Category: Commercial Litigation

BG Wins Appeal in Dismissal of Negligence Lawsuit for Client APCo

A Bailey Glasser litigation team won an appeal before the Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia on behalf of our client Appalachian Power Company (“APCo”). The team in this case included partner and lead counsel Brian Swiger, partner and Civil Defense Practice Group Leader Rebecca Pomeroy, and lawyers Christopher Smith and Savanna Jones.

In this case, our client was accused of playing a role related to a motorcycle accident that occurred on Route 75 in West Virginia. After discovery concluded, our client won summary judgment because we proved, and the lower trial court correctly held, that APCo could not be liable for failing to maintain a driveway that it did not build, use, or own.

Indeed, all parties had admitted on appeal, that they had no evidence that APCo owned, maintained, used, or otherwise conducted any activities on the access road.

The Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia agreed and found that the petitioners’ negligence claims failed as a matter of law.

Learn more about this matter and the BG Team, visit here.

#Energylaw #litigation #WestVirginia #Appeals #CivilDefense #BaileyGlasser

BG Team Wins Appeal in Lawsuit Against Lloyd’s of London

A BG litigation team won an appeal before the Commonwealth of Kentucky Court of Appeals on behalf of our client, Mega Highwall Mining, against insurer Lloyd’s of London. The team was comprised of partner and Practice Area Leader Nicholas Johnson; partners Joshua Hammack and Travis Prince; and lawyers Savanna Jones and Christopher Smith.

In 2021, the firm’s client, Mega Highwall Mining, LLC, procured an expensive property insurance policy to cover its highwall mining equipment. In April 2021, the mountain fell in on the mining equipment worth millions of dollars, forever entombing it in the earth. Mega made a claim to Lloyd’s, but Lloyd’s denied the claim, alleging that Mega had abandoned the mining equipment. After the conclusion of discovery, both sides moved for summary judgment. The trial court granted summary judgment to Lloyd’s of London, finding that the abandonment exclusion applied to the physical loss and thus precluded coverage on Mega Highwall’s claim. We then appealed.

On appeal, the appeals court agreed with Mega’s position. The appeals court held: “Although we agree that there is only one reasonable interpretation, we disagree with the court’s reading of the exclusion and its conclusion that coverage was precluded. While abandonment can be a cause of a loss that would be excluded under the Lloyd’s policy, it was not the cause of the loss herein. Because the property was not abandoned, regardless of the fact that it was not returned to the surface, the abandonment exclusion does not apply.”

We look forward to a speedy resolution of the case upon remand.

To learn more about Bailey Glasser’s commercial litigation practice, please visit this link to our Commercial & Environmental Litigation Practice page.

To learn more about our appellate work, please visit our Appellate & Supreme Court Practice page.

Pictures of lawyers on appellate team

Federal Law Clerk Joins Charleston, WV Office

Bailey & Glasser, LLP has added lawyer Adam Wilson to the firm’s Civil Defense practice group in Charleston, WV, focusing on complex litigation, including high-stakes oil and gas disputes.

As a member of Bailey Glasser’s Oil & Gas team, Adam will leverage a deep understanding of industry regulations, market dynamics, and legal precedents to effectively represent clients across the sector. The team has experience handling matters related to exploration and production, joint operating agreements, royalty disputes, lease disputes, and more. Our work spans both state and federal courts, advocating tenaciously for clients in navigating the intricate legal landscape of the oil and gas industry.

Adam brings valuable courtroom and legal writing experience in complex civil litigation, having completed a federal clerkship in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia for the Honorable Thomas E. Johnston.

Civil Defense Practice Group Leader, Becky Pomeroy stated, “We are excited to welcome Adam Wilson to our Civil Defense Practice Group in Charleston. His unique background in petroleum and natural gas engineering, along with his federal clerkship experience, will be a great addition to our busy litigation practice. We look forward to his contributions to our team.”

Adam is a graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law, where he served both as an editor on the West Virginia Law Review and as a student practitioner in the College of Law’s United States Supreme Court Clinic. Before attending law school, Adam graduated summa cum laude from West Virginia University with a bachelor’s degree in petroleum and natural gas engineering.

Learn more about Adam Wilson here.

#BaileyGlasser #Litigation #OilandGas #CivilDefense #Welcome

BG Welcomes Three New Lawyers to Washington, D.C. Office

Bailey & Glasser, LLP has added three new lawyers to the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Hallie Arena is the newest member of the Commercial & Environmental Litigation practice group, Allison Bruff has joined the Consumer Litigation practice group, and Japera Parker has joined the firm’s Corporate practice group.

