co-chair for the Philadelphia Bar Association's Appellate Courts Committee.
Events
7TH ANNUAL EMERGING ISSUES FOR IN-HOUSE COUNSEL
[Event]
Philadelphia, PA and New York, NY
November 4th and November 11th, 2011
Susan L. Bickley, Mark Blondman, Sheila E. Branyan, Edward N. Cahn, Cheryl S. Chang, William R. Cruse, et al.
Publications
ARE THE PENNSYLVANIA CLASS ACTION RULES REALLY AS "LIBERAL" AS SOME COURTS MAY BELIEVE?
[Article]
Class Action Update
July 2011
Larry R. Wood, Jr. and Richard W. Diaz
News
ADDITION BRINGS LITIGATION AND APPELLATE EXPERIENCE TO THE FIRM
[Press Release]
January 11, 2011
Larry R. Wood, Jr.