Our first runner-up this week is a team from Jenner & Block that revived fraud claims that auto part maker US Tsubaki Holdings Inc. brought related to its acquisition of Central Conveyor. New York’s Appellate Division, First Department this week unanimously reversed a trial court decision knocking out all four fraud causes of action in the case. Partner Brent Caslin leads the team that includes partner Brian Fischer, associate Olivia Hoffman, partner Ishan Bhabha, and partner Ian Heath Gershengorn, who argued the appeal.
Runners-up honors also go to Greg Garre, the chair of the Supreme Court & appellate practice at Latham & Watkins, who scored a major win this week for the Territory of Guam at the U.S. Supreme Court. The unanimous SCOTUS opinion, which provides important guidance on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, reversed a D.C Circuit decision that would have left Guam alone responsible for an estimated $160 million cleanup of the Ordot Dump—roughly the equivalent of one-fifth of Guam’s annual budget. The U.S. Navy built the dump on Guam during World War II and used it for decades to dispose of military waste, including Agent Orange and DDT. The Latham team included partners Roman Martinez, Robert Howard and Mary Rose Alexander and associates Blake Stafford, Brent Murphy, and Soren Schmidt. Guam’s legal team also included co-counsel John Gilmour and Bill Jackson at Kelley Drye & Warren and Guam Attorney General Leevin Camacho.
