Commercial Litigation

Commercial Litigation

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In today's global marketplace, litigation of business disputes is often unavoidable. Whether you’re a public company, private business or individual entrepreneur, you can look to us for advice on your most complex commercial litigation needs.

With your objectives clearly in mind, we strive to protect your interests through carefully developed and customized litigation strategies. Enforce or defend vital contracts and partnership rights. Defend against claimed business torts. Navigate complex energy and infrastructure disputes. Anticipate business disputes and avoid the risk and costs of litigation. We can help.

Whether at the negotiating table, in the courtroom or before an international arbitration tribunal, you will be alongside lawyers with an extraordinary track record of success. Working with Dentons’ lawyers, we will ensure your business is positioned to overcome its toughest challenges.

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Experience

51 community interest companies as the second to fifty-second interested parties community interest companies: Successfully advising in the high-profile Health Lottery proceedings in High Court. Camelot, the operator of the National Lottery, had tried to block The Health Lottery from operating in its current form by applying for permission to bring a claim for judicial review of the Gambling Commission’s decision to grant operating licenses to the Health Lottery. The High Court found that The Health Lottery, which manages and operates 51 separate community interest companies across the UK, is basically lawful and that multiple society lotteries are not prohibited by the Gambling Act 2005.
Archer Daniel Midland: Representing the global food processing and commodities trading corporation in complex commercial litigation regarding the grain industry.
Beemak Plastics: Advising private equity buyers in the acquisition of Beemak Plastics LLC, a manufacturer of point of purchase display products. We continue to represent the company on intellectual property portfolio management and prosecution, contracts, employment matters, environmental issues and commercial litigation.
CHEMK Group: Representing a world leading ferro-alloys company in several major trade defense proceedings before the European Commission, including reviews and refund proceedings. Dentons represented the same client in several parallel direct actions before the General Court of the European Union against measures and decisions adopted by the EU institutions. One of the legal challenges involves an unprecedented legal claim likely to have an impact on the future practice of the EU institutions in reviews of anti-dumping measures.
Community Interest Companies (CIC): Acting in a High Court action brought by Camelot, challenging the legality of the Health Lottery, a multiple society lottery operated for and on behalf of 51 CICs supporting health related good causes around the UK. Our team provided the Court with important evidence regarding the CICs’ purpose and operations. The Gambling Commission successfully defeated Camelot’s application for permission to bring a claim for judicial review of the Gambling Commission’s decision in 2010 to grant operating licences to the Health Lottery scheme. In its much publicized decision, the first to consider the effect of the Gambling Act section 19, the Court agreed with the Commission that the 51 CICs were not established for private gain and that multiple society lotteries are not prohibited by the Gambling Act.
Exide Technologies: Serving as special litigation counsel to the Official Creditors’ Committee of the world’s largest producer of lead-acid industrial and automotive batteries. At a heavily contested confirmation hearing, the Creditors’ Committee defeated the plan of reorganization proposed by the debtors and lenders. As special litigation counsel, our team obtained a ruling from the bankruptcy court that the proposed Chapter 11 plan included an unreasonably low settlement amount with respect to litigation brought by the Creditors’ Committee against the company’s pre-petition lenders. As a result of our efforts, a settlement was reached that provided US$200 million to the unsecured creditors. This new settlement amount was US$190 million more than the unsecured creditors stood to collect under the prior proposed plan. In addition, we obtained a ruling whereby the court became the first Delaware Court to recognize the Committee’s deepening insolvency claim as a cognizable claim under Delaware law, and made other groundbreaking rulings in favor of the Committee.
Individual investor groups: Defending groups of individual investors and banks worldwide from litigation brought by representatives of the estates of Bernard Madoff, Bayou Group and related entities to recover multimillions in transfers or repaid investments. The Madoff case is the first to employ bankruptcy fraudulent transfer litigation against investors for recovery of ordinary withdrawals from their brokerage accounts that are insured under the Securities Investor Protection Act.
Industry association: Advising regarding potential causes of action against public bodies, concerning a decision by the public body to use its agreements with the association's members to recover a substantially greater proportion of its running costs than previously.
International House of Pancakes and DineEquity, Inc.: Achieved a complete victory in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals who readily affirmed the district court's decision in dismissing a putative class action complaint against IHOP at the pleading stage, before even any discovery or class certification argument was required, where Sultan Hameed filed a putative class action complaint on behalf of a nationwide class of IHOP franchisees in the Eastern District of California, alleging numerous business practices and contracts violations impacting his franchise relationship with DineEquity (parent company of IHOP and Applebee's).
Manhattan Loft Corporation Limited: Defending the client against a multimillion pound claim made by property agent Charles Lissack. Mr. Lissack claimed a share of the profits from Manhattan Loft Corporation's celebrated redevelopment of Sir George Gilbert Scott’s Grade I-listed building at St. Pancras into loft apartments and the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. The judgment followed a two-week trial and the Judge dismissed the claim, finding that there was no agreement to pay Mr. Lissack a share of the profits from the development and that there was no basis for his claim to a quantum meruit payment.
Official Committee of Retirees for the City of Detroit: Represented the Official Committee of Retirees in the largest Chapter 9 bankruptcy case in US history. The Committee represented the interests of approximately 23,500 public safety and general City retirees, as well as the interests of approximately 9,000 dependents, who were owed approximately US$9 billion in pension and retirement health care benefits. With the assistance of Dentons, almost all pension benefits were protected and health care benefits payments continued. This representation was honored by The M&A Advisor with the 2014 Restructuring of the Year Award.
One of the world’s leading imaging solutions company: Advising on corporate, litigation and employment matters regarding its activities in Spain. The team advised the client on IT/IP matters and the eventual discussions for the signing of various contracts with most of the Spanish representative theme parks in Spain including Port Aventura, Terra Mitica, and Parc d'Atraccions del Tibidabo.
Royal Indemnity Company: Serving as lead counsel in a month-long jury trial concerning the fraudulent use of surety bonds to facilitate an equipment leasing scheme. Royal and other surety companies had issued $300 million in lease bonds to guarantee payments under commercial equipment leases originated by Commercial Money Center, Inc. (CMC) , which were combined into lease pools and sold to investors or lenders. It came to light, however, that CMC had been operating a Ponzi scheme, using the sale of later lease pools to make payments on earlier defaulted leases. After CMC collapsed, the investors sued Royal and other sureties on the bonds. For Royal, the Dentons team ensured the case was settled favorably, as the federal district court upheld its right to assert the fraudulent inducement defense.
Société GénéraleCrédit Lyonnais (LCL) : Advising in connection with the €24.5 million LBO financing for the acquisition of TCS, a company specialized in express package and document shipping for, among others, the banking, insurance and pharmaceutical industries.

