Litigios
En primer lugar, en Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss somos abogados cuya reputación en la corte se basa en éxitos sólidos. Entre nuestros litigios más exitosos, debemos resaltar la obtención y sostenimiento en apelación, de una sentencia de mil millones de dólares en un fraude y caso RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), una de las mayores sentencias en la historia de los Estados Unidos, ganando el veredicto a favor del demandado, un asegurador, en un caso multimillonario de cobertura de seguros y creando así, éxitos sucesivos en una serie de casos de responsabilidad por productos, para un fabricante que admitió un defecto en el producto, donde litigamos temas científicos complejos.
Nos sentimos orgullosos de tomar las decisiones estratégicas correctas, conformando los mejores equipos, utilizando lo último de la tecnología y controlando los costos. Para nuestros clientes, eso significa experiencia excepcional en litigios a un costo razonable.
Los abogados de Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss litigan en los tribunales federales y estatales en todo Estados Unidos, a nivel de primera instancia y de apelación. Las áreas de mayor experiencia en litigios son las siguientes:
- Casos de fraudes domésticos e internacionales, mafias y asuntos de rastreo de bienes
- Contratos y otras disputas comerciales
- Asuntos complejos de cobertura de seguros y reaseguros
- Fraude de valores
- Demandas por delitos comerciales y responsabilidad por productos
- Defensa de demandas por difamación
- Derecho laboral y otros derechos civiles
- Demandas de mala praxis profesional
Aunque no somos reacios a acudir a los tribunales, lo hacemos solo cuando sirve para el mejor interés de nuestros clientes, centrándonos en sus objetivos de largo alcance. Como parte de nuestra experiencia en litigios, también estamos capacitados en negociación y resolución alternativa de disputas, y con frecuencia podemos utilizar esas capacidades para alcanzar resultados favorables sin el retraso, los costos y la incertidumbre que implica ir a juicio.
Noticias
The United States complied with a federal court order and released a former Afghan militiaman from detention in Guantánamo Bay. Last year, Tara J. Plochocki, one of Mr. Haroon’s lawyers, described her client as “desperate to get home” to make sure his daughter gets an education. Ms. Plochocki credited State Department efforts “over the past two months” for arranging the transfer and said the decision in this case “shows that no one, not even the U.S. government, and not even in war, is above the law.”
The New York Times, June 24, 2022The United States Supreme Court concluded in ZF Automotive US, Inc. v. Luxshare, Ltd. that federal district courts cannot order discovery for use in a private foreign arbitration via 18 U.S.C. § 1782—a statute that permits litigants to seek discovery in federal court for “use in a proceeding in a foreign or international tribunal.” The unanimous decision narrows a useful discovery tool by prohibiting parties in or contemplating private, foreign arbitration from obtaining discovery through federal courts for use in that arbitration.
June 14, 2022Mackenna White, a lawyer who counsels people as to the risks of publishing potentially contested accusations of sexual misconduct, said she worried that the online mockery of Ms. Heard would make some less likely to come forward.
“The absolute destruction of Amber Heard is going to have an impact,” Ms. White said. “If you’re someone who’s worried about what could happen if you speak out, this could have the same chilling effect that we’ve been trying to reverse all these years.”
The New York Times, June 1, 2022The mayor and McCray were so closely involved that they interviewed Jaffe’s replacement, Nilda Hofmann, months before Jaffe even realized she was being pushed out, Jaffe’s lawyer John Moscow said.
“Why the mayor is interviewing people, I don’t know. Why the mayor’s wife is interviewing three star chiefs is totally beyond me,” Moscow said.
New York Daily News, May 8, 2022A federal judge has found that a former Afghan militant has been held unlawfully at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, the first time in 10 years that a detainee has won such a case against the U.S. government, his lawyers said.
Washington Post, October 21, 2021A federal judge has ruled that the United States has no legal basis for holding an Afghan man at Guantánamo Bay.
October 20, 2021- US has no basis to detain Asadullah Haroon Gul, who was cleared for transfer last week, in a first such ruling in a decade
A US federal court has ruled that a detainee at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre has been unlawfully kept there, several days after he was cleared to be transferred out of the military prison.
The US court granted the petition for a writ of habeas corpus for Asadullah Haroon Gul, who has been detained without charge by the US since 2007. The decision marks the first time in a decade a Guantanamo detainee's imprisonment has been ruled unlawful.
