Energy

Our lawyers are called on to serve as lead counsel in complex energy disputes. We bring our litigation and trial expertise to bear on these disputes, mastering the complex regulatory environment in which our energy clients operate, to win game-changing victories.

Representative Matters:

• Won an arbitration defense victory awarding claimant $0 after an eight-day merits hearing concerning a $1 billion claim by a pipeline company arising from an alleged natural gas dedication obligation in a confidential arbitration under Texas law.
• Won a trial victory after a six-day trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery on behalf of Crestview Partners against billionaire William Koch, defeating fiduciary duty claims and enforcing Crestview’s contractual put and exit-sale rights in connection with Crestview’s investment in Oxbow Carbon.
• Won an arbitration victory for an oil storage terminal facility in connection with a nine-figure contractual dispute over an oil-storage lease agreement.
• Won a defense victory in international arbitration awarding claimant $0 in a dispute concerning expropriation of exploration rights.
• Won dismissal of fraud claim against Babcock & Wilcox in an action concerning alleged defects in gas-fired boilers provided to a paper product manufacturer.
• Won dismissal of class action litigation against Raytheon Technologies Corporation, Carrier Global Corporation, and Otis Worldwide Corporation in Darnis v. Raytheon Technologies Corp. Plaintiffs alleged that defendants breached equity compensation plans in connection with United Technologies Corporation’s spin-off of Carrier and Otis and its subsequent merger with Raytheon Corporation.
• Represented AEP Generating Company and Indiana Michigan Power Company in a $1.4 billion breach of contract and indemnification case concerning a coal-fired power plant brought by a series of trusts on behalf of corporate investors. After successfully moving to transfer the case from the Southern District of New York to Ohio, we obtained dismissal of most of the plaintiffs’ claims.
• Represented an energy derivatives trader against PJM Interconnection in connection with a pre-litigation dispute challenging PJM’s jurisdiction and authority to regulate certain trading activity, obtaining favorable settlement without litigation.
• Represented FirstEnergy Generation in confidential arbitrations and related federal litigation concerning several long-term coal transportation contracts with three national railroads, developing deep expertise with environmental regulation impacting coal and gas-fired generation and the operation, efficiencies, and costs of various pollution control devices.
• Defended affiliates of HPS Investment Partners against class claims under Section 10(b) and Section 20 of the Exchange Act and state blue sky laws seeking ten-figure damages. The Class Plaintiffs alleged that HPS and its board-appointee, Don Dimitrievich, committed fraud in connection with their investment in Alta Mesa Resources, an oil-and-gas SPAC venture that declared bankruptcy. 
• Representing Heritage Power LLC and the Heritage Power Litigation Trust in claims against major distressed debt investment fund Strategic Value Partners and power generator GenOn Energy, which owned and controlled our client before it entered bankruptcy. In the months before our client entered bankruptcy, the SVP and GenOn used their governance control over Heritage Power to engineer a transaction in which our client transferred its valuable rights to acquire a major power plant—the crown jewel of its portfolio of power assets—at a below market price. Our client filed suit in the Delaware Court of Chancery alleging that SVP and GenOn and their affiliated board designees committed breaches of fiduciary duty, fraudulent transfer, and tortious interference with Heritage Power’s LLC Agreements, as well as other business torts. The parties are currently submitting briefing on the defendants’ motion to dismiss.
• Representing Skydio, Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of military-grade drones, with a valuation exceeding $2.2 billion. Skydio supplies more than 40,000 drones to over 2,000 enterprise and government customers, including multiple branches of the U.S. military, public safety agencies, and major utility companies. Our representations have included fast-moving disputes involving departing and incoming employees, both offensively and defensively.