Call Us 212-421-4300

Representative Litigations

The firm’s Litigation Department, co-headed by Jack Gordon and Josh Katz, handles both straightforward and complex commercial litigations and arbitrations, as well as employment-related litigations. Some examples of matters handled by the firm include:

  • Jack Gordon, Josh Katz and Alex Paradiso prevailed before the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a federal civil RICO action which sought more than $1 billion in damages arising from investments by two New York-based entities in a Luxembourg-based real estate development company.  KBG, along with attorneys from several major law firms representing the other defendants, had successfully moved for dismissal before SDNY Judge Denise Cote, who granted the defendants’ motions and dismissed the case in its entirety in September 2020.  The Second Circuit affirmed Judge Cote’s judgment. The Order can be found HERE.

  • Josh Katz was lead trial counsel for firm client Greg Holland in a case against his former business partners involving claims for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and unfair competition.  Following a bench trial in the SDNY, the Honorable Kenneth M. Karas found in our client’s favor on all of his claims, rejected all of the defendants’ counterclaims, and awarded Mr. Holland a judgment of nearly $1 million.  The judgment can be found HERE.

  • Michael Kent and Josh Katz continued their decade-long successful representation of the firm’s client, Charles Apelian, in warding off a series of vexatious litigations.  After obtaining dismissal of defamation and tortious interference claims filed against Mr. Apelian in in New York Supreme Court coupled with an award of attorneys’ fees under the Anti-SLAPP statute, KBG successfully defended a parallel arbitration brought by the primary plaintiff in the Supreme Court action. The plaintiff eventually withdrew its arbitration claims with prejudice, granted Mr. Apelian a full release, and reimbursed him for the full amount of his legal fees and arbitration costs. 

  • Josh Katz obtained a complete trial victory for the firm’s client, a well-regarded human rights advocate, in a defamation case against a woman who had falsely accused our client of orchestrating a series of complex financial frauds.  Following a bench trial in the SDNY, the Honorable John P. Cronan found in our client’s favor on all of her defamation claims.

  • Michael Kent and Josh Katz successfully represented the firm’s client, Charles Apelian, in obtaining a complete dismissal with prejudice of claims filed against him for defamation and tortious interference in the New York County Commercial Division.  And, in one of the few decisions awarding attorneys’ fees under the recently amended Anti-SLAPP statute, the Honorable Jennifer Schecter ordered the plaintiffs to reimburse Mr. Apelian’s attorneys’ fees and expenses, and specifically noted that “the quality of [KB&G’s] work and the results achieved were excellent."

  • Jack and his partner, Josh Katz, won reversal of a $2,000,000 trademark infringement finding by Judge Kaplan of the Southern District in the Second Circuit. The Second Circuit found that the colors used on dental mixing tips, although part of appellee's trade dress, were also functional since they indicate the dimensions of the tips, thereby precluding trademark enforcement.  The published opinion can be found HERE.

  • Jack Gordon, Josh Katz and Alex Paradiso obtained a significant victory on behalf of the firm’s client in a federal civil RICO action with global implications.  The case, which sought more than $1 billion in damages, concerned two New York-based entities’ investment in a Luxembourg-based real estate development company.  The New York entities alleged that several individuals had conspired to secretly acquire a controlling share of the real estate development company to the detriment of the company’s minority shareholders.  KBG, along with attorneys from several major law firms representing the other defendants, made a motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that, among other things, the United States was not the proper forum for the dispute.  Judge Denise Cote of the SDNY granted the Defendants’ motions and dismissed the case in its entirety.

  • Jack Gordon and Josh Katz, with the help of our litigation team, secured a unanimous verdict worth over $25,000,000 in a jury trial before Judge Daniels in the Southern District.  The jury found that defendant Venus America Corp. breached its TV airtime contract with GenommaLab by secretly overcharging our client for 150,000 spots on Spanish-speaking TV stations in the US.

  • KBG, along with attorneys from Humphrey, Farrington & McClain, the Klamann Law Firm, and White, Graham, Buckley & Carr, won a $60 million jury verdict for clients Dennis Demetre and Lori Lewis, who sold their family-owned company to HMS Holdings Corp. (“HMS”), a NASDAQ-traded company based in Irving, Texas. The jury, sitting in Supreme Court, New York County, unanimously found that HMS breached the Stock Purchase Agreement and awarded $60,000,000 in damages. With interest, the award is currently worth $87,000,000.

  • Jack Gordon and Josh Katz obtained an order on March 15, 2016, from New York Supreme Court, Kings County, pursuant to CPLR 3220 requiring attorney Lewis Saul to pay firm client and renowned photographer Eric Cahan the attorneys' fees incurred by him after the date we served an Offer of Judgment, even though the matter did not go to trial. (It was dismissed prior to trial.) A copy of Justice Demarest's decision and order can be found here.

  • Jack Gordon and Josh Katz successfully obtained an order from the Southern District of New York on August 26, 2015 vacating a default judgment entered against firm clients Nathaniel Grady and Judy Stanford in April of 2011.