Recognition

Dentons US CEO Sonia Martin named among Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by San Francisco Business Times

October 4, 2023

The San Francisco Business Times recognized Dentons US CEO Sonia Martin as one of its 2023 Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business. Martin is honored for her outstanding leadership, career success and community impact.

FBI Director Christopher Wray bestows prestigious Director’s Award for Excellence on partner Tony Pellegrino

September 27, 2023

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) honored partner Louis “Tony” Pellegrino with the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence in the category of Outstanding Cyber Investigation in a ceremony held at the FBI Academy at Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia. The Director’s Awards annually recognize FBI employees and their law enforcement partners for extraordinary performance in furtherance of the FBI’s mission to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. The award is among the highest honor that can be bestowed by an FBI Director.

Dentons recognized as an “Awesome Opponent” in BTI Consulting’s Litigation Outlook 2023

October 19, 2022

Dentons was one of 12 law firms named as “Awesome Opponents” by BTI Consulting in BTI Litigation Outlook 2023, the legal consultancy's annual litigation report. Dentons was also recognized in five categories: cybersecurity litigation, product liability, commercial litigation, complex commercial litigation and IP litigation.

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Insights

Rutland Court Real Estate v. Anderson Strathern LLP

March 14, 2025

United Kingdom: Rutland Court Real Estate (Rutland) v. Anderson Strathern LLP (AS) [2025] CSOH 25 raises important points that should be borne in mind when a third party reporter is appointed to determine questions of fact in litigation and underscores the importance of ensuring a sufficiently wide remit is provided to an appointed reporter.

An exclusion of liability with unintended consequences: lessons learned from EE v. Virgin Mobile

March 4, 2025

United Kingdom: Time and again, the courts are asked to construe exclusion clauses which were not drafted to address the circumstances which have arisen, often to the detriment of the parties seeking to rely on them.

How to Build a Winning Defense Case – Pretrial Strategy

February 27, 2025

Begin with the End in Mind. From the very inception of a potential high exposure case, defense counsel should begin formulating a plan for achieving victory at the end of the case, whether by motion and/or trial. When defense counsel takes this approach in a disciplined and rigorous manner, counsel optimizes the opportunity for a positive outcome.

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News and Events

Recent Press Releases

Partners Aidan M. McCormack and Mark L. Deckman join Dentons’ Litigation practice in New York

February 24, 2025

Dentons announces today that Aidan M. McCormack and Mark L. Deckman have joined the Firm’s Commercial Litigation practice as partners in the New York office.

Dentons adds arbitration specialist Peter Bekker as a partner in New York

January 6, 2025

Dentons announces today that Dr. Peter Bekker, a leading global practitioner in international arbitration, has joined the Firm’s Commercial Litigation practice as a partner, resident in the New York office.

Dentons continues to bolster litigation and alternative dispute resolution capabilities in Québec with addition of partner Ioana Jurca

September 3, 2024

Dentons, Canada’s Global Law Firm, welcomes Ioana Jurca as a partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution group. Based in Montréal, and with more than a decade of experience handling complex domestic and international litigation and arbitration matters, Ioana has a broad practice that encompasses civil and commercial litigation, class actions, commercial arbitration, professional liability and insurance litigation.

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Regional Capabilities

You are currently viewing Dentons' global capabilities in Commercial Litigation. To view regional capabilities please select below:

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Commercial Litigation

Commercial Litigation

More About Commercial Litigation

Experience

Recognition

Dentons US CEO Sonia Martin named among Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by San Francisco Business Times

FBI Director Christopher Wray bestows prestigious Director’s Award for Excellence on partner Tony Pellegrino

Dentons recognized as an “Awesome Opponent” in BTI Consulting’s Litigation Outlook 2023

Insights

Rutland Court Real Estate v. Anderson Strathern LLP

An exclusion of liability with unintended consequences: lessons learned from EE v. Virgin Mobile

How to Build a Winning Defense Case – Pretrial Strategy

News and Events

Recent Press Releases

Partners Aidan M. McCormack and Mark L. Deckman join Dentons’ Litigation practice in New York

Dentons adds arbitration specialist Peter Bekker as a partner in New York

Dentons continues to bolster litigation and alternative dispute resolution capabilities in Québec with addition of partner Ioana Jurca

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More About Commercial Litigation

Experience

Recognition

Insights

News and Events

Recent Press Releases

Regional Capabilities

Countries

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