Jeffery M. Cross

Representative Matters

• Co-counsel in patent antitrust jury trial involving Walker Process fraud and sham litigation resulting in jury verdict after trebling of $315 million. 

• Member of trial team for a private equity client in the 13-day jury trial of its securities fraud claim, resulting in $5 million recovery for our client.

• One of the lead counsel for the Noranda defendants in the Sulfuric Acid Antitrust Litigation in the Northern District of Illinois. The case was an antitrust class action which alleged price fixing and output restraints. The case resulted in a decision in defendants’ favor before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in a decision by Judge Richard Posner. Jeff also represented the Noranda defendants in the concurrent criminal investigation which resulted in the Department of Justice closing the investigation without any indictment.

• Lead antitrust counsel for McKee Food’s acquisition of the Drake’s brand snack cakes from Hostess Brands.

• Lead antitrust counsel for a chemical manufacturer in its acquisition of assets from competitors.

• Lead counsel for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway in an antitrust case in San Francisco. The case involved allegations of tying, violations of the essential facilities doctrine, attempted monopolization, vertical foreclosure, coerced reciprocity and price fixing, resulting in a summary judgment in BNSF’s favor on all counts, which was affirmed in the Ninth Circuit.

• Lead counsel for a Santa Barbara, California defendant in an antitrust class action in the Southern District of Illinois. Jeff played a lead role on behalf of all defendants in defeating class certification.

• Counsel to the Vice President of Marketing at a well-known national snack food company regarding the Robinson-Patman Act, including the sections of the Act dealing with promotions and allowances.

• Counsel to a major international human resources consulting firm on the antitrust issues of collecting wage and benefit data and disseminating this data to clients. 

• Counsel to a well-known Japanese manufacturer involving a proposed sales and pricing program.

• Lead trial counsel for BP America, Inc. in a ten-week antitrust jury trial in Los Angeles. The case involved allegations of horizontal allocations of markets, price fixing and monopolization. The jury acquitted all defendants on one count and hung on a second count. A favorable settlement ensued as a result of the fact the jury had voted 7 to 1 for the defendants on the hung count.

• Lead trial counsel for Mobil Oil Company in a bench trial involving a dealer termination that resulted in a favorable decision for Mobil.

• Lead trial counsel for Fina Oil and Chemical Company in a jury trial in Sioux Falls, South Dakota involving the termination of a dealer. The jury reached a verdict for Fina. The case also involved an appeal in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals that Jeff successfully argued.

• Lead trial counsel for BP America Inc. and the Standard Oil Company in a 21-day bench trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County involving claims of breach of contract and breach of warranties following the sale of BP’s coal mining business to the plaintiff. The case resulted in a favorable ruling for BP and Standard Oil. The plaintiff appealed to the Illinois Appellate Court and Jeff successfully argued the appeal.

• Lead trial counsel for Fina Oil and Chemical Company in a two-week jury trial in Hammond, Indiana involving allegations of libel and slander. The jury awarded only the nominal damages that Fina’s expert asserted were appropriate.

• Co-lead counsel for a Canadian mining company in its $17 billion acquisition of another Canadian mining company. Involved with responding to the government’s “second request” for documents and data and negotiated the initial consent decree with the government.