
- Battle over ownership or governance of famous New Orleans business institutions, including: a company that produces most Mardi Gras parades; one of the oldest and most renown restaurants in the world; a hotel and tourism consortium; and a regional distributor of salon products.
- Battle over billion dollar sports, automobile dealership, and banking empire;
- Prosecuting claims of oppressed minority shareholders in several New Orleans area small businesses, including: a multi-million dollar supplier of fuel to vessels; a famous local bar; a construction company; and a metal fabrication company;
- Representation of owner of vessel design in suit against former partner who misappropriated the design;
- Defense of a publicly-traded company in a multi-million arbitration arising out of the alleged breach of a merger agreement;
- Defense of a local developer in a suit brought by a housing authority claiming that the developer failed to provide the development and management services called for by its contract;
- Battles over control of local country club and tennis club;
- Securing multi-million dollar settlement for minority owner of a closely-held company in litigation related to his expulsion from company;
- Securing multi-million settlement and judgment for member of closely-held company after four day trial.
- Trying to successful verdict a 7-figure claim for a widow against a major tire manufacturer for a blow-out caused by the manufacturer’s defective tire;
- Securing a multi-million dollar settlement for the children of a husband and wife killed as a result of a head-on collision with a commercial delivery vehicle having faulty brakes, a problem of which the delivery company was aware;
- Securing a seven-figure settlement for an individual who suffered acute liver failure as a result of an adverse reaction to a pharmaceutical drug;
- Securing a large settlement for adolescent who suffered sepsis as a result of misdiagnosis.
- Representation of victims of false arrest/excessive force by peace officers;
- Representation of victims of false imprisonment/malicious prosecution;
- Representation of citizens whose Civil Rights have been violated by state actors, including district attorneys/judges;
- Prosecuting cases on behalf of detainees and prisoners for conditions of their confinement and/or under the Bivens case;
- Prosecuting cases on behalf of public employees, including peace officers, who contend that their First Amendment (Free Speech) rights were violated by their employers;
- Representation of persons exercising their right of free speech.
Obtaining a multi-million dollar judgment for the spouse of a local construction company owner where both the extent of its community nature and the amount of its value were disputed;
- Representation of professionals, and their spouses, in seeking to obtain a fair distribution of assets;
- Counseling a local marine company concerning the divorce of its two (2) owners;
- Securing multi-million dollar settlement for a spouse seeking her community interest in three multi-million dollar companies;
- Securing settlement of over $1m for spouse in a community property partition after three day hearing.
Typical matters handled by the firm in this area include:
- Acting as regional counsel for a specialty lines insurance company writing policies in Louisiana;
- Securing insurance coverage for businesses after initial denials by their respective insurers;
- Prosecuting substantial claims by insureds for property and business income losses suffered as a result of catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina;
- Representing Insurance Companies as Plaintiffs against other Insurers or attorneys for claims such as malicious prosecution, unfair trade practices, and impermissible restraint of trade;
- Representing businesses in actions related to the bad faith of its insurers.
- Representation of a condominium developer defending against claims of multiple defects in construction;
- Representation of an apartment complex developer seeking compensation from a contractor, subcontractors, and design professionals for catastrophic water intrusions;
- Representation of a homeowner seeking compensation for cosmetic, mechanical, and structural defects in their new home; and
- Representation of owners or lessees against contractors or lessors that caused or permitted water intrusions.
- Representation of businesses and homeowners against the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans for damages arising from the SELA drainage canal project in Uptown New Orleans
- Representation of numerous public officials, including a sitting Governor, a sitting Congressman, a sitting Federal Judge, a sitting State Senator, a sitting Mayor, and a former Deputy Mayor and City Councilwoman in various investigations and prosecutions;
- Representation of numerous businessmen facing charges of securities fraud, mail and wire fraud, bribery, tax violations, money laundering, structuring financial transactions, harboring illegal aliens, conspiracy and racketeering (RICO) in various stages of federal cases, including grand jury testimony, plea negotiations, trial, and appeal;
- Representation of individuals and corporations charged with money laundering, structuring financial transactions, harboring illegal aliens, and environmental crimes in various cases.
- Multi-jurisdictional trial experience defending serious felony accusations
Our attorneys mobilize in response to such calls by providing the following responses:
- Pre-suit and pre-indictment investigation;
- Management of media relations;
- Negotiation with prosecutors and other government officials;
- Representation in administrative proceedings before the Louisiana Ethics Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Universities and Schools and other administrative bodies;
- Aggressive defense of civil litigation;
- Aggressive defense of criminal litigation;
- Strategic combination of civil, criminal, and administrative remedies
Cases representative of the firm’s practice in this area include:
- Securing a $10.5+ million jury award for a landowner against the local Convention Center Authority (over 10x the amount offered);
- Securing a $7+ million judgment for its clients against a levee board for the expropriation of property for levee improvements (over 100x the amount deposited);
- Securing a $6+ million judgment for its clients against the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (over 100x the amount deposited);
- Obtaining $10+ million in judgments against the Board of Supervisors of LSU for multiple landowners in the University Medical Center hospital project (cumulatively, over 10x the amounts deposited);
- Obtaining a $2 million judgment for a landowner against the Orleans Levee District (over 10x the amount offered); and
- Obtaining over $1.5 million in judgments for a business against the government of Terrebonne Parish (over 7x the amount offered)
- Representation of artists (writers/composers) who contend that their work was misappropriated (Copyright Infringement or Desny claim);
- Representation of individuals or companies who allege Trademark/Lanham Act violations;
- Prosecuting cases on behalf of individuals or companies who allege "Unfair Competition."
