In just the fifth securities class action to go to trial following the passage of the PSLRA, G&E represented numerous public and private funds in a federal securities class action before the District of South Carolina against Safety-Kleen Corporation. At the conclusion of trial, judgments and settlements totaled $276 million.

Serving as co-counsel in a Delaware Chancery Court trial, G&E won a decision declaring that all directors of the Williams Companies breached their fiduciary duties by adopting a poison pill rights plan that prevented shareholders from communicating among themselves and with management. The decision confirmed that efforts by corporate boards to insulate themselves from accountability to shareholders is inconsistent with the shareholder franchise and invalid under Delaware law.

In derivative litigation against Ebix, Inc., a three-day trial took place on G&E’s claims challenging an amended compensation agreement concerning the company’s CEO. After trial, under the approved settlement, the company adopted a revised amended compensation agreement that reduced the potential cost of the agreement by 36%, providing financial benefits to the company worth over $300 million.

G&E served as lead trial counsel for Dole Food Company’s public stockholders at trial in Delaware Chancery Court. After a nine-day trial, the Court found that defendants breached fiduciary duties to the class and awarded damages plus interest to total over $150 million.

A Section 220 trial against Walmart granted G&E’s client its right to inspect the corporation’s internal books and records for purposes of investigating possible mismanagement and breaches of fiduciary duty. The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Chancery Court’s order in a watershed decision confirming the broad scope of books and records available for inspection in certain circumstances. G&E won three other Section 220 trials against HealthSouth, UnitedHealth Group and Citigroup.

G&E has tried numerous cases relating to investor appraisal rights. The firm has tried nine such cases within a six year period, including a three-day trial against DFC Global Corp. where G&E represented certain DFC stockholders as lead counsel and reached a settlement which resulted in petitioners receiving a premium over the deal price.

G&E represented Benchmark Holdings and Jackson National Life Insurance Company (JNL) against law firm Duane Morris & Heckscher and one of its partners, Vincent Garrity. Duane Morris and Garrity had represented Benchmark from its founding in 1991 to 1996, when JNL acquired control of the company. Benchmark and JNL alleged that Garrity and Duane Morris committed malpractice in connection with a series of transactions involving Benchmark; tortiously interfered with JNL’s rights as a preferred shareholder; and breached the fiduciary duty that they, as corporate counsel, owed Benchmark and its shareholders, including JNL. The parties reached a favorable settlement during trial.

G&E’s birth injury attorneys won a jury verdict against The University of Chicago Medical Center in a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of the estate of a boy who was born at UCMC with catastrophic brain damage. Following a three-week trial before The Hon. James Varga in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois, the unanimous verdict found UCMC liable for the death of four-and-a-half-year-old Oluwasemilore “Praise” Oyedapo, awarding over $14 million in damages.

On behalf of children and families who suffered harm due to medical negligence during the birthing process, G&E’s birth injury attorneys have secured numerous trial victories, helping families to obtain the long-term care they deserve. The attorneys at G&E have achieved life-changing awards for families, totaling over $375 million in verdicts and settlements.