Eugene F. Assaf, P.C. 
Professional Profile
Gene Assaf has represented clients--including AOL, BASF, Hitachi, Honeywell, Nationwide, Raytheon and Siemens--on a variety of commercial litigation and technology disputes matters before judges, juries and arbitration panels across the country.
An accomplished trial lawyer, Mr. Assaf takes significant cases to trial. In 2006 and 2007 alone, Mr. Assaf had three successful jury trials: a seven-week trial for a corporate plaintiff resulting in $170m jury verdict in a breach of contract case (BASF v. Lyondell); a five-week false advertising and unfair competition case for a corporate plaintiff resulting in a confidential settlement after the jury asked for a calculator (Merisant v. McNeil); and, a seven-week trial for a corporate defendant resulting in a complete defense verdict. (Breed v. Honeywell).
In 2008, The National Law Journal selected Gene Assaf as one of the 10 trial attorneys for its annual "Winning" section, which features 10 litigators from across the country who have at least one significant win over the last 18 months and a history of noteworthy wins during the past several years. Mr. Assaf's work has been discussed in numerous publications. Recent publications and stories include:
The National Law Journal, "Winning" (June 16, 2008)
The American Lawyer, "Litigation Department of the Year" (January 2008)
The American Lawyer, "Top Of Docket: An Expert Maybe They Wished They Hadn't Called" (November 2007)
The American Lawyer, "Big Suits" (November 2007)
The National Law Journal, "Top Jury Verdicts of 2007" (February 18, 2008)
The National Law Journal, "Practice Makes Perfect for These Hot Litigators" (February 18, 2008)
The National Law Journal, "B2B Takes on a Whole New Meaning" (February 18, 2008)
Global Forensics (October 2006)
Representative Matters
Set forth below is a listing of representative cases where Mr. Assaf has served as trial counsel or has presented arguments eliminating the need for a trial.
Commercial Disputes
Trial counsel in seven week jury trial in New Jersey state court for plaintiff in breach of contract case. Plaintiff's verdict for client of $170,000,000. BASF Corp. v. Lyondell Corp.
Trial counsel in seven week jury trial in state court in Florida for alleged fraud. Defense verdict for client. Breed v. Honeywell (formerly AlliedSignal).
Trial counsel in five week trial in federal court for alleged fraud. Defense verdict for client. United States v. Hitachi. 964 F.Supp. 344; 74 F.Supp.2d. 1349; affirmed on appeal, 173 F.3d 1319, and costs awarded to client on remand, 101 F.Supp.2d 830.
Lead counsel for defendants in alleged fraud case in S.D. Fla. and E.D. Va. Argued and obtained transfer to E.D. Va.; then argued and obtained dismissal for defendant Time Warner on 12(b) grounds; obtained dismissal of defendant AOL on Rule 37 grounds. BizPro v. AOL and Time Warner. 2005 WL 1771275
Lead counsel for plaintiff in breach of contract case in N.Y. Supreme Court; argued and obtained summary judgment for plaintiff. Siemens v. AT&T Latin America.
Lead counsel for plaintiff in breach of contract dispute regarding molding practices in E.D. Va. Case settled on eve of trial. Siemens v. Menasha Corp.
Lead counsel for defendant Telco in breach of contract action relating to termination of telecommunications services. Successfully opposed motion for preliminary injunction in E.D. Va. Starlink v. Telco.
Intellectual Property
Trial counsel in five week jury trial in federal court for plaintiff in Lanham Act case. Case settled after jury asked for calculator. Merisant v. McNeil.
Lead counsel in trade secrets case regarding optical networking. Case settled after evidentiary hearings. Siemens v. Qtera.
Lead counsel in trade secrets case in Florida and Pennsylvania regarding electrical power generation business. Siemens v. Eaton and Cutler-Hammer.
Trial counsel in arbitration regarding development of PET technology and corporate governance issues; case settled during arbitration proceedings. Siemens v. CPS.
Counsel for plaintiff Hershey asserting that Mars' Peanut Butter M&M'sr violated Hershey's trademark rights in Reese'sr Peanut Butter Cups and Reese'sr Pieces in M.D. Pa. Hershey v. Mars.
Counsel for defendant in patent dispute in Court of Claims regarding sorting technology. Summary judgment for client. Tritek v. Siemens, 67 Fed.Cl. 735.
Securities
Trial counsel in securities arbitration; defense verdict for client. Octeau v. Nationwide.
Trial counsel in securities arbitration; defense verdict for client. Kane v. Nationwide.
Trial counsel in securities arbitration; defense verdict for client. Bazzone v. Nationwide. Award affirmed, 2005 WL 351250
Lead counsel for defendant in alleged securities fraud case brought by bond fund in S.D.N.Y. Argued and obtained dismissal on 12(b) grounds. American High Income v. Honeywell. 329 F.Supp.2d 534.
Antitrust
Trial counsel in merger case in federal court. FTC v. Staples and Office Depot. 970 F.Supp. 1066
Lead counsel for defendant in alleged monopolization case. Successfully opposed plaintiff's motion for preliminary injunction on antitrust claims. Case dismissed with prejudice in N.D. Tx. American Telnet v. GTE. 1999 WL 362759
Counsel for plaintiff in Section 7 action to block proposed merger regarding aircraft landing systems; preliminary injunction obtained; affirmed by U.S. Court of Appeals for Seventh Circuit. AlliedSignal v. BF Goodrich and Coltec. 1999 WL 437578
Class Actions
Lead Counsel in defense of putative class actions regarding billing practices in C.D. Cal. In re AOL SOSA (MDL).
Lead counsel in defense of putative class actions regarding interoperability allegations in S.D. Fla. In re AOL Software Version 5.0 (MDL).
Lead counsel in defense of putative class actions regarding interoperability allegations in N.D. Ill. In re AOL Software Version 6.0 (MDL).
Lead counsel in defense on putative action regarding business practices in N.D. Cal. Buckley v. AOL
Civil Rights
Trial counsel (Court-appointed pro bono) for plaintiff for jury trial in D.D.C.; jury award of compensatory and punitive damages for client. Coles v. District of Columbia.
