Marino Finley

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Case History

Zenith Data Systems Corpv.

Electronic Data Systems Corp.

1996-U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia-CA-96-14-A

Lead trial counsel for plaintiff, Zenith Data Systems, in breach of contract action for failure to provide required software upgrades under subcontract for U.S. Government IT contract. Obtained a verdict, valued at $25 Million, requiring EDS to provide the upgrades.

Ischemia Research and

Education Foundation v.

Pfizer, Inc., and Ping Hsu

Superior Court of the State of California, County of Santa Clara

Case No. 1-04-CV-026653

Lead trial counsel for plaintiff, Ischemia Research and Education Foundation (IREF) in theft of trade secrets case against pharmaceutical company which improperly accessed IREF’s databases of outcomes for coronary artery by-pass patients. After multi-week jury trial in San Jose, California, obtained damages verdict of $39 Million.

United Sadat Corporation v.

 Vanquish Worldwide, LLC

International Commercial Court, Case No.19920/AGF/RD

Lead trial counsel for trucking company, United Sadat, in breach of contract action against prime contractor on a U.S. Government trucking contract in Afghanistan.  Obtained a $6 Million award in International Commercial Court (ICC) after one-week hearing and briefing.

Target Global Logistics

Services, Co. v. KVG, LLC

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Civil Action No. 15-4960

Lead trial counsel for plaintiff in breach of contract case involving the sale of medical equipment and supplies to a U.S. Government prime contractor.  After a bench trial in Federal Court in Allentown, PA, obtained a $755,910.38 verdict before interest.

Koshani v.

Barton et.al.

Case No. 14-0998, Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia

Represented a West Virginia lawyer and his firm in defending against a claim by a former consultant for a portion of the legal fees earned by the clients in representing the plaintiffs in two environmental tort cases, as well as defending against claims by two nationally prominent plaintiffs’ firms that had been the clients’ co-counsel, alleging violations of contractual and ethical obligations and seeking indemnification. The district court certified certain questions to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, and we argued the case there as well. Following the state court’s opinion, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of our clients and against the former consultant. The two other firms continued to pursue their claims against our clients, but we obtained a favorable resolution when the other firms agreed to dismiss their claims with both sides agreeing not to seek attorney’s fees or costs from the other.

Dunfee, et al. v.

KGL Holdings Riverfront, LLC

Delaware Superior Court, Case No. N16C-04-108 RCC

Currently representing a professional engineer and his company in 11 consolidated cases brought by various plaintiffs injured or killed from carbon monoxide exposure at an apartment complex in Wilmington, Delaware. We are defending the clients against claims for negligence in connection with a property condition assessment they performed at the complex more than a year before the carbon monoxide incident.

Rich, et al.. v.

Simoni

Case No. 14-0998, Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia

Represented a West Virginia lawyer and his firm in defending against a claim by a former consultant for a portion of the legal fees earned by the clients in representing the plaintiffs in two environmental tort cases, as well as defending against claims by two nationally-prominent plaintiffs’ firms that had been the clients’ co-counsel alleging violations of contractual and ethical obligations and seeking indemnification. The district court certified certain questions to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, and we argued the case there as well. Following the state court’s opinion, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of our clients and against the former consultant. The two other firms continued to pursue their claims against our clients, but we obtained a favorable resolution when the other firms agreed to dismiss their claims with both sides agreeing not to seek attorney’s fees or costs from the other.

Sloan v.

Urban Title Services, LLC

Case No. 1:06-cv-01524-CKK, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

We represented an attorney sued by the owner of a condominium for conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and civil conspiracy in connection with the refinancing of a loan secured by condominium property. Specifically, the plaintiff alleged our client converted the loan proceeds, failed to pay certain tax liens, and failed to ensure that the loan documents and settlement statement complied with legal requirements and accurately stated the transaction. We resolved the matter prior to the summary judgment stage on favorable terms—the plaintiff agreed to dismiss her claims with prejudice in exchange for our agreement not to seek to recover costs.

Engility Corp. v.

Nell, et al.

