Second Circuit Affirms Jury Verdict Win for Pastore’s Hedge Fund Clients

The Second Circuit Affirms Jury Verdict Win for Pastore’s Hedge Fund Clients in Multimillion-dollar Securities Fraud Case Brought by Billionaire Family Office

On November 15, 2021, the Second Circuit affirmed a jury verdict obtained by Pastore in a federal securities fraud case. This concluded a contentious, multi-year litigation, defeating claims of fraudulent inducement and securities fraud brought against two hedge fund executives by a billionaire family office special purpose investment vehicle. The billionaire family office, the heirs to and founders of a well-known apparel store, had invested in the fund’s General Partner limited liability company.

In 2018, The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut granted a summary judgment in favor of the defendants. The summary judgment was subsequently appealed up to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, before being remanded back to, and concluding with, a jury trial in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Pastore LLC was hired for the trial. After two weeks of evidence and 7 hours of jury deliberation, Pastore LLC was able to secure a favorable jury verdict for the clients. The jury had found in favor of the defense on a federal securities claim.

Then, the billionaire family office appealed the jury verdict to the Second Circuit and argued that it was entitled to a new trial because, it alleged, the district court’s abuse of discretion had a prejudicial impact on the jury’s verdict. Among other alleged errors, the billionaire family office alleged that evidence concerning a billion-dollar company investment agreement with one of the world’s largest private equity funds should be excluded. The Second Circuit stated, “the district court instructed the jury ‘the entity that holds an interest in a security suffers an economic loss if the investment experiences a decline in value.’ App’x 559. In other words, the district court instructed the jury that it should find that…suffered an economic loss if it determined that…owned the investment interest in…, regardless of the source of investment funds, and that this investment declined in value.”

Pastore Wins Payout for Large Investment Bank After Cross-Country Federal Court Litigation Saga

Pastore LLC has won multiple complex securities and M&A actions arising from a derivative rights holder agreement and related investment banking engagement agreements that secured its client’s indemnification rights. This brings an end to the saga between the Defendant, a large investment banking firm, and the Plaintiff, a representative of the shareholders to a company seeking to invalidate investment banking fees owed following a series of complex insurance corporate mergers.

After first securing its investment banking client’s indemnification rights, Pastore LLC successfully defended its client against a multimillion-dollar suit in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska, obtaining a dismissal of the Plaintiff’s action. After Plaintiff appealed the District of Nebraska’s decision to dismiss the case, Pastore LLC successfully defended its client before the Eighth Circuit. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the District Court ruling in Pastore LLC’s clients’ favor that Plaintiff-Appellants lacked standing.

Plaintiff then brought his same claims against Pastore LLC’s client in the District Court of Delaware only to have the investment bank, yet again, successfully obtain a dismissal of Plaintiff’s action. Pastore LLC’s first Motion to Dismiss in the Delaware District Court action caused Plaintiff to file an Amended Complaint. Its second Motion to Dismiss was granted by the District Court. In its Memorandum Opinion, the District Court agreed that Plaintiff’s claims were batted by the doctrine of res judicata and that the Plaintiff lacked standing to assert its claims.

As a result of the litigation between the Plaintiff and Pastor LLC’s client, from the District of Nebraska to the Eight Circuit and then again in the District of Delaware, Pastore LLC secured its client’s indemnification rights, which included Pastore LLC’s legal fees, and obtained a large payout for its client.

Pastore LLC attorneys have vast experience arguing and defending matters in various federal courts across the country and are well-situated to handle similar claims involving complex contractual and investment banking issues.

Pastore LLC, as Co-Counsel with Skadden, Effectuates $1 Billion Purchase

Pastore LLC, as Co-Counsel with Skadden, Arps, Meagher & Flom LLP, is representing GPB Capital Holdings LLC in its $1+ billion sale of its automotive assets. Providing World Class Corporate Governance Advice, GPB and Skadden Arps tapped Pastore LLC to address a multitude of corporate governance issues to ensure that the dozens of GPB automotive entities were authorized to enter into the transaction. Working long nights and weekends, Pastore LLC was led by Managing Partner Christopher Kelly, a former Skadden Attorney, and a team of associates.

With Vinson & Elkins L.L.P as legal advisor to Group 1 Automotive, the transaction was signed the morning of September 13, 2021.  The signing encompasses the agreement of Group 1 Automotive to purchase substantially all the automotive assets of GPB. GPB’s automotive portfolio generated $1.8 billion in annual revenues in 2020 while retailing over 52,000 new and used vehicles. This acquisition by Group 1 Automotive will provide the acquirer with 30 additional dealership locations and three collision centers, coupled with GPB’s extensive portfolio of luxury and non-luxury vehicles.

