Craig S. Primis, P.C.

Commercial Litigation

• United States v. UnitedHealth Group and Change Healthcare. As first-chair trial counsel for UnitedHealth Group, defeated the Department of Justice’s attempt to block UnitedHealth’s $13 billion acquisition of Change Healthcare in a ruling the Wall Street Journal called a “blow to stepped-up antitrust enforcement by the Biden administration.” This case was featured in the September 2022 edition of The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week.”

• United States v. Honeywell. Argued and won appeal for Honeywell in a case of first impression that established a pro tanto dollar-for-dollar setoff of common damages among defendants in multi-defendant cases brought under the False Claims Act, which completely eliminated Honeywell’s exposure for statutory damages under the FCA . This case was featured in the March 2022 Bloomberg article, “Honeywell Says Body Armor Case Should End Because U.S. Got Paid” and the August 2022 Law.com article, “Honeywell Can't Be Forced to Pay $35M in False Claims Case.”

• State of Florida v. State of Georgia. Obtained a unanimous decision in the United States Supreme Court for the State of Georgia in a rare “original jurisdiction” dispute against Florida. Won a five-week bench trial before a Special Master and argued the case twice in the Supreme Court, ultimately prevailing on all claims after eight years of litigation. This case was featured in the article “Winning the Water War” in the February 2017 edition of The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week,” as well as The Atlanta Journal-Constitution article in December 2019, “Georgia Wins Major Victory in Legal Fight with Florida Over Water Use,” and the March 2021 Wall Street Journal article, “Supreme Court Backs Georgia in Water Dispute with Florida.”

• Boeing 737 MAX litigation and investigation. Counsel to Boeing in a series of investigations and class actions arising out of the grounding of the 737 MAX. Won dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the Southwest pilots union in Texas state court and a class action brought by Southwest flight attendants in federal court.

• Garrett Motion v. Honeywell. Defended Honeywell in breach of fiduciary duty case brought by Garrett Motion in December 2019 that sought to invalidate over $1 billion in indemnity payments Garrett assumed as part of its spinoff from Honeywell. Defeated Garrett’s efforts to use New York state court and a federal bankruptcy proceeding to eliminate Honeywell’s recovery and secured a settlement in bankruptcy that will pay Honeywell more than $1 billion in cash over ten years. This case was featured in the January 2021 Wall Street Journal article, “Garrett Motion Shareholders Win Bankruptcy Bidding War.” 

• Force & Cohen v. Facebook. Won dismissal of two related actions brought by Israeli citizens seeking damages and an injunction concerning the posting of terrorist content on Facebook. Argued the appeal in the Second Circuit, which affirmed the district court holding that claims for damages under the federal Antiterrorism Act were barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. This case was featured in the article, “Litigators of the Week: Kirkland Duo Wins One for Facebook—and the Internet,” in the August 2019 issue of The American Lawyer Litigation Daily and also in the article, “Shout-Out: Kirkland Wins Dismissal of Suits Blaming Facebook for Terror Attacks,” in the May 2017 issue of The American Lawyer Litigation Daily.

• SolidFX v. Jeppesen Sanderson. Argued and won appeal on behalf of Boeing subsidiary, Jeppesen, resulting in reversal of jury verdict awarding $45 million in lost profit damages. Also won affirmance of a summary judgment victory on antitrust claims alleging monopolization and tying in connection with Jeppesen’s development of an iPad application for the display of aviation terminal charts. The case was featured in the article, “Boeing Beats $43M Software Contract Verdict in 10th Circ.” in the November 2016 edition of Law360.

• Klayman v. Facebook. Lead counsel for Facebook in tort action stemming from allegedly offensive material posted on Facebook. Won appeal in the D.C. Circuit, which affirmed the District Court’s dismissal on the ground that the Communications Decency Act barred plaintiff’s claims against an interactive service provider like Facebook. This case was featured in the article, “Decency Act Shields Facebook From $1B Suit, DC Circ. Says,” in June 2014 by Law360.

• Breed Technologies v. Honeywell. Won a seven week jury trial in Florida state court in a case seeking hundreds of millions of dollars for alleged accounting fraud in a corporate transaction. This case was named to The National Law Journal’s 2006 “Defense Hot List” and was featured in the article, “Big Suits,” in the June 2006 edition of The American Lawyer.

• Plumbers’ Local Union No. 690 Health Plan v. Sanofi, S.A. Won dismissal with prejudice of state law claims alleging that Accenture assisted Sanofi in developing a plan to cause pharmacies to switch plaintiffs’ members’ diabetes prescriptions to Sanofi’s drugs from competitors’ drugs. This case was featured in the article, “Sanofi Escapes Health Plans’ ‘Deficient’ Kickback Suit,” in the May 2017 edition of Law360.

• ScanSource v. Avanade Inc. Won motion to dismiss fraud and negligence claims brought by ScanSource against Accenture subsidiary, Avanade, in federal court in Atlanta, Georgia. The case arose out of ScanSource’s termination of an ERP implementation where Avanade was hired as the lead implementation consultant. Breach of contract claim was also dismissed but was allowed as part of an amended complaint and later settled amicably.

• 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).

