Sean W. Gallagher
Professional Practice
Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP, 1996-Present, Partner (since 1999)
Cases tried or otherwise taken to judgment
Gore v. Bush, et al.
Represented President George W. Bush in election contest filed by former Vice President Al Gore in Leon County, Florida, contesting the results of the 2000 Presidential election in Florida. Trial judge held that no recount should take place. Florida Supreme Court reversed and ordered recount. The United States Supreme Court stayed the recount, ruling that it was unconstitutional. Members of Bush and Gore legal teams were named “Lawyers of the Year” by The National Law Journal.
Friel v. Federal Signal
Co-lead counsel representing Federal Signal at trial of product liability claims made by firefighters who allege that they have noise-induced hearing loss from exposure to sirens. Obtained jury verdict in favor of Federal Signal.
Competition Law Group v. EnjoyLife
Lead counsel for Competition Law Group at jury trial of breach of contract claim and malpractice counterclaim arising from EnjoyLife’s refusal to pay attorneys fees. The jury returned a complete verdict for Competition Law Group.
Confidential v. Novartis
Lead counsel for Novartis in an arbitration involving claims that Novartis breached a contract for the development of a drug compound licensed from a third party.
Rago v. Federal Signal
Co-lead counsel representing Federal Signal at trial of product liability claims made by firefighters who allege that they have noise-induced hearing loss from exposure to sirens. Jury verdict for plaintiffs, post-trial and appeal proceedings pending.
Perrine v. DuPont
Represented DuPont in seven-week state court jury trial of toxic tort claims brought by class of West Virginia residents. Class claims related to alleged smelter emissions over a century-long period. Jury verdict for plaintiffs; appeal proceedings pending.
more CASES TRIED, TAKEN TO JUDGMENT OR FAVORABLY RESOLVED
Adelphia Communications Corp. v. Deloitte & Touche LLP v. John Rigas, et al.
Co-counsel representing Deloitte & Touche LLP as trial counsel in multi-billion dollar accounting malpractice case brought by Adelphia, with third-party claims against the Rigas family. Case resolved on confidential terms.
Newsome v. McCabe
Co-trial counsel in this civil rights case for James Newsome. Mr. Newsome claimed that two Chicago police detectives framed him for murder, forcing him to spend 15 years in state prison for a crime that he did not commit. Obtained a jury verdict of $15 million for Newsome, which was then a record for an individual wrongful imprisonment case in Illinois.
In re Teflon® Product Liability Litigation
In re Teflon® Product Liability Litigation Counsel for DuPont in more than 20 alleged intrastate class actions brought on behalf of consumers who purchased Teflon®-coated cookware. The cases were consolidated for pretrial proceedings pursuant to an order of the panel on multidistrict litigation. The district court denied class certification, and plaintiffs have sought leave to appeal.
RealNetworks, Inc. v. Microsoft
Represented RealNetworks in an antitrust suit against Microsoft that resulted in RealNetwork’s obtaining a $761 million settlement after two years of litigation. Relevant experience included presenting RealNetworks’ claims to representatives of the Fair Trade Commission of South Korea.
Perry v. Bodman
Lead trial counsel for pro bono individual in age and gender discrimination jury trial against the Department of Energy.
Avery Dennison v. FLEXcon Company
Defended FLEXcon, a leading manufacturer of converted plastic roll and sheet products, against claims of patent infringement brought by Avery Dennison relating to methods of making multilayer plastic film facestocks for pressure sensitive applications. Won summary judgment of non-infringement, which was affirmed on appeal.
Schindler Elevator Corp. v. Otis Elevator Corp.
Counsel for Otis in patent infringement suit relating to the destination dispatching systems used in high-rise elevators.
Other representative cases
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company v. Heraeus Materials Technology LLC (D. Del.)
Trial counsel for DuPont in patent infringement case relating to conductive pastes used in the manufacture of solar cells. Case pending.
ICOR International, Inc. v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (S.D. Ind.)
Trial counsel for DuPont in declaratory judgment and patent false marking case. ICOR alleged that its proposed R-438A refrigerant (a generic version of DuPont's ISCEON® MO99™ product) would not infringe DuPont's patent on R-438A and that DuPont falsely marked its MO99™ product. Case ended with ICOR agreeing to dismiss these claims with prejudice.
Seroquel® Litigation
Represent AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals in mass tort litigation regarding Seroquel® (atypical antipsychotic).
