Michigan Complex Litigation Attorneys

Barris, Sott, Denn & Driker, P.L.L.C.
Michigan Attorneys Accomplished in High-Stakes and 'Bet the Company' Litigation

Clients turn to Barris, Sott, Denn & Driker, P.L.L.C., when the stakes are high, especially when the very survival of their business is hanging in the balance. We excel in handling these high stakes and "bet the company" cases, and two of our partners, Eugene Driker and Sharon M. Woods, are recognized by Best Lawyers in America for their expertise in handling these cases.

Our successes in "bet the company" and other high-stakes litigation include:

Franchisor v. Franchisee. We were initially retained to represent 27 distributors and their related companies in state court proceedings and arbitration against a multi‑billion dollar international manufacturer of household products. The litigation evolved into proceedings in federal courts in California, Georgia, Utah, Nevada, Michigan, and New York, including a class action. State court proceedings were filed in Michigan, Georgia, and Texas. The claims and defenses included misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, tortious interference, Lanham Act violations, civil conspiracy, and insurance coverage issues. The litigation involved extensive electronic discovery (including production of over a million electronic files and forensic examinations of hard drives), a month‑long arbitration hearing, countless hearings in federal court, and numerous appeals to the Sixth, Seventh and Fifth Circuit Courts. A global settlement of this very extensive dispute was finally achieved.

Utility v. Construction Contractor. Our client hired a contractor to engineer and construct a blast furnace power plant. The construction experienced serious problems from the beginning, with our client and the contractor battling throughout the project. At the end of the construction, our client filed an arbitration demand against the contractor, which responded with a counterclaim seeking $500 million. We exercised our client's right to draw upon the contractor's letters of credit totaling $30 million, which had been secured from banks in three different states. The court denied the contractor's request for an injunction, clearing the way for our client's presentation of the letters of credit. The parties then commenced extensive discovery involving over 1 million documents and over 100 days of depositions. At the conclusion of the 72‑day hearing held over 12 months before a three-member panel, our client was awarded over $25.5 million.

Automotive Manufacturer v. Former Executive. Our client, an American auto manufacturer, sued a competitor and a former executive of our client in a well publicized federal court suit in Detroit. Our client alleged that the executive took other employees to the competitor, along with thousands of confidential documents. As part of a team of in-house and outside counsel, we defeated the competitor's motion to transfer the case to Europe, where other litigation between the parties was already pending. After losing that motion, the competitor agreed in a settlement to pay $100 million to our client and to buy $1 billion of parts from our client.

Chemical Company v. Utility. We represented a utility company in the defense of a fraud and breach of contract action over a failed nuclear power plant brought by the chemical company, which was represented by a large international law firm. The cost of the facility, originally estimated at $200 million, ballooned to more than $5 billion. The chemical company sought $500 million in damages. The trial lasted 23 months in state court. Despite a voluminous record made before a federal regulatory agency that established serious construction problems at the nuclear plant, we were ultimately able to achieve a settlement of the case on terms that were very favorable to our client. Thereafter, the chemical company itself became a client of our firm and remains so today, as does the utility company.

Our attorneys are nimble, proficient, and know how to get to the heart of the matter when devising comprehensive strategy for these types of high-stakes litigation. We have resources, the acumen, and the skill to handle cases of all sizes and all complexities. To learn more or speak with us about your legal issues, we encourage you to contact us today.