Hallie Arena brings valuable courtroom and legal writing experience in criminal matters and complex civil litigation, having completed a federal clerkship in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia with the Honorable Judge Joseph R. Goodwin and interned in the same court with Judge Frank W. Volk. As a West Virginia University College of Law graduate, she was a member of the order of the coif and served as the Executive Notes Editor for the West Virginia Law Review. Hallie was also the president of the Sports and Entertainment Law Society, drawing on her prior work for two professional basketball teams, the Atlanta Hawks and the Los Angeles Clippers. While in law school, Hallie also participated as a student practitioner in the United States Supreme Court Clinic.

Allison Bruff brings to the firm considerable experience in the federal judiciary. Before joining Bailey Glasser, she served as a Supreme Court Fellow at both the U.S. Sentencing Commission and the Office of the Counselor to the Chief Justice of the United States. She also worked in the Office of the General Counsel at the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, advising the Judicial Conference’s Advisory Committee on Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure. Additionally, Allison’s experience includes federal clerkships with the Honorable Judge Julia Smith Gibbons of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and for the Honorable Judge David G. Campbell during his tenure as Chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure. Allison graduated summa cum laude from the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Japera Parker brings a unique background to Bailey Glasser. Her prior legal experience includes positions at major technology companies and top technology/life science law firms. Japera is deeply committed to her community, focusing on creating opportunities for female and underrepresented founders to gain access to essential capital and quality legal guidance, drawing on her personal experience as an entrepreneur for three early-stage companies in the areas of real estate and fashion. Japera is a graduate of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, graduating cum laude with certifications in both business law and intellectual property law. Before law school, Japera was an educator and taught middle and high school English before becoming a school director and teacher coach.

We’re excited to welcome our new lawyers to the Bailey Glasser team and look forward to the valuable perspectives and experiences they bring to our firm.

#welcome #corporate #transactional #litigation #consumer #commercial #environmental #baileyglasser

BG Wins Complex Lease and Mining Dispute


A Bailey Glasser litigation team shaved a multimillion-dollar claim to only $1.00 on behalf of our clients Blackhawk Land and Resources LLC and Rockwell Mining, LLC in federal court.

The matter involved a lease first executed in 1937 and a dispute that arose in 2020 related to credit agreements pledging the 1937 Lease as collateral. Ultimately, after several years of intense litigation including two rounds of summary judgment briefing, the federal court found that Poca deserved only $1.00 in nominal damages.

Specifically, the Court held, among numerous findings, that monetary damages were not appropriate because Poca Land actually benefitted from the Merger at issue and that no legal damages were suffered because Plaintiffs filed documents with the appropriate clerks’ offices stating that the mortgages did not place an encumbrance on the 1937 Lease. In light of these holdings, the Court held that the only remedy available to Poca Land was nominal damages in the amount of $1.00.

The Bailey Glasser litigation team was led by founding partner Brian A. Glasser, and included partners Ben Schwartzman, Jennifer Fahey, Thanos Basdekis, Of Counsel The Hon. Thomas Bennett, and associate Laura Babiak.

Kentucky’s SB 257 Ruled Unconstitutional in Interstate Commerce Victory

In the latest update in the years-long fight on behalf of Foresight Coal Sales, Bailey Glasser has secured another win for interstate commerce and constitutional law.

On September 24, 2024, the district court granted Foresight Coal Sales summary judgment, declaring Kentucky’s SB 257 unconstitutional and enjoining the Public Service Commission’s commissioners from enforcing the law. This ruling marks a significant victory in Foresight’s long-standing legal battle against a law the district court agreed discriminated against interstate commerce.

This triumph follows years of dedicated litigation led by Bailey Glasser attorneys Joshua Hammack, Nick Johnson, and Chris Smith, who have championed Foresight’s case from the outset. In February 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that Foresight’s constitutional claim was likely to succeed, delivering a key victory with a memorable opinion that Kentucky couldn’t “have its cake and eat it, too.”

Kentucky filed a petition for certiorari, arguing the Supreme Court of the United States should take up the case and reverse the Sixth Circuit’s decision. After the Supreme Court ordered Foresight to respond to that petition, Bailey Glasser’s team employed a creative and impactful argument, relying extensively on George Orwell’s Animal Farm to show the flaws in Kentucky’s case. In October 2023, the Supreme Court denied Kentucky’s petition, leaving the Sixth Circuit’s ruling intact and allowing the case to return to the district court.

This team of Bailey Glasser attorneys has been at the forefront of this fight, leading every phase of litigation—from the original complaint to discovery, appellate review, and now summary judgment. This latest decision is a testament to the team’s relentless pursuit of justice and constitutional fairness for Foresight. And this decision has far-reaching consequences for the coal industry, and for anyone selling across state lines, because it ensures states cannot extend or deny favorable treatment based on state of origin or similar “proxies” (e.g., state political decisions) that would threaten the unified national market.

