RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
Prior to joining Practus, John was a partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP. John has also been associated with a number of national and international law firms including Squire Patton Boggs, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, and Dewey & LeBoeuf.
John’s areas of expertise include commercial litigation, bankruptcy litigation, antitrust litigation, intellectual property litigation, and real estate litigation.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
Antitrust
- KSA Lighting & Controls – Antitrust counsel defending KSA Lighting & Controls, a Chicago-based manufacturer’s representative specializing in architectural, commercial, industrial, residential lighting & controls, and individual corporate executives, in a federal antitrust lawsuit alleging violations of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act and Section 3 of the Clayton Act through the use of purported vertical exclusive-dealing arrangements, filed before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
- Digital Media Association – Represented Digital Media Association (“DiMA”) in an antitrust action filed by Pro Music Rights, LLC (“PMR”) in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut against DiMA and numerous other defendants under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act and their state law counterparts. PMR is a performance rights association. DiMA is a trade association whose members include Amazon Music, Apple Inc., Google LLC, Pandora Media LLC, and Spotify USA Inc. PMR alleges that DiMA and its co-defendants conspired to exclude PMR from the market for public performance licenses to copyrighted music and have monopolized and attempted to monopolize that market.
- Red Roof Inns – Represented Red Roof Inns in an antitrust action filed by several online travel agencies in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Red Roof Inns and other national hotel chains in connection with alleged federal and state antitrust violations relating to online booking of hotel rooms.
- Industrial Automation Litigation – Represented a distributor of industrial automation equipment, in connection with an antitrust counterclaim filed under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act related to the U.S. programmable logic controller market in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and in an investigation before the U.S. International Trade Commission alleging violations of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930.
- Web Joist Antitrust Litigation – Represented manufacturer of structural steel tubing in antitrust action and filed by a customer alleging violations of Sections 1 & 2 of the Sherman Act and Section 2(a) Robinson – Patman Act. Advised Estenson Logistics, a Phoenix-based contract carriage company, on the federal antitrust issues pertaining the acquisition of $300 million of its assets by The Hub Group, a publicly-traded transportation management company, including preparation and filing of Estenson’s notification and report with the FTC and DOJ under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.
- OtterBox Antitrust Litigation – Represented three terminated OtterBox distributors on a “hub-and-spoke” conspiracy under Section 1 of the Sherman Act against a smartphone case manufacturer and four of its current distributors.
- Imperial Irrigation District – Represented the largest irrigation district in the country and the third largest municipal electric utility in California in connection with monopolization and attempted monopolization under Section 2 of the Sherman Act, as well as related state law claims, against California Independent System Operator Corporation.
- ClarkWestern Dietrich Antitrust Litigation – Represented one of the defendants in a Sherman Act Section 1 group boycott case filed by one of the members of the Steel Stud Manufacturers Association against certain other members. Claim against represented defendant resolved on favorable terms early into the litigation.
- America West Airlines – During its reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, counseled America West Airlines which, at the time, was the nation’s ninth largest air carrier, on whether to file a predatory pricing case against a competitor airline.
- Lower Lake Erie Iron Ore Antitrust Litigation – Lead member of litigation team that defended antitrust claims filed against Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Co., a subsidiary of U.S. Steel. The claims were led in ten antitrust cases that were consolidated and tried together in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs’ total claims, when trebled, exceeded $1.6 billion. The jury trial lasted 10 weeks and resulted in judgments totaling $638.5 million. As one of the lead trial lawyers on the defense team, conducted numerous direct and cross examinations of both lay and expert witnesses and gave the closing arguments in five of the ten cases.
Bankruptcy and Insolvency
- ASI Capital, LLC and ASI Capital Income Fund, LLC – Represented two investment fund debtors in Chapter 11 reorganization cases filed as a direct result of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Total assets and liabilities on the order of $50 million.
- Blackjewel L.L.C. – Represented a Wyoming mechanics’ lien claimant in reorganization proceedings involving the nation’s sixth largest coal producer.
- Cascade Integrated Services, LLC – Served as Chapter 11 counsel for an oil field services company. Successfully confirmed a plan of liquidation under which creditors received substantial recoveries.
- Southern Montana Electric Generation and Transmission Cooperative, Inc. – Represented the Chapter 11 trustee of a rural electric cooperative in one of the largest reorganization cases ever to have been filed in the state of Montana.
- Trillion Partners, Inc. – Represented the federal equity receiver for an Austin, Texas based wireless internet and VoIP provider that resulted in a $45 million sale of assets.
- Centrix Financial, LLC – Represented Lyndon Property Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Protective Life Corporation, as a major creditor in the Chapter 11 reorganization of a subprime auto loan broker and servicer that, at one time, service over $ 2 billion in loans.
- Harnischfeger Industries, Inc. – Represented Harnischfeger Industries, Inc., now known as Joy Global Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of both subsurface and above-ground mining equipment, as a Chapter 11 debtor in possession. Among other litigation matters, successfully resolved a $5 million claim filed by SenStar Capital Corporation, an affiliate of John Deere Credit, based on breach of financing leases.
- Cajun Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. – Represented the Chapter 11 trustee of an electric cooperative in Louisiana that included a 63-day trial on three competing plans of reorganization which began in December of 1996 and concluded in June of 1999, undoubtedly the longest confirmation hearing in the history of American bankruptcy law. The trustee’s plan of reorganization was ultimately confirmed, and the cooperative’s assets were sold for $1.2 billion.
- America West Airlines, Inc. – Lead bankruptcy litigation attorney in Chapter 11 reorganization of what was then the nation’s ninth largest air carrier. Handled evidentiary hearings in matters ranging from a $50 million debtor in possession financing to multimillion dollar claims from breach of aircraft leases. After the company was successfully reorganized and the plan of reorganization was confirmed, supervised claim resolution process.
- Terex Corporation – Represented heavy equipment manufacturer in Chapter 11 reorganization, including a multi-million claim against First Wisconsin National Bank.
- White Motor Corporation – Represented truck manufacturer in what was at the time the largest reorganization case to have been filed under the then recently enacted Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978. White Motor’s U.S. assets were successfully sold to Volvo AB, resulting in the formation of Volvo White Truck Corp.
- FDIC and FSLIC Receiverships – Represented the FDIC as receiver for Northern Ohio Bank. Represented the FSLIC as receiver for Sunrise Savings & Loan, a Boynton Beach, Florida savings and loan company with $1 billion in assets and $1.5 billion in liabilities. As the lead litigation attorney for the receivership, supervised over 300 litigation files. Represented the FSLIC as receiver for two other failed Florida savings and loan companies in connection with a $60 million secured claim in the Chapter 11 reorganizations of the Hilton Head Corporation and the Sea Pines Plantation Company which, together, owned or controlled most of the real estate on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Also represented the FSLIC as receiver for Cleveland Community Savings.
Securities
- Samsonite Corporation Securities Litigation – Defended Samsonite Corporation in a Rule 10b-5 securities fraud class action. Class settlement approved by Court, and case dismissed. All amounts paid under the settlement were paid entirely by Samsonite’s insurance carrier.
- ESM Government Securities – Represented the City of Toledo in connection with a $19 million claim in the Chapter 7 stockbroker liquidation of ESM Government Securities, the largest government securities dealer failure in U.S. history that resulted losses totaling over $300 million.
Legal Insights