Media coverage of this transaction has included Yahoo Finance, WSJ, PR Newswire and Seeking Alpha, among others.

Pastore Wins Jury Trial for Hedge Fund Executives in Multimillion-dollar Securities Fraud Case Brought by Billionaire Family Office

Pastore & Dailey successfully concluded a contentious, multi-year litigation, defeating claims of fraudulent inducement and securities fraud brought against two hedge fund executives by a billionaire family office special purpose investment vehicle. The billionaire family office, the heirs to and founders of a well-known apparel store, had invested in the fund’s General Partner limited liability company.

In 2018, The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut granted a summary judgment in favor of the defendants. The summary judgment was subsequently appealed up to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, before being remanded back to, and concluding with, a jury trial in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut in New Haven, Connecticut. Pastore & Dailey was hired for the trial. After two weeks of evidence and 7 hours of jury deliberation, Pastore & Dailey was able to secure a favorable jury verdict for the clients.

FINRA Fine and Suspension for Former CEO Dismissed

Pastore attorneys successfully represented the former CEO of a broker dealer in a regulatory dispute with FINRA. When Pastore was retained, FINRA was seeking a multi-month suspension, thousands of dollars in fines, and was days away from serving a complaint.  In the space of a few months, Pastore convinced FINRA to close the case without levying a dollar in fines or a single day of suspension.

Pastore Representing a Large Investment Bank Wins at the Eighth Circuit

Pastore & Dailey won a complex securities and M&A appeal taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit arising from a derivative rights holder agreement and related investment banking engagement agreements. This matter was an appeal filed by Plaintiff-Appellant after Pastore & Dailey successfully defended this case in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.

Plaintiff-Appellants, who were shareholders to a company, brought suit against Pastore & Dailey’s client in the District Court seeking to invalidate investment banking fees owed to Pastore & Dailey’s client following a series of complex insurance corporate mergers, in which the company was acquired and merged with another company. In its appeal to the Eighth Circuit, Plaintiff-Appellants argued that the District Court erred in denying certain Post-Judgment motions made by Plaintiffs arguing their lack of standing. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the District Court ruling in Pastore & Dailey’s favor that Plaintiff-Appellants lacked standing.

Pastore & Dailey attorneys have vast experience arguing and defending matters in various federal courts across the country and are well-situated to handle similar claims involving complex contractual and investment banking issues.

Pastore Represents a Large Investment Bank in Win at the Eighth Circuit

Pastore & Dailey won a complex securities and M&A appeal taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit arising from a derivative rights holder agreement and related investment banking engagement agreements. This matter was an appeal filed by Plaintiff-Appellant after Pastore & Dailey successfully defended this case in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.

Plaintiff-Appellants, who were shareholders to a company, brought suit against Pastore & Dailey’s client in the District Court seeking to invalidate investment banking fees owed to Pastore & Dailey’s client following a series of complex insurance corporate mergers, in which the company was acquired and merged with another company. In its appeal to the Eighth Circuit, Plaintiff-Appellants argued that the District Court erred in denying certain Post-Judgment motions made by Plaintiffs arguing their lack of standing. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the District Court ruling in Pastore & Dailey’s favor that Plaintiff-Appellants lacked standing.

Pastore & Dailey attorneys have vast experience arguing and defending matters in various federal courts across the country and are well-situated to handle similar claims involving complex contractual and investment banking issues.

Pastore & Dailey Wins Motion for Dismiss Against Texas Based Oil and Gas Company

Pastore & Dailey represented a New York plaintiff in connection with a dispute over services provided in association with the acquisition and management of various oil and gas properties in Abilene, Texas. In anticipation of this suit, Defendants wrongfully instituted an anticipatory action in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Pastore & Dailey submitted a Motion to Dismiss the Texas action based on the premise that the action was anticipatory of the New York Action and was an act of inequitable forum shopping. The Court found that “compelling circumstances” existed that favored the dismissal of the Texas action. Pastore & Dailey will now continue to represent the Plaintiff in his home forum of New York.

Pastore & Dailey Secures Settlement in Failed Systems Case

Pastore & Dailey recently secured a favorable settlement in a case involving the loss of server data from an accounting firm. The settlement, which was reached after the loss of vital data from the client’s computer network, helped the client offset substantial financial harm produced by the server failure.

Pastore & Dailey Wins Jurisdictional Motion Involving Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Texas

On July 23rd, 2019, Pastore and Dailey prevailed in a jurisdictional motion against a Texas defendant accused of participating in the theft of intellectual property, obtaining a ruling that denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss for want of jurisdiction. An evidentiary hearing has been scheduled to assess the jurisdictional claims of two other defendants connected to the alleged intellectual property theft, which involves the transfer of proprietary information between competing health food companies.