Rachel M. Fritzler

• Representing Honeywell International in a putative securities class action and derivative litigation filed in New Jersey and Delaware federal courts concerning Honeywell’s accounting for asbestos-related liabilities.
• Represented JELD-WEN and certain executives in a securities class action filed in Virginia federal court arising from price-fixing allegations and related lawsuits. Settlement achieved in 2021. 
• Represented Honeywell International in putative securities class action litigation filed in Minnesota federal court relating to the financial results for Resideo Technologies, which was spun-off from Honeywell. Honeywell was dropped as a defendant.
• Advising Tata Consultancy Services on a $1 billion+ contract dispute with a confidential customer.
• Defending one of the co-founders and managers of the Melody Capital family of investment funds in litigation brought by a fellow co-founder alleging breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and defamation concerning the companies' operations and governance. Defeated the plaintiff's request for emergency injunctive relief that would have disrupted an ongoing sale process for certain wireless infrastructure assets owned by the Melody entities. The ruling allows the ongoing sale process to continue without interference. Ongoing. 
• Representing GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in a consumer class action, and part of a multidistrict litigation in Pennsylvania federal court, alleging that GSK made misrepresentations about the risks of antidiabetic drug, Avandia, and that these representations led the third party payor plaintiffs to purchase Avandia over less expensive alternatives.
• Represented Urban Compass, the nation’s largest independent real estate firm, and its founder, in a trade secrets lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court brought by an individual claiming to be a Compass founder. Case successfully settled prior to trial in 2021.
• Advised United Airlines in connection with its $6.8 billion financing comprising of $3.8 billion of bonds and $3 billion of term loans secured by the airline’s MileagePlus loyalty program.
• Represented C.H.I. Overhead Doors in breach of contract litigation in Delaware federal court arising from Overview’s acquisition of PerforMax Global. The case successfully settled in 2021.
• Represented United Airlines in a billion-dollar antitrust lawsuit brought by DHL alleging that United conspired with other airlines to fix surcharge prices in the global air cargo industry. Successfully resolved for a cash payment of less than two percent of DHL’s claimed damages.
• Represented Henkel KGaA in connection with claims for tortious interference and breach of contract damages arising out of purported deal related to refinery cleaning technology. The court held definitively that no deal was ever reached and granted summary judgment, foreclosing all claims. 
• Represented Appian Capital Advisory LLP in connection with a lawsuit alleging false advertising, misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference and unfair competition. In 2019, after the court agreed with Kirkland and denied the plaintiff’s request for jurisdictional discovery, the plaintiff agreed to dismiss its suit with prejudice and without any payment by Appian.

Prior to joining Kirkland, Rachel was involved in the following matters:

• Represented Time Inc. and Time/Warner Retail Sales & Marketing in connection with an antitrust action brought in the Southern District of New York by a wholesaler against Time Inc. and other magazine publishers and distributors alleging over $1 billion in damages. In July 2018, the Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to defendants on all counts.

• Represented The Williams Companies and its directors and officers in securities, fiduciary duty and merger agreement litigation in Delaware Chancery Court relating to the company’s now-terminated $37.7 billion combination with Energy Transfer Equity.

• Represented PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) in a securities class action in the Southern District of New York alleging that Tower’s loss reserves were understated. The court granted PwC’s motion to dismiss for failure to adequately plead PwC’s scienter, and denied plaintiffs’ subsequent motion seeking leave to amend.

• Represented Alcon Laboratories in connection with more than 50 putative class actions consolidated in the Middle District of Florida alleging that Alcon’s unilateral pricing policies for contact lenses violate Section 1 of the Sherman Act and state antitrust and consumer protection/unfair competition laws.

• Represented Mylan in consolidated antitrust litigation filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania regarding alleged reverse-payment agreements concerning the narcolepsy drug modafinil.

• Represented YPF S.A. in connection with anticipated litigation against the post-confirmation Chapter 11 estate of its former subsidiary, Maxus, seeking to hold YPF responsible for massive environmental liabilities as the alleged alter ego of Maxus.

• Represented classes of African-Americans and women in litigation under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against Jefferson County, Alabama for employment discrimination. After a trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, the court found for plaintiffs, holding Jefferson County in contempt for long-running violations of its consent decree, and imposing a receivership over the County’s Department of Human Resources to ensure compliance.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP