Craig S. Primis, P.C. 
Professional Profile
Craig Primis is a litigation partner in Kirkland's Washington D.C. office. His practice focuses principally on commercial litigation in federal and state trial courts. Craig has represented numerous Fortune 500 clients in a wide variety of commercial matters, including disputes over mergers and acquisitions, securities and accounting fraud cases, antitrust matters, products liability, class actions, bankruptcy-related disputes, and government investigations. As a former clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court, Craig is also a member of the Firm's appellate practice and has represented clients in appellate matters and complex jurisdictional and procedural disputes.
In 2012, Craig was recognized as an "Antitrust Litigation Star" by Benchmark Litigation.
In 2012, The U.S. Legal 500 recognized Kirkland & Ellis' aviation practice based on Craig's work in aviation litigation for The Boeing Company.
In 2008 and 2010, Craig was one of the Kirkland litigators featured in The American Lawyer's "Litigation Department of the Year" issues.
In 2006, Craig was named to Washingtonian magazine's list of "40 Top Lawyers Under 40" and was featured in the article "Young Guns."
Representative Matters
Antitrust
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In re Chocolate Confectionery Price Fixing Litigation. Currently defending Hershey in multidistrict class action litigation alleging price-fixing of chocolate and confectionery products in the United States from 2003—2007.
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Dahl, et al. v. Bain Capital, et al. Currently defending Bain Capital against claims of collusion and bid-rigging in multibillion dollar leveraged buyout transactions from 2002—2006.
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SolidFX v. Jeppesen Sanderson. Currently defending Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen against claims of monopolization and tying in connection with its development of an iPad application for the display of aviation terminal charts.
Commercial Litigation
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Breed Technologies v. Honeywell. Trial counsel for Honeywell in a civil fraud case in Polk County, Florida in 2006. After a seven-week jury trial seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, the jury returned a complete defense verdict. This case was named to The National Law Journal's 2006 "Defense Hot List" and was featured in the article "Big Suits: Breed Technologies v. AlliedSignal" in the June 2006 edition of The American Lawyer.
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United States v. Honeywell. Currently serving as lead counsel for Honeywell in a False Claims Act case accusing Honeywell of misrepresenting the quality of ballistic material used in law enforcement body armor.
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Deutsche Lufthansa AG v. Boeing. Lead counsel for Boeing in a case brought by Lufthansa seeking to enjoin Boeing's termination of Lufthansa's in-flight internet service. Successfully argued against motions for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunctive relief, 2006 WL 3155273 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 30, 2006), and defeated a motion for stay pending appeal in the Second Circuit. Also successfully argued motion to dismiss. 2007 WL 403301 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 2, 2007).
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Evergreen Int'l Airlines v. Boeing. Lead counsel for Boeing in a 2010 action seeking 9-figure damages following termination of Evergreen as operator of Boeing's Dreamlifter aircraft, which transport fuselage sections of the 787 Dreamliner for assembly. Won motion to dismiss the wrongful termination claim and case was later voluntarily dismissed with prejudice.
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Solae, LLC v. Hershey Canada Inc. In 2008, as lead counsel for Hershey, won dismissal of declaratory judgment action brought by supplier of salmonella-tainted ingredients to Hershey's Canadian subsidiary. 2008 WL 2011914 (D. Del. May 9, 2008).
Securities Fraud and Shareholder Litigation
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Levie v. Sears and ESL. Won summary judgment as lead counsel for ESL Investments and investor Eddie Lampert, in a securities fraud class action arising out of the merger of Kmart and Sears. 676 F. Supp.2d 680 (N.D. Ill. 2009). This case was featured as a Kirkland victory in the 2010 article "Fearsome Foursome": The Four Firms In-House Counsel Fear The Most.
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China Fire Shareholder Litigation. Lead counsel for Bain Capital in connection with shareholder efforts to block Bain's acquisition of China Fire. Deal closed successfully and on time.
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Sullivan v. Argon ST and Boeing. Lead counsel for Boeing in shareholder action seeking to enjoin Boeing's acquisition of Argon ST in the summer of 2010. Secured voluntary dismissal of the action, avoiding an injunction and allowing the transaction to close without interruption.
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In re Flag Telecom Holdings, Ltd. Securities Litigation. Successfully defended Verizon Communications in two separate cases arising out of the bankruptcy of Flag Telecommunications. 325 F. Supp. 2d 429 (S.D.N.Y. 2005); 308 F. Supp. 2d 249 (S.D.N.Y. 2004) (dismissing federal securities claims). Rahl v. Bande, 328 B.R. 287 (S.D.N.Y. 2005) (dismissing creditor claims).
Aviation Litigation
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Crash of Dana Air Flight 992. Counsel to Boeing in connection with claims arising out of the June 3, 2012 crash of an MD-80 in Lagos, Nigeria.
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Crash of Turkish Airlines Flight 1951. Counsel to Boeing in connection with claims arising out of the February 25, 2009 crash of a Boeing 737 near Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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Continental 1404 Runway Excursion. Secured dismissal of all claims against Boeing arising from the departure of a Continental 737 from the runway at Denver International Airport during takeoff.
Labor & Employment
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Allen v. Honeywell Retirement Plan, et al. Counsel to Honeywell in complex ERISA action. Entered case following series of adverse rulings and won summary judgment for Honeywell on claim valued at $390 million on which court had previously entered judgment in plaintiffs' favor. Also persuaded court to vacate judgment that had previously been entered in plaintiffs' favor on anti-cutback claims.
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UAW v. Honeywell. Counsel to Honeywell in LMRA and ERISA class action brought by labor union alleging that Honeywell is prohibited from implementing negotiated caps to retiree medical benefits.
Government Investigations
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Aon — Defended Aon, the world's second-largest insurance brokerage firm, in connection with the New York Attorney General's 2005 investigation into the insurance brokerage industry and a multination FCPA investigation that culminated with DOJ and SEC settlements in 2011.
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NYSE Investigation — Defended a Wall Street CEO and New York Stock Exchange Board Member in connection with the New York Attorney General's investigation and subsequent lawsuit regarding Dick Grasso's executive compensation.
Other Distinctions
Chair of the Firmwide Recruiting Committee and Chair of the Recruiting Committee for the Washington D.C. office.