Case No. 2018-05931, Fairfax County (Va.) Circuit Court

Our firm successfully defended a former executive of a publicly-traded company, a private equity fund, and its principals and portfolio companies against a range of claims by the executive’s former employer, including conspiracy, violation of the Virginia Business Conspiracy Act, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and tortious interference with contract. The complex case involved allegations of theft, improper use of confidential information, diversion of corporate resources, and attempts to set up a competing business. Initially filed in 2016 and re-filed in 2018, the case went to trial in April 2019, resulting in a mistrial. Subsequently, the plaintiff, influenced by the jurors’ responses, agreed to a confidential settlement before concluding its case-in-chief, resolving the matter without further litigation.

Modus LLC v.

Encore Legal Solutions Inc.

Case No. 2:12-CV-00699-JAT, U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona

We represented an electronic discovery company in litigation (and four of its employees in a related arbitration) defending against claims for misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference with contractual relations and unfair competition. On our motion, the Court dismissed the tortious interference claim and the arbitrator granted our motion for judgment on the pleadings with respect to the claims asserted against the four employees, concluding the arbitration entirely in our clients’ favor.  We thereafter obtained a favorable settlement of the remaining claims against the company.

Andrea Chamblee, et al v.

The Baltimore Sun Co., LLC, Tribune Publishing, Co., LLC, et al

Case No. C-02-CV-21-000823, Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County

On June 28, 2018, a gunman, disgruntled by an article it published, attacked the newspaper offices of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, firing a Mossburg 500 shotgun to gain entry.  Heroically, one of the reporters, Wendy Winters confronted him with a trash can but she, along with four of her co-workers perished and two others were injured.  Evidence revealed that the shooter had sent chilling and threatening messages to the paper for many months before the incident.  The families of the deceased reporters and the survivors sought justice from the owners of the paper, the Baltimore Sun and Tribune Publishing.  Fearing the case was too difficult, two other firms turned the case down.  Marino Finley, however, agreed to seek justice for the families and survivors, brought suit and, after extensive discovery and motions practice, were able to obtain a favorable settlement. 

United States v.

Young, et al.

Case Nos. 2:12-cr-00502 & 2:12-cr-645, U.S. District Court for the District of Utah

We represented a company and its President and CEO against charges of conspiracy, violation of the Procurement Integrity Act, bribery, wire fraud, money laundering, honest services wire fraud and obstruction of justice in connection with the award of a contract for the training of special forces soldiers in Afghanistan and a subsequent investigation of that contract. The matter was resolved by agreement with the Government whereby the client pled guilty to a single, lesser offense in both cases and the Government agreed to seek no fine or restitution, return $2 million seized from the company’s bank account, and recommend a sentence of time served in pretrial confinement.

United States v. Earnest

M. Sands, U.S. Army

Case No. 17-2420, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit

In 1991, Earnest Sands, a civilian employee and former Army Sergeant Major working at the U.S. Military Training Mission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, discovered his wife’s deceased body upon returning home. Suspected of murder due to an affair, Sands faced intense questioning by Saudi police and was prohibited from leaving the Kingdom for months. After negotiations with the U.S. State Department, Sands was allowed to return to the U.S., contingent on his reactivation by the U.S. Army for a court-martial. Seeking defense, the family enlisted our firm, known for success in military courts-martial.In 1992, we conducted a three-week trial at Ft. Stewart, Georgia, where, despite the government’s testimony, Sands was acquitted of all charges by a jury of officers and senior enlisted soldiers. against the individual defendants.

United States v. Staff Sergeant

Raymond Girouard, U.S. Army

Case No. 10-0642, United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

In 2006, during Operation Iron Triangle in Iraq, Army Ranger Ray Girouard faced false accusations after two soldiers executed detainees and claimed Girouard ordered the killings. In his initial court-martial, represented by Army lawyers, Girouard was convicted of three counts of negligent homicide. In 2010, our firm handled Girouard’s appeal, reaching the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, which reversed the negligent homicide convictions. We then represented Girouard in sentencing, securing his release six years early and the restoration of four years’ worth of back pay and benefits.

United States v. Sergeant

Sanick P. DelaCruz, USMC

United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

In 2005, during Sgt. DelaCruz’s second combat tour in Iraq, a roadside bomb exploded, prompting his unit’s immediate response to defend personnel. While clearing surrounding buildings, 24 civilian casualties occurred. DelaCruz faced charges of five counts of murder and making a false statement. Our firm successfully defended DelaCruz, persuading the government to drop all charges in exchange for his truthful testimony.