Learn more about this case here:.

And for more information on our Commercial Litigation practice, please visit here.

Brian Glasser and Cary Joshi Named to 2025 Lawdragon Top 500 Litigators in America List

Brian A. Glasser and Cary Joshi have been named to the 2025 Lawdragon Top 500 Litigators in America List.

Founding partner Brian A. Glasser is a fearless litigator who fights for his clients in state and federal courtroom across the country. Brian’s recent victories includes a judgment against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to the tune of $5 million related to an election fraud-related contest; against Johnson & Johnson for trying to bury 38,000 asbestos-related cancer claims in bankruptcy court; Monsanto related to its cancerous Roundup weed killer; and 3M related to claims by veterans harmed by defective military earplugs. Brian was named a “Top 200 Lawyer” in 2024 by Forbes Media in its first-ever list, and is Band One ranked by Chambers & Partners for his litigation prowess, among other accolades and rankings.

Cary Joshi is the firm’s Commercial & Environmental Litigation Practice Group Leader and is located in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. She, along with Brian Glasser, won a $5 million arbitration judgment against Mike Lindell accountable for false allegations of election abuse, and in 2024 led a trial team that won a $40 million jury verdict in a federal fraud trial in Texas. Cary handles many of the firm’s high-impact litigations, including its Title IX work on behalf of female student-athletes across the country. Cary was recognized this year by Lawdragon in its 2024 Top 500 Civil Rights Lawyers, and is also ranked by Chambers & Partners.

For more visit this link.

Bailey Glasser partners Lori Bullock, Joshua Hammack, Elliott McGraw, and Nick Warden were named to Benchmark Litigation’s U.S. 2024 Benchmark 40 & Under Litigators List.

Pictures of recipients Bullock, Hammack, McGraw, and Warden
Bailey Glasser partners Lori Bullock, Joshua Hammack, Elliott McGraw, and Nick Warden were named to Benchmark Litigation’s U.S. 2024 Benchmark 40 & Under Litigators List.

Lori Bullock is the managing partner of BG’s Des Moines, Iowa office and handles cases across several litigation areas, including labor and employment, sexual harassment, disability discrimination, education law, and civil rights. Lori has won trailblazing Title IX settlements for student-athletes at colleges and universities across the U.S. for violating the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination at educational institutions receiving federal funds, including an appeal against Michigan State University that was appealed up to the Supreme Court of the United States. Lori was also a member of the BG team that won a $5 million arbitration award against My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell for his 2020 election fraud claims. Lori has been named to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation list, as well as Best Lawyers in America, Litigation – Labor and Employment.

Joshua Hammack handles complex commercial litigation from inception through appeal, focusing on constitutional issues, statutory interpretation, intellectual property, product safety, insurance, contracts, and Title IX discrimination, among others. Just this year, Joshua argued a pair of appeals in the Second and Sixth Circuits concerning an issue of first impression—what it means to be a “consumer” under the Video Privacy Protection Act. Joshua also successfully argued a Title IX appeal before the Ninth Circuit, where the court vacated orders denying class certification for female student-athletes at Fresno State. Additionally, he secured an important appellate reversal last year in the Sixth Circuit, which agreed a challenged Kentucky law likely violated the Dormant Commerce Clause. Joshua was previously named to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation list, and is also a Best Lawyers Ones to Watch, Appellate Practice and Commercial Litigation.

Elliott McGraw’s practice focuses on complex commercial disputes where she represents institutional investors and asset managers in contract and tort-based claims arising from financial fraud, accounting malpractice, and corporate malfeasance. Elliott also advises organizational and individual clients navigating government or internal investigations and has represented clients in front of Congressional committees, including the 2019 Impeachment Inquiry into then-President Donald Trump. Elliott was a member of the BG trial team that recently won a $40 million jury verdict in a Texas federal court in a fraud and breach of fiduciary duty case. She has also been recognized as a Best Lawyers Ones to Watch, in Privacy and Data Security Law.

Nick Warden, a partner in our Boise, Idaho office, focuses his practice in commercial litigation, with a particular focus on complex business litigation in the agricultural, chemical, and finance industries including accounting and auditor malpractice. Nick has represented clients in appeals before the Idaho and Ninth Circuit appellate courts, as well as state and federal courts in Idaho, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Montana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Indiana, Illinois, and New York. Nick has been recognized as a Best Lawyers Ones to Watch, in Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Labor and Employment.