Examples of such services provided by the firm include:
- Drafting of, and assisting in the passage of, legislation on multiple topics that has passed legislatures across the United States, including providing testimony before legislative committees in multiple states;
- Appearing before local governing bodies, including city councils, police juries, and zoning bodies, as well as state entities, including the Public Service Commission;
- Representing clients before bodies that govern professionals, including doctors before the Louisiana Board of State Medical Examiners;
- Appealing administrative decisions by state agencies;
- Representing and advising clients regarding claims of libel involving public issues, including litigating the Louisiana Anti-SLAPP statute;
- Advising clients on campaign finance, including: advising a sitting Congressman as to campaign qualification and campaign finance issues; representing clients before the Louisiana Ethics Board; and advising clients regarding the formation and governance of non-profit entities that address public policy, including PACs and 501(c)(4) organizations;
- Representing a candidate for office in legal challenge to candidacy and suit by opponent to enjoin television commercials
- Successful representations of a worldwide distributor of tobacco products in claims for patent and trademark infringement;
- Successful representation of a nationwide marketer of self-improvement video products in a suit claiming infringement of trademarks and improper use of a similar Internet domain name (cybersquatting);
- Multiple prosecutions of patent infringement actions for inventors;
- Successful representation of international maritime group in protecting its proprietary vessel design property;
- Successful representation of healthcare company in arbitration arising out of infringement of its intellectual property by former licensee; and
- Consultation on distribution and licensing agreements.
Smith & Fawer attorneys are attuned to the particular challenges maritime litigation presents and have litigated cases involving the following:
- Successful representation of a local bulk liquid terminal facility in a complex environmental suit;
- Successful representation of Jones Act claimants for severe personal injuries suffered on the job;
- Successful representation of corporations and insurers in blow-out litigation;
- Multi-million dollar recovery for a local offshore vessel company in vessel construction dispute;
- Obtaining a directed verdict/involuntary dismissal for offshore supply boat company with respect to a multi-million dollar claim by naval architect for royalties related to a vessel design.
The firm has represented individuals and companies in the following types of professional liability litigation:
- Pursuing third-party tort actions against attorneys on behalf of companies wronged by their conduct;
- Representing a mentally-challenged girl and her parents for failure by a hospital to diagnose the girl’s condition when brought to the emergency room, causing the girl to contract pneumonia and require substantial care for the remainder of her life;
- Prosecution of accountant liability cases for failure to review and report properly on material transactions;
- Representing investor against accountant for hedge-fund for failure to independently review financial statements.
- Representation of landowners against a local electrical cooperative for destruction of their property incident to its exercise of a servitude on their property;
- Representation of a local family seeking millions in damages against an oil company for pollution of their property incident to refining operations of the company;
- Representation of landowners in boundary and property ownership disputes; and
- Representation of landowners against engineering firm who improperly surveyed major subdivision.
- Prosecution of a Section 16B “short swing” claim on behalf of a publicly-traded corporation against its largest investor;
- Defense of the CEO and Director of a publicly-traded company against an SEC inquiry into certain trading activities;
- Successful defense of a publicly-traded company in a suit for improper redemption of shares brought by its largest investor;
- Representation of multi-million dollar investor against a hedge-fund and its accountant for fraudulently inducing him into investing.
The firm has handled numerous suits in this area, including:
- Representing an heir to a large estate in a dispute with her brother over the division of their parents’ estate;
- Representing the heir to a real estate development and management company in a trust dispute arising out of the sale of the apartment complexes comprising the largest assets of the company;
- Representing a daughter in litigation against her stepfather’s estate over the stepfather’s fatal shooting of the daughter’s mother;
- Representing a successor trustee in an action to remove the original trustee who was in the middle of a contested divorce with the trust beneficiary’s daughter;
- Representing former co-executors in dispute over handling of large succession;
- Representing a trustee in succession regarding ownership of assets held in a related trust;
- Representing family members in an attempt to protect a billionaire through interdiction;
- Representing elderly clients who became subject to an interdiction attempt by disgruntled family members.
- Representing numerous clients in actions to protect elderly loved-ones from undue influence;
- Obtained a seven figure trust interest for a related trust, after successfully arguing that prescription had not run on a disavowal action and trustee had standing to bring a disavowal action despite not being a parent.