Middle East Eye, October 20, 2021 - October 13, 2021
The founder and minority shareholder of Tocqueville Management Corp. sued his successor and six of the successor's relatives in Delaware's Chancery Court on Tuesday, saying he was "utterly betrayed" by the man he allegedly groomed to take over the wealth management firm.
Law360, October 12, 2021Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC is pleased to announce that John Moscow has been named to the 2021 New York Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in each state are selected to receive this honor. In addition, A. Mackenna White has been named to the 2021 New York Rising Stars list. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected to receive this honor.
September 30, 2021- Lawyers say case raises questions about legality of US air strikes and an American citizen's right to due process
Bilal Abdul Kareem, an American journalist based in opposition-held northwestern Syria, is petitioning the US Supreme Court to review his case accusing the government of placing him on a "kill list", and alleging that he was consequently targeted five times by US strikes in 2016.
The petition is the latest development in a years-long legal battle between the United States government and Abdul Kareem, and calls on the Supreme Court to decide whether a lower court erred in its dismissal of his case.
"What our case is really about is: can the United States kill a US citizen without due process, on the basis that its desire to execute its own citizens is a state secret?" Tara Plochocki, legal counsel for Abdul Kareem, told Middle East Eye.
Middle East Eye, September 21, 2021 A lawsuit that sought information about the drugs Indiana plans to use in lethal injections
and that motivated the Legislature to use a late-night session to keep the veil of secrecy
intact has come to a close, with the state paying more than $800,000 in legal fees and
disclosing that its supply of lethal injection drugs has long been expired.The Indiana Lawyer, August 4, 2021Jack Gordon of LBKM, alongside Human Rights First and Reprieve US, filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the petitioner in Abdulsalam Ali Abdulrahman al-Hela v. Biden in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The case's central question is whether the Constitution’s Due Process Clause extends to individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay. Mr. al Hela has been held at Guantanamo without charge or trial since 2004.
July 6, 2021- The legal basis for indefinite detention at Guantánamo is to prevent combatants from returning to the battlefield. But what if their old battlefield is no more?The New York Times, April 21, 2021
For "any kind of foreign litigation or arbitration ... that involves transactions in U.S. dollars, there's at least a possibility that there's going to be information in the U.S. and that tends to be attractive," said Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC partner A. Katherine Toomey.
Law360, March 25, 2021“When I made this public records request in 2014, I never imagined that the state would spend the next seven years fighting to prevent these records from being released to the public,” Toomey wrote in an email. “Transparency is a key principle of good governance and the rule of law. The state should not be operating in secret and refusing to disclose vital information to the public.”
The Indiana Lawyer, March 17, 2021The Indiana Supreme Court has ordered the Department of Correction to pay more than $500,000 in legal fees in a fight over one of the state's deepest, darkest secrets.
It all comes back to the convoluted legal fight that started in 2014 with a public records request from A. Katherine Toomey, a Washington, D.C., attorney who represents groups opposing the death penalty.
Indianapolis Star, March 2, 2021Justices divided 2-2 in a case brought by a Washington, D.C., attorney against the Indiana Department of Correction over Indiana’s “secrecy statute” that prohibits disclosure of the state’s lethal injection drugs and who supplies them.
With Justice Geoffrey Slaughter not participating, the remaining justices split in an order issued Thursday. By rule, the lack of a majority affirms the rulings of Marion Circuit Judge Sheryl Lynch, ordering DOC to disclose the records, awarding $538,000 in attorney fees to Washington attorney Katherine Toomey and granting other relief.
The Indiana Lawyer, February 26, 2021A Manhattan federal judge said Tuesday it is “exceedingly suspicious” that there are minimal emails discussing the decision to force the NYPD’s first female three-star chief into retirement.
New York Daily News, February 23, 2021A lawyer for Mohamed Soltan, a US citizen who has filed a lawsuit alleging torture in Egyptian custody, said that plain-clothes officers raided the homes of six family members Sunday, detaining two cousins.
"Now the Egyptian regime is arresting his relatives to try to intimidate him into silence. Such tactics have no place in the international community," said Eric Lewis, a lawyer for Soltan.
Agence France-Presse (AFP), February 16, 2021"Now the Egyptian regime is arresting his relatives to try to intimidate him into silence," said Soltan's lawyer Eric Lewis. "Such tactics have no place in the international community. Egypt cannot seek the benefits of membership in that community while denigrating human rights and behaving with impunity and lawlessness."
CNN, February 16, 2021A U.S. Department of Justice lawyer argued Monday that the United States can kill its own citizens without judicial review when litigation would reveal state secrets.
