After three weeks of trial, the Halloran & Sage Commercial Litigation Department resolved a computer software case where the plaintiffs claimed $237 million in damages. This achievement was accomplished under unusual circumstances in which the client retained the Firm’s Commercial Litigation team just six months before trial.

The Firm’s client, a large software developer and integrator, was sued for, among other things, breach of contract, fraud, and negligence, by an international cooperative of floor covering dealers, which sought, like many other companies during the late 1990s, to revolutionize the way its industry conducts business by use of the internet. Essentially, this involved a change from a telephonic ordering process to a computerized one, through which many retail stores could order from many suppliers over the internet (known as a “many-to-many” e-commerce system).

Through several strong defenses and counterclaims for, among other things, trademark infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition under the Lanham Act, unfair trade practices, and violations of computer tampering statutes, the Commercial Litigation Department trial team aggressively attacked the plaintiffs’ case.

Success was due in large part to the impressive coordination among the Department’s members, who operated under extreme limitations to complete court-ordered discovery, including completing 24 depositions in 7 states from December 21, 2001 to January 10, 2002. The Firm’s client was very pleased with the result, which served to maintain its solid reputation within the software industry.