Laurence A. Schoen

Antitrust

• Served as co-lead counsel for pharmaceutical company defendant in the Nexium antitrust MDL litigation, the first alleged “pay-for-delay” case to go to trial since the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in FTC v. Actavis. Larry's cross-examination of a key “reverse payment” expert resulted in the court striking the expert’s testimony after he left the stand, and paved the way for a favorable settlement for Larry’s client shortly before the close of the evidence in a six-week jury trial.
• Successfully represented a pharmaceutical defendant in the Solodyn antitrust MDL litigation.
• Defended a national television network in a highly publicized contract and antitrust lawsuit brought by local television affiliate seeking injunctive relief to compel the renewal of its network affiliation; prevailed on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion which resulted in the Court dismissing the case in its entirety. See WHDH-TV v. Comcast Corp., 186 F. Supp. 3d 107 (D. Mass 2016).

Securities and Class Action Defense

• Defeated class certification and obtained judgment on the pleadings in favor of defendants on all counts in a securities class action against a biopharmaceutical company and four of its former officers, Karth v. Keryx, 334 F.R.D. 7 (D. Mass. 2019) and then successfully defended that judgment on appeal before the First Circuit, 6 F.4th 123 (1st Cir. 2021).
• Helped lead the team that represented Shari Redstone in litigation in the Delaware Chancery Court concerning the corporate governance of Viacom, Inc. and related litigation in Massachusetts Probate Court. Played a key role in the negotiation of the global settlement that has been described in the press as a complete victory for Shari Redstone.
• After a month-long trial in California Superior Court, won a judgment for $28 million against a word-renowned scientist for negligent misrepresentation in wrongfully inducing plaintiffs’ investment in a start-up pharmaceutical company.
• Prevailed on a motion to dismiss in Delaware Chancery Court in an action asserting claims for breach of fiduciary duty based on a director’s approval of the compensation of the Company’s former chairman.
• Currently representing a family trust in a shareholder dispute between the co-founders of a life sciences start-up alleging securities fraud under the California blue sky statute, common law fraudulent inducement, and breaches of fiduciary duty.
• Represented an international corporation and its subsidiaries in a dispute with a major financial institution concerning illiquid auction rate securities and collateralized debt obligations that were purchased in the client’s corporate cash accounts. Our efforts resulted in a settlement by which the client received a cash payment of $100 million.
• Obtained dismissal of a Section 220 books and records action in Delaware Chancery Court.
• In a first-of-its-kind privacy class action lawsuit brought in New York seeking $100 million in damages, Larry was part of the team that won a trial verdict dismissing all claims against his client, a Fortune 100 company. See Anonymous v. Hinderstein, et al., (NY Sup. Ct. Index No. 604804/99 (2004)).
• Defeated class certification in putative privacy class action against a national pharmacy chain concerning its unsolicited mailings to customers.

Contract Disputes

• Currently representing a pharmaceutical company in a royalty dispute in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
• Successfully represented three former partners of a venture capital firm in a clawback dispute in the Business Litigation Session of the Massachusetts Superior Court.
• Defended parts supplier in the damages phase of a case in which the plaintiff medical device company sought over $100 million in lost profit damages. Briefed and argued a successful Daubert motion in the Business Litigation Session of Massachusetts Superior Court that resulted in the exclusion from evidence of a substantial portion of the opinions of plaintiffs’ damages expert, causing the plaintiff to withdraw its lost profits claim on the eve of trial.
• Successfully defended a biodiesel manufacturer in an arbitration proceeding concerning a supply contract dispute that involved the correct treatment of federal subsidies provided by the Commodity Credit Corporation.
• Successfully represented a pharmaceutical company in a supply contract dispute in the Commercial Division of New York Superior Court.
• Represented an American beverage supplier in a breach of contract arbitration against a global equipment manufacturer.
• Handled a variety of complex arbitration proceedings, including royalty disputes, EB-5 litigation, indemnification claims, and clean-tech matters.

Bankruptcy-Related Litigation

• Helped negotiate a plan of reorganization with the Debtor, and then overcame the objections of the Unsecured Creditors Committee to obtain a favorable outcome for the Bond Trustee on behalf of the holders of $148.92 million in hospital revenue bonds issued for the benefit of a West Virginia-based hospital system, and that allowed the hospital to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• Represented the Bond Trustee in litigation relating to the $110 million bond financing of a partially-built retirement community in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Obtained a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal of all claims brought against the Bond Trustee by the Project’s contractors and subcontractors.
• Successfully represented bondholders who owned a majority stake of bonds used to finance a continuing care retirement community in Illinois, in a dispute with the debtor and Unsecured Creditors Committee connected to the property and its plan of reorganization.
• Currently representing investors in an oil and gas company in an adversary proceeding relating to alleged violations of the plan of reorganization.
• Defended a national public accounting firm in a malpractice action involving the audit of an insurance company that was subsequently declared insolvent. The plaintiff, the Massachusetts Commissioner of Insurance, sought in excess of $50 million in damages under a “deepening insolvency” theory. Successfully obtained partial summary judgments that knocked out 90% of the damages claimed by the plaintiff. See Bowler v. Arthur Andersen, 2005 WL 2402875 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2005).

Trade Secrets/ Intellectual Property/ Non-Compete Litigation

• Successfully opposed a motion for preliminary injunction in a case alleging trade secret misappropriation under federal and state law.
• Obtained a defense verdict after a two-week bench trial in the Business Litigation Session of Massachusetts Superior Court in a case alleging misappropriation of trade secrets involving laser technology.
• Defended an integrated circuit maker in a patent infringement lawsuit and in asserting Lanham Act counterclaims.
• Successfully represented an investment fund in non-compete litigation involving the real estate secondaries market.

Challenges to Government Action

• Represented a national trade association of automobile manufacturers in their constitutional challenge, on federal preemption grounds, to the Data Access Law that was passed by the Massachusetts voters via a ballot initiative in the November 2020 election.
• Led the Mintz team that brought suit on behalf of the Mississippi chapter of the NAACP challenging the state of Mississippi’s diversion of $570 million in Hurricane Katrina disaster relief funds to finance a port project and casino. Successfully negotiated a settlement which resulted in 5,253 families victimized by Hurricane Katrina receiving over $213 million in aid.
• Co-authored a Supreme Court amicus brief on behalf of our pro bono clients National Network to End Domestic Violence and Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project, in U.S. v. Hayes, No. 07-608, in connection with a successful challenge to the Fourth Circuit’s ruling frustrating the purpose of the federal ban on gun ownership by individuals convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors.
• Represented a national supplier of wireless security systems in a successful challenge to orders issued by city wiring inspectors requiring these wireless systems to be installed by a licensed electrician.
• Represented the plaintiff in a six-week trial before the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, DC, in which we won a verdict for our client of $8.8 million from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the first time that the federal government was ever ordered to pay lost profits damages in a contract dispute involving a new venture. See Energy Capital Partners v. United States, 47 Fed. Cl. 382, affirmed 302 F.2d 1314.