CytoLogix v. Ventana Medical Systems
Defended Ventana Medical Systems at trial against claims of patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation relating to technology for automating “slide staining” procedures used in pathology laboratories for the diagnosis of disease.
Edge Capture v. Citadel
Counsel for Citadel defending against claims for patent infringement on patent related to automated trading technologies.
CardioNet v. LifeWatch
Counsel for LifeWatch defending against claims for misappropriation of trade secrets.
Edison Mission Energy, Midwest Generation
Counsel for Midwest Generation in an appeal from the property tax assessment on the largest non-utility-owned electricity generation plant in the United States.
U.S. Pipeline v. Horizon Gas Pipeline Co.
Lead counsel for Horizon in action for breach of contract relating to cost overruns in U.S. Pipeline’s construction of a gas pipeline for Horizon in Illinois. Case settled.
Kimberly Clark v. Paragon Trade Brands, Tyco Healthcare Retail Group et al.
Lead counsel for Tyco in an arbitration with Kimberly-Clark over Paragon’s license to Kimberly Clark’s “Enloe” patents relating to the design of diapers. Case settled.
Field Hybrids v. Toyota
Represented Field Hybrids in patent infringement suit brought against Toyota relating to the design of the hybrid electric drive train in the Toyota Prius. Case settled.
Ventana Medical Systems v. Abbott Laboratories
Represented Ventana in its dispute with Abbott Laboratories over Abbott’s infringement of Ventana patents relating to BCR-ABL and dual and tri-color probe technology. Case settled.
A&E Products Group LP v. Spotless Enterprises Inc.
Represented A&E Products in patent infringement action relating to the design of garment hangers. Case settled.
A&E Products Group LP v. Mainetti
Represented A&E Products in patent infringement action relating to the design of garment hangers. Case settled.
Florists’ Transworld Delivery, Inc. v. American Floral Services & Teleflora
Represented FTD in arbitration of contract dispute with American Floral Services and Teleflora over failure to pay minimum order fees under their agreements for access to FTD’s Mercury Network.
Commonwealth Edison v. Midwest Generation
Represented Midwest Generation in disputes with Commonwealth Edison and its parent company Exelon over outages at power generation facilities and other matters.
FTD.com v. IBM Network Services
Represented FTD.com in contract dispute with IBM Network Services over design of web site.
Bayer Corp. v. Schein Pharmaceutical, et al.
Represented Bayer in its suit for patent infringement to enjoin generic drug manufacturers from obtaining FDA approval to market and sell a generic version of Bayer's antibiotic Cipro®.
Real3D, Inc. (Intel) v. ATI Technologies, Inc.
Represented ATI Technologies, Inc., a leading maker of graphics accelerator chips and products for personal computers in dispute with Real3D over patents on algorithms for computer image generation.
Real3D, Inc. (Intel) v. 3Dfx Interactive, Inc.
Represented 3Dfx Interactive, a leading maker of graphics accelerator boards for personal computers, in dispute with Real3D over patents on algorithms for computer image generation.
Barr Laboratories v. DuPont Pharmaceuticals
Defended DuPont in an antitrust case brought by generic drug manufacturer in New York Federal Court for alleged monopolization of the market for blood thinning medicine.
Lockheed Martin Corp. v. Silicon Graphics, Inc.
Defended Silicon Graphics, a leading producer of computer graphics equipment, against claims of patent infringement relating to various methods for computer generation of video images in three dimensional space.
Fred Meyer Inc. v. Hurley State Bank
Defended Sears Payment Systems in breach of contract litigation concerning proprietary credit card processing.
Wolens v. American Airlines
Represented objector in contested hearing on class action settlement involving changes to American Airlines’ Aadvantage program.
E-Victor v. Bio Technologies for Horticulture, Inc.
Represented Bio Technologies for Horticulture, Inc. in an international arbitration involving an alleged breach of a development and distribution agreement. Case settled during mediation.
Hoover Co. v. Bissell, Inc.
Represented Bissell in patent infringement and trade dress matter involving Hoover patents on upright deep cleaning extractors, commonly referred to as steam cleaners. Bissell brought an antitrust counterclaim. Hoover settled during trial after Bissell rested its case.
Bankers Trust v. FTD, Inc.
Represented FTD in breach of fiduciary duty case filed by FTD against Bankers Trust, arising out of acquisition financing provided by Bankers Trust.
Acknowledgements, presentations, and publications
Acknowledgements and speaking engagements
Advocate’s Society, Toronto Ontario 2001: Keynote address on the use of technology in the 2000 Presidential election contest trial.
Glasser Legal Works