ABA Journal, November 18, 2020- The Washington Post, July 17, 2020
With the courts mostly closed, will sexual abuse plaintiffs get more time to sue? This article in City & State examines the effect of coronavirus-related court closures on Child Victims Act claims, quoting partner Jason Berland's recent piece in the New York Law Journal.
City & State New York, May 4, 2020Six LBKM professionals have been selected to the 2019 New York and Washington, DC Super Lawyers lists - an honor limited to 5 percent of the lawyers in each state. In addition, one LBKM professional has been selected to the 2019 New York Rising Stars list.
October 2019An amended complaint filed in Miami-Dade County alleges that Amicorp, an international trust services company, actively participated in a multi-million-dollar real estate fraud which victimized many Latin American families.
www.businesswire.com, July 3, 2019- Judge allows journalist to challenge claimed inclusion on U.S. drone ‘kill list’
“We are gratified that the court recognized that, as a U.S. citizen, Mr. Kareem has the right to be heard in court before his government can decide to kill him, and we look forward to these proceedings continuing to a final resolution,” said Tara J. Plochocki, partner with the Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss law firm.
Washington Post, June 13, 2018 - The Wall Street Journal, March 9, 2016
- October 23, 2015
- Law360, October 1, 2015
- Law360, August 8, 2014
- Law360, September 25, 2012
- Shareholder lawsuit against Barclays could become template for other legal actionsInsurance Day, August 16, 2012
- Insurance Day, June 21, 2012
- Insurance Day, June 7, 2012
- The lawyer behind a $1 billion cross-border suit against Goldman Sachs following the sub-prime mortgage crisis praises the merits of bringing major commercial cases in the United States.February 3, 2012
- Washington lawyer Eric Lewis, who is acting for hedge fund Basis Capital in its $1 billion court action against Goldman Sachs over collateralised debt obligation deals in 2007, is used to playing a long game.The Australian, February 2, 2012
- Saudi Firms Continue Multi-Billion Dollar Global Legal BattleMiddle East Economic Survey, October 31, 2011
- Huffington Post, October 28, 2011
- Saudi Arabia’s most high profile legal battle indicates just how dangerous the world’s capital markets remain a decade after Sept. 11, 2001.Trends Magazine, September 11, 2011
- The Australian Financial Review, June 11, 2010
- Reuters, June 10, 2010
- An Australian hedge fund has launched a billion dollar lawsuit alleging Goldman Sachs knowingly sold it dud investments.ABC News, June 10, 2010
- Huffington Post, June 9, 2010
- Goldman Faces $1 Billion SuitBasis Capital Cites 'False Representations' in Collapsed CDO; Abacus Factor?Wall Street Journal, June 9, 2010
Publicaciones, Presentaciones y Eventos
- Asadullah Haroon Gul: Detained in Guantánamo for 14 years without charge or trial
On October 19, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted Guantánamo detainee Asadullah Haroon Gul’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, ruling that his detention is unlawful. The decision marks the first time a Guantánamo Bay detainee has won a habeas corpus petition in the last ten years.
October 20, 2021 A. Katherine Toomey gave a presentation on U.S. "sunshine laws" at the International Business Law Consortium Annual General Meeting, held September 30–October 1, 2021.
September 30, 2021In a decision issued on Feb. 5, the U.K. Supreme Court quashed a notice pursuant to Section 2(3) of the 1987 Criminal Justice Act, that sought to require a U.S. corporation, KBR Inc., to produce documents located in the U.S. The decision has important consequences for cross-border discovery and investigations, as the U.S. and the U.K. appear to be taking divergent approaches.
Law360, February 17, 2021Creating a potential Catch-22 for the adult survivors given the opportunity to bring claims during the one year look-back period, the COVID-19 crisis has closed state courts to any new civil case filings and effectively stopped any of these cases from proceeding.
New York Law Journal, April 14, 2020In these tough times, when clients are looking to protect assets and increase revenue, it is more important than ever to ensure that their arbitral awards are collectible. A truly successful outcome requires the ability to enforce and monetize the award that was won in the arbitration. When faced with a recalcitrant award debtor, it is imperative to think strategically and work closely with counsel and experts to enforce and identify recoverable assets.
April 2, 2020- August 16, 2012
- Annual Review - Financier WorldwideApril 2012
- February 29, 2012
- "The El Paso Ruling and its Effect on the Use of §1782 in Private International Arbitration Proceedings"September 2009