As set forth by Benchmark Litigation when announcing the awards: “[e]very year, Benchmark Litigation sets out to identify the best and brightest litigators across the US. While it is certainly not an easy task selecting from such a wide array of accomplished young lawyers, we are excited to reveal our list of the top emerging talent in litigation.”

Congratulations to all the lawyers receiving this recognition. To see the full list, please visit this link.

Lori Bullock, Katherine Charonko, and Joshua Hammack Named to 2024 Lawdragon X – The Next Generation List

Bailey Glasser partners Lori A. Bullock, Katherine Charonko, and Joshua I. Hammack have been named to Lawdragon’s 2024 500 X – The Next Generation guide. This recognition acknowledges the achievements of the top 500 lawyers who have vaulted to the forefront of the legal profession. This Lawdragon recognition is prestigious as the 500 lawyers included were selected through a process of “select[ing] members of this guide through our time-honed process of submissions, independent research and vetting with friends and foes.”

Bailey Glasser partners Lori A. Bullock, Katherine Charonko, and Joshua I. Hammack have been named to Lawdragon’s 2024 500 X – The Next Generation guide. This recognition acknowledges the achievements of the top 500 lawyers who have vaulted to the forefront of the legal profession. This Lawdragon recognition is prestigious as the 500 lawyers included were selected through a process of “select[ing] members of this guide through our time-honed process of submissions, independent research and vetting with friends and foes.”

Lori Bullock is an impactful litigator, handling challenging cases across several litigation areas, including Title IX athletics, labor and employment, sexual harassment, disability discrimination, education law, and civil rights, and is the managing partner of BG’s Des Moines, Iowa office. Lori has won ground-breaking Title IX settlements for student-athletes at nine U.S. colleges and universities for violating the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination at educational institutions receiving federal funds, including appeals to federal circuit court and the Supreme Court included in this submission. She was also part of the team that won the $5 million judgment against “MyPillow’s” Mike Lindell related to false claims made about the 2020 election.

Katherine Charonko is a litigator and head of the firm’s sophisticated and cutting-edge ESI group where she oversees e-discovery in complex disputes involving billions of documents and ensures proper collection, production, and review of electronic data. Kate holds the global Certified e-Discovery Specialist (CEDS) credential, a global recognition that assures clients and co-counsel that our approaches are compliant, efficient, cost-effective, and reduces risk in all phases of e-Discovery. In addition, Kate is a key part of the firm’s multidistrict litigation (MDL) teams, which concentrate largely on automotive and medical device product liability actions. She serves as liaison director of e-Discovery and ESI on several MDL leadership committees nationwide and has worked on landmark MDL matters including some of the largest vehicle defect litigations in history, including the Volkswagen emissions case, and many more. Indeed, Kate was recognized for her product liability work in this year’s Chambers & Partners accolades in the nationwide plaintiffs category, among other recognitions.

Joshua Hammack handles complicated matters from their inception through appeal. He has briefed and argued appeals in state and federal courts across the country for a host of substantive legal areas, including Title IX, the Commerce Clause, contract interpretation, deed construction, statutes of limitation, and the Video Privacy Protection Act. He has briefed multiple issues to the Supreme Court of the United States. In just the last eight months, he has argued before the Second, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits, as well as intermediate appellate courts in West Virginia and New York. Members of the firm regularly gather to watch or listen to his oral arguments, and he also hosts an annual training session on brief writing for lawyers at the firm.

To learn more about the 2024 LDX500 guide, visit: https://www.lawdragon.com/guides/2024-06-28-the-2024-lawdragon-500-x-the-next-generation

BG Welcomes New Lawyer Paul-Kalvin Collins to Washington, D.C. Office

Bailey Glasser is pleased to announce Paul-Kalvin Collins has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a lawyer in its national Commercial & Environmental Litigation Practice Group.

Cary Joshi, Bailey Glasser’s Commercial & Environmental Litigation Practice Group Leader, stated: “Congratulations to our newest D.C. attorney, Paul-Kalvin Collins. Paul-Kalvin brings unique work experience from his previous career and education that will be valuable to the clients we serve.”

As part of the Commercial and Environmental Litigation team, Paul-Kalvin will represent clients in complex, high-stakes litigation across the full spectrum of business interests. He will also be assisting in matters with the firm’s corporate practice group, which handles corporate and commercial transactional matters of many kinds.

Paul-Kalvin is a 2023 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, and while a law student he served as a law clerk and summer associate with Bailey Glasser, as well as a summer law clerk in the Civil Division of the D.C. Superior Court.

Paul-Kalvin previously was the Director of Urban Teachers, an alternative teacher preparation program located in Baltimore, Maryland and has more than 10 years of educational leadership experience.

To learn more about Paul-Kalvin Collins, please visit here.

#Welcome #NewLawyer #BaileyGlasser

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