Eugene F. Assaf, P.C.

Set forth below is a listing of representative cases where Gene 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 million. 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.

Class Actions

• Lead counsel for Dial in the In re Dial Complete Marketing and Sales Litigation (D.N.H. - MDL No. 2263), a series of putative class actions alleging unfair and deceptive trade practices in the marketing of Dial's antibacterial foaming hand wash products.
• Lead counsel for BASF in putative class action under RICO. Williams v. BASF (D.N.J.), alleging fraud and spoliation.
• Lead counsel for Wyndham in putative consumer class action (MDL case in Northern District of Texas) relating to online travel services.
• Lead counsel in putative class action toxic tort case seeking damages for medical monitoring and diminution of property value in St. Petersburg, Florida (M.D. Fla). After evidentiary hearing, district court certified class. On Rule 23(f) appeal, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated class decision, and remanded for another evidentiary hearing. Plaintiffs’ dismissed case, acknowledging that class could not be properly certified. Sher v. Raytheon.
• Lead counsel in putative class action by hotel franchisees. Shakti et al. vs. Wyndham Worldwide et al. (M.D. Fla.).
• 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 class action regarding business practices in N.D. Cal. Buckley v. AOL.

Litigation With Government

•  Lead counsel for Wyndham Worldwide Inc. in lawsuit brought under Section 5 of the FTC Act, where the FTC alleges that Wyndham’s data-security practices constituted “unfair” and “deceptive” trade practices. FTC v. Wyndham (D.N.J.). 
• Lead counsel for SIPC in lawsuit brought by SEC seeking to force SIPC to cover losses associated with Allen Stanford fraud. After extensive arguments and briefing, judgment entered for client. SEC v. SIPC, 872 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D.D.C. 2012).
• Trial counsel for Honeywell in False Claims Act case brought by the United States Department of Justice accusing Honeywell of misrepresenting the quality of ballistic material used in law enforcement body armor. United States v. Honeywell International Inc.
• Trial counsel in merger case in federal court. FTC v. Staples and Office Depot. 970 F. Supp. 1066.
• 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.

Environmental

• Lead counsel for BASF in numerous asbestos cases across the country. Williams et al. v. BASF
• Lead counsel in putative class action toxic tort case seeking damages for medical monitoring and diminution of property value in St. Petersburg, Florida. After evidentiary hearing, district court certified class. On Rule 23(f) appeal, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated class decision, and remanded for another evidentiary hearing. Plaintiffs’ dismissed case, acknowledging that class could not be properly certified. Sher v. Raytheon (M.D. Fla).
• Lead counsel in consolidated toxic tort cases seeking damages for alleged personal injuries in Lake Mary, Florida (Seminole County Circuit Court, Florida). Brottem et al. v. Siemens and General Dynamics.
• Lead counsel in putative class action toxic tort case seeking damages for alleged personal injuries in South America. Viera v. BASF et al. (S.D. Ind.)

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’s® violated Hershey’s trademark rights in Reese’s® Peanut Butter Cups and Reese’s® 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

• Lead counsel for SIPC in lawsuit brought by SEC seeking to force SIPC to cover losses associated with Allen Stanford fraud. After extensive arguments and briefing, judgment entered for client. SEC v. SIPC, 872 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D.D.C. 2012).
• 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.

Crime-Fraud

• Counsel for confidential clients in crime-fraud hearings.

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.