  • Jack Gordon and Josh Katz secured a verdict in January of 2015 for client Broadspring, Inc. after a seven-day Federal trial before Judge Sullivan in the Southern District of New York, where the jury found defendant Congoo liable for multiple counts of defamation

  • KB&G won a motion for summary judgment in lieu of complaint in favor of its client, Employers Mutual Casualty Co., to obtain recognition in New York of a judgment entered in Iowa. The court rejected the defendant's argument that it was not subject to personal jurisdiction in Iowa.

  • Kent, Beatty & Gordon's litigation department successfully obtained dismissal of all claims brought by Lewis Saul, a prominent lawyer and art collector, against his former art advisor, Eric Cahan. Josh Katz argued the motion in Brooklyn's Commercial Division.

  • Jack A. Gordon led the hospitality litigation team at Kent, Beatty & Gordon in settling a dispute on behalf of chef Zod Arafai involving Daryl's Restaurant and Wine Bar in New Brunswick, NJ after successfully obtaining a court order requiring that the assets of the LLC that owns the restaurant be sold in a commercially reasonable manner.

  • KB&G defended the Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program, Inc. in connection with a Nevada-based litigation concerning stolen and forged share certificates by obtaining dismissal of all claims leveled against our client.

  • KB&G represented Access International Advisors Ltd. in connection with a Connecticut-based litigation against Argent Management Co. LLC for unpaid fees due pursuant to an offshore hedge fund sourcing agreement resulting in a substantial settlement following a four-day hearing.

  • KB&G represented C-Tech Corp. in multi-million dollar “bet the company” litigation against Avaya . Despite being the defendant, C-Tech recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars at settlement.

  • KB&G obtained a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction for client Interplay Entertainment in litigation against Atari involving intellectual property rights to certain “Dungeons & Dragons” video games. This equitable relief paved the way for KB&G to negotiate a favorable settlement for Interplay.

  • KB&G represented Exclaim Associates in litigation against Acclaim Entertainment involving rights to the popular video games Anco Soccer and Urban Freestyle. After obtaining a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction following a multi-day hearing, the matter was resolved.

  • KB&G represented Tarrant Apparel Group in the widely-publicized litigation against celebrity Jessica Simpson and her master licensee for breach of her celebrity endorsement contract. KB&G was able to settle the case for millions of dollars after extensive discovery.

  • KB&G has represented Sweetheart Cup Co. in a 20-plus year old class action litigation involving pension and welfare benefits that went to the Third Circuit three times and the Supreme Court of the United States twice.

  • KB&G represented Automatic Fire Sprinkler Corp. in connection with the dissolution of that company due to deadlock.

  • KB&G represented Carozzi, N.A., a gourmet pasta and specialty foods distributor, in a multi-district litigation stemming from employment benefit claims that created new law at the Second Circuit.

  • KB&G represented a former executive of Amicale Industries in connection with the denial of health care benefits to his wife as she was en route to the hospital for a bone marrow transplant, resulting in a six-figure settlement.

  • KB&G represented a prominent New Jersey-based rabbi in defense of allegations of sexual harassment brought by the congregation’s former female cantor. After disproving her allegations through comprehensive investigative work, KB&G was able to settle the action for pennies.

  • KB&G represented the plaintiff in legal malpractice action against Dr. David Sokol, one of only a handful of lawyer-dentists in New York, resulting in a six-figure settlement on the eighth day of trial.

  • KB&G represented luxury watchmaker Philippe Charriol International, Ltd. and its exclusive United States distributor in a federal design trademark, trade dress and unfair competition litigation concerning the use of “nautical cable.” The successful resolution required the infringing party to acknowledge plaintiffs’ superior rights and to purchase a license for further sales of nautical cable products.

  • KB&G represented Direct Technology Limited, a British software developer, in its federal copyright litigation against a New Jersey-based value added retailer. After obtaining an Order of Seizure executed upon by agents of the U.S. Marshal’s Office, the action concluded with an award of costs and the cessation of the infringing entity’s business operations.

  • KB&G represented A.I.G. Wine and Spirits Import Co., Inc. in a Texas District Court litigation seeking redress for the multi-pronged scheme of Mexican competitors to misappropriate plaintiff’s valuable intellectual property rights (including trademarks, trade dress and recipe) in a unique, proprietary premium tequila brand. A.I.G.’s rights were vindicated in both the Texas court action and in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  • KB&G represented Destileria Serrallés, Inc. in an antitrust litigation transferred to the Eastern District of New York from the District Court in Puerto Rico. A successful outcome was achieved after several complex motions concerning jurisdiction and venue were prosecuted by KB&G, resulting in the dismissal of Destileria Serrallés, Inc. as a party.

  • KB&G represented a defendant in a high-profile music downloading action brought by Motown Records, resulting in an extremely favorable settlement for the client.

  • KB&G frequently represents companies like Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, AllianceBernstein, Atrinsic, Inc. and Metropolitan Sunday Newspapers in connection with injunction actions against departing executives who do not comply with their post-separation obligations.

Practice Areas