Commercial Litigation Team Extracts 100% Win for Private Equity Firm’s Oil and Gas Tech Interests in D&O Disputes
Partner Scott Matthews and Special Counsel James Tracy successfully obtained the dismissal of director and officer litigation pending in New York Supreme Court against a private equity firm, individual directors, officers and investors.
The situation involved two former executives of an oil and gas technology company -- in which the private equity firm held a controlling interest -- who asserted ten causes of action claiming damages in excess of $30 million of bonuses for work towards the commercialization and sale of a tool used to extract additional oil from wells on theories of breach of fiduciary duty, alter ego liability, and various business torts. Windels Marx obtained dismissal of all causes of action except one via a motion to dismiss the complaint, which dismissal was unanimously affirmed, with costs, by the Appellate Division, First Department.
In a related arbitration proceeding against the same oil and gas technology company employing the two former executives, Scott and James obtained dismissal of all claims after a six-day evidentiary hearing. Because the remaining cause of action in the aforementioned litigation was derivative of a claim asserted in the arbitration, upon dismissal of all claims in the arbitration, the parties to the litigation stipulated to a discontinuance with prejudice of that remaining claim. As such, the private equity firm, the individual defendants, and the oil and gas technology company were cleared of all liability.
Learn more about our work in commercial disputes, including D&O matters.