United States v.

Julie Hiatt Steele

United States Court of Appeals for the E

In 1997, Independent Counsel Ken Starr focused on President Clinton’s sex life, particularly the Monica Lewinsky scandal. As part of the investigation, Kathleen Wiley alleged sexual advances by Clinton in March 1998. During the grand jury, a friend of Wiley’s, Julie Hiatt Steele, recanted her earlier statements, leading to Steele becoming the sole defendant indicted by Starr. Our firm defended Steele in a trial in May 1999. After the defense chose not to present evidence, the jury deadlocked after hours of deliberation, resulting in a mistrial. The government opted not to retry the case, leading to a Baltimore Sun editorial dubbing it the “Mistrial of the Century,” emphasizing the jury’s stance against the prosecutors. “They don’t let juries hang prosecutors. So this jury hung itself.”

United States v. Thomas

D. McAusland

Case Nos. 91-5874, 91-5875. US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Operation Ill Wind, a three-year FBI investigation into defense industry procurement violations, went public on June 14, 1988, with simultaneous search warrants executed on over three dozen companies across 12 states and the District of Columbia. Over 60 companies and individuals, including cabinet-level officials, were prosecuted, leading to the enactment of the Procurement Integrity Act of 1988 by Congress. Litton Industries’ guilty plea marked the investigation’s close, prompting Attorney General Janet Reno to note its transformative impact on white-collar crime prosecution. Our firm represented Tom McAusland, one of the indicted Litton executives. Despite McAusland’s one-year sentence after conviction, his trial was among the few in the Ill Wind cases.

The Hellenic Republic

(Greece) v. Michael

Christoforakos, et al.

Court of Appeals of Athens, Three Member Felony Court, Case No. 3801/2018 et.seq.

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games were hosted in Athens, Greece,  the birthplace of the  Modern Games.  A U.S. contractor, working with Siemens as the major subcontractor, won the contract to supply the entire security system for the Games.  After Siemens was caught up in a worldwide bribery scandal, Greek prosecutors investigated and brought a wide-ranging indictment against 18 Greek, German and Swiss men, alleging bribery and money laundering.  Swept up in the indictment were two, innocent, American executives followed by three years of hearings and trial in the criminal courts of Athens.   Marino Finley represented those two executives which required retention of local Greek counsel, study of Greek criminal law and procedure, retention of experts and translators and, of course, extensive travel throughout Europe, as well as months of time in trial in Athens.  It also required depositions of foreign witnesses, including Americans, to be presented in the defense case in Athens.   During the trial, our Trial Coordinator, Emily Smith, assisted trial counsel but importantly, developed video deposition clips with Greek subtitles and demonstrative exhibits to be displayed for the three-judge panel and prosecutor and similar tools used in American courts routinely.  The Greek judges and co-counsel, we were told, had never seen such techniques used in the Athens courts.  Not only was our work well received by the judges and co-counsel, but ultimately, the judges returned verdicts of not guilty for our clients and the sixteen other defendants.   Like many of our cases, this one further added to our skillset and flexibility, capabilities which we continue to put to good use for our clients.

Working with its European affiliate, Marino Finley handles international arbitrations and criminal matters involving U.S. citizens.

In addition to numerous arbitrations administered by U.S.-based arbitral forums, Marino Finley LLP has represented clients in the arbitration of international disputes administered by organizations such as the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”), the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (“ICDR”), and the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (“DIAC”).

Our international arbitration experience includes:

  • In an ICC arbitration, we represented an Afghan subcontractor against an American prime contractor in a dispute arising out of the parties’ performance of a contract with the U.S. government. The case proceeded to a hearing, after which the arbitrator ruled in our client’s favor on both our claims and the respondent’s counterclaims, issuing an Interim Award of more than $6 million to our client and setting a second phase for the purpose of determining the full amount of compensatory damages owed and the amount of punitive damages to impose. The case then settled on favorable terms to our client.

  • In another ICC arbitration, we presented a group of American companies in pursuing contract and tort claims against a foreign joint venture partner. We ultimately obtained an award in excess of $10 million in favor of our client.