Trade Secrets

• Honeywell International Inc. As lead trial counsel in North Carolina state court, won summary judgment in lawsuit alleging that Honeywell misappropriated trade secrets when it hired an employee who previously worked at a competitor and subsequently obtained a contract to supply the Enhanced Combat Helmet to the U.S. military. This case was featured in the Reuters article, “Honeywell Knocks Combat Helmet Trade Secrets Case on its Head,” in July 2018.

• Hercules Capital. Lead counsel for plaintiff Hercules Capital in a 2015 California state court lawsuit alleging that five former employees and the competitor who hired them misappropriated trade secrets in the form of financial models and due diligence materials relating to Hercules’ evaluation of venture debt investments in technology companies. After the court denied a motion to dismiss and the parties engaged in discovery, the case settled.

False Claims Act

• Uchityl v. Accenture. Won summary judgment on majority of claims for Accenture and its subsidiary, Avanade, in a False Claims Act case in federal court in Seattle relating to the provision of “task management” software and related services to the Defense Department and various military commands.

• United States v. Honeywell. 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. Won appeal in 2022 eliminating all statutory damages under the FCA for Honeywell.

• Lee v. Textron Marine and Land Systems, et al. As lead counsel for Textron, won dismissal in 2013 in a False Claims Act case brought by a former Textron analyst for alleged inventory discrepancies in a Louisiana warehouse for armored security vehicles sold to the U.S. military.

Antitrust Litigation

• UnitedHealth Group. Trial victory over the Department of Justice, defeating effort to block UnitedHealth’s $13 billion acquisition of Change Healthcare and securing approval of the transaction and related divestiture.

• In re Interior Molded Doors Litigation. Obtained class settlement for client Jeld-Wen in nationwide class action alleging price fixing in the sale of interior molded doors.

• Dahl, et al. v. Bain Capital, et al. Defense of Bain Capital against claims of collusion and bid-rigging in multibillion dollar leveraged buyout transactions from 2002–2006. Won partial summary judgment for Bain in 2013 and case settled soon thereafter. This case was recognized in the article, “Bain, Goldman Settlements A Cautionary Tale for PE Firms,” in the June 2014 edition of Law360.

• In re Chocolate Confectionery Price Fixing Litigation. Won summary judgment for Hershey in multidistrict class action litigation alleging price-fixing of chocolate and confectionery products in the United States from 2003–2007. This case was featured in the article, “Big Suits,” in the April 2014 edition of The American Lawyer.

• Honeywell. Counsel to Honeywell as plaintiff bringing antitrust claims to successfully block a merger between the only two manufacturers of aircraft landing gear in the United States.

• Bell Atlantic/Verizon. Counsel to Bell Atlantic as plaintiff in a case alleging that Lucent monopolized the market for telephone switching equipment and manipulated interfaces to prevent third-party peripherals from communicating with Lucent switches.

• Office Depot. Counsel to Office Depot in its attempted merger with Staples.

Securities Fraud and Shareholder Litigation

• Seeks v. The Boeing Company, et al. (N.D. Ill.). Currently defending Boeing against claims of securities fraud arising out of two accidents involving the 737 Max aircraft.

• Jeweltex Manufacturing v. The Boeing Company, et al. (E.D.N.Y.). Successfully blocked shareholder efforts to enjoin Boeing’s annual shareholder meeting, force changes to its proxy solicitation and obtain expedited discovery.

• 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 BTI Consulting’s 2010 article, “Fearsome Foursome: The Four Firms In-House Counsel Fear The Most.”

• 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.

• 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.

• 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). 328 B.R. 287 (S.D.N.Y. 2005) (dismissing creditor claims).

• American High Income Trust v. Honeywell. Obtained dismissal for Honeywell in alleged securities fraud case brought by high-yield bond fund. 329 F. Supp. 2d 534 (S.D.N.Y. 2004).

Labor & Employment

• Watkins, et al. v. Honeywell International Inc. Defeated preliminary injunction and won dismissal on behalf of Honeywell in a putative class action brought by a group of Honeywell retirees who alleged the company’s termination of retiree benefits breached their collective bargaining agreement and violated ERISA. Affirmed on appeal. This case was featured in “Litigators of the Week: Kirkland Duo Delivers Big for Honeywell,” in the November 2017 issue of The American Lawyer Litigation Daily.

• Fletcher, et al. v. Honeywell International, Inc. Defended Honeywell in a class action brought by retirees claiming a right to lifetime medical benefits. Although a trial court had ruled with plaintiffs following a bench trial, a unanimous panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the collective bargaining agreements at issue unambiguously did not vest retiree health care and instead expressly terminated benefits on a specified date.

• UAW v. Honeywell. As lead counsel, won summary judgment for Honeywell in LMRA and ERISA class action brought by labor union alleging that Honeywell is prohibited from implementing negotiated caps to retiree medical benefits. Affirmed on appeal.

• Allen v. Honeywell Retirement Plan, et al. Lead 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.

State of North Dakota v. 2003 Chevrolet Silverado, et al. (N.D. Dist. Ct.) Represented an individual, pro bono, in a civil forfeiture proceeding. In 2019, Kirkland challenged North Dakota's forfeiture laws as unconstitutional. The State declined to defend its forfeiture statute and voluntarily dismissed the case, resulting in the successful return of the client's truck. This case was featured in the article, “Daily Dicta: In Pickup Truck v. North Dakota, the Truck Wins — Thanks to Kirkland & Ellis,” in the October 2019 issue of The American Lawyer Litigation Daily.