Practice Areas
Business/Commercial Litigation
The Firm represents businesses in a variety of litigation matters ranging from the basic to the complex. The firm regularly litigates cases involving:
- Breach of contract;
- Asset and purchase sale disputes;
- Partnership and shareholder disputes involving closely held companies;
- Shareholder derivative actions;
- Uniform Commercial Code;
- Business torts (including, tortious interference with contractual relations, misappropriation of business opportunities, and trade secret violations);
- Federal and Georgia securities laws;
- Federal and Georgia RICO and other federal and state statutes governing the rights and obligations of parties in business disputes.
The Firm represents foreign and domestic business corporations and individuals in federal and state courts nationwide. The Firm provides counsel to clients in arbitration and mediation proceedings. The Firm also gives day to day advice to clients on business matters, risk management, damage control and avoidance of claims.
Complex Criminal Defense
The Firm defends clients in federal and state trial and appellate courts, locally and nationally. The practice includes intervention at the field investigation and grand jury stages to avoid further proceedings. We provide legal advice, conduct internal audits and integrity investigations, and assist in implementing internal programs designed to assist in compliance with statutes and regulations. We also provide representation in parallel civil and administrative proceedings brought for conduct which is the subject of concurrent criminal allegations.
False Claims Act/Whistleblower Litigation
Fellows LaBriola’s False Claims Act (FCA”) Practice includes former prosecutors and fifteen years of experience litigating FCA matters involving millions of dollars of exposure to FCA related fines, penalties and alleged damages.
The “qui tam” provision of the FCA encourages private citizens to file “whistleblower” lawsuits against parties alleged to have defrauded the government. With the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) the number of FCA cases has markedly increased. Often such claims must be handled while the government pursues parallel criminal proceedings. Fellows LaBriola has extensive experience representing clients under such circumstances and understands the delicate balance that must be maintained.
The firm has represented both whistleblowers and corporate defendants in FCA litigation in federal courts nationwide. Having litigated on both sides of the aisle provides us with a perspective that is unusual in FCA litigation and helps us better inform and represent our clients.
Intellectual Property
The Firm’s IP attorneys have considerable experience protecting, enforcing and defending our clients’ copyrights and trademarks. Our services include registration, licensing, client counseling, and copyright and trademark litigation. The firm’s litigation experience includes trademark infringement and dilution, copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, and enforcement of contractual claims arising in connection with intellectual property rights.The Firm also has experience in addressing trademark and copyright issues on the Internet, including cybersquatting, domain name disputes, and infringements.
Shareholder Litigation and Disputes
Representation of corporations, majority shareholders, minority shareholders, officers and directors in direct action cases, shareholder derivative cases and other cases involving disputes between or among management, majority shareholders and minority shareholders. Representation of corporations and/or their directors and officers in disputes regarding embezzlement and other forms of fraud and misrepresentation, internal investigations and recommendations to the Special Litigation Committees in shareholder derivative actions.
Civil Rico
The Firm handles civil prosecution of financial wrongdoing arising from high-dollar losses caused by a pattern of racketeering activity, such as bribery, fraud, counterfeit trademark and labeling violations, and infringement. Counsel for the Firm has investigated and tried multiple cases charging RICO, money laundering, fraud, labor racketeering (embezzlement, graft, E.R.I.S.A and extortion), conspiracy, income tax and arson violations.
Employment Litigation and Counseling
Defense of employers in all types of federal and state employment litigation, including claims based on alleged age, race, sex and disability discrimination; and representation of employers in EEOC claims and in ERISA actions. The Firm provides counseling to employers in litigation avoidance techniques, drafting of employment handbooks and policies relating to drug testing in the workplace, and other facets of employment law. Representation of employers and employees in connection with breaches of employment covenants and violations of the Georgia Trade Secrets Act. The Firm presents seminars for clients on new employment legal developments relevant to their businesses.
Insurance Recovery
Since the Firm’s inception, a substantial amount of our practice has been devoted to representing and counseling policyholders in disputes with insurance companies. The Firm has had great success in obtaining insurance coverage for a wide range of liabilities and losses. Our attorneys have recovered well over $80 million in insurance proceeds for our clients.
Insurance Counseling
From the first notice of a claim or loss, we work with policyholders to maximize their insurance coverage. Our lawyers regularly guide policyholders through the maze of an insurance claim, including submitting proofs of loss, responding to reservation of rights letters, and monitoring an insurance carrier’s defense of a lawsuit. By providing our clients with coverage advice early in the claims process, we are able to help them preserve their insurance coverage and ensure that their rights are protected. In addition, we frequently advise clients on a variety of insurance and risk management issues. From analyzing insurance coverage for specific liabilities to advising in the purchase of policies, our attorneys help best position our clients in the event of a claim or loss.
Insurance Coverage Litigation
While our attorneys are frequently able to obtain insurance recoveries for our clients without resorting to litigation, we are also regularly involved in coverage lawsuits. The Firm’s insurance litigation experience is broad both geographically and substantively. The Firm has litigated coverage disputes in state and federal courts around the country. In addition to declaratory judgment actions and claims for breach of contract and bad faith, the Firm has experience in actions involving the reformation of insurance policies and reconstructing lost policies. The Firm litigates against many of the largest domestic and international insurance carriers, and has successfully tried coverage lawsuits to verdict.
Industries Represented
The Firm has represented a wide variety of policyholders, from large national corporations to individuals. The Firm’s clients include manufacturers, distributors, hotel and restaurant operators, general contractors, subcontractors, law firms, community centers, interstate petroleum pipeline carriers, and home services companies.
Types of Claims
The Firm’s insurance coverage experience includes environmental claims, construction defect claims, commercial property losses, business interruption claims, intellectual property claims, claims for punitive damages, disability and health claims, malpractice claims, aviation risks, and directors’ and officers’ liability exposure.
Insurance Policies
The Firm has provided coverage advice and litigated cases involving nearly all commercial insurance products, including:
- Commercial General Liability
- Umbrella/Excess Liability
- Employment Practices Liability
- Directors and Officers Liability
- Professional Liability
- Builder’s Risk
- Commercial Property
- Homeowners
- Inland Marine
- Jewelers Block
- Disability
The Firm’s experience includes both “occurrence” and “claims made” policies.
Bad Faith and Extra-contractual Claims
Many of the cases handled by the Firm involve claims of bad faith and extra-contractual damages. As a result, the Firm has extensive experience in prosecuting bad faith claims handling, negligent and bad faith failure to settle, and various statutory bad faith claims.
Broker Liability
As an offshoot of the Firm’s Insurance Recovery practice, our attorneys also represent policyholders in claims against their insurance brokers for failure to procure and maintain coverage.
Personal Injury/Wrongful Death
The Firm has successfully represented many clients in substantial personal injury litigation. Our quality of representation of clients in personal injury litigation has been proven by our successful litigation in the state and federal courts of cases involving wrongful death, paralysis, brain damage and other serious, permanent physical and emotional injuries arising from automobile accidents, trucking accidents, industrial accidents, products liability accidents and maritime accidents.
FELLOWS LABRIOLA LLP
233 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 2400
Harris Tower
Atlanta, GA 30303
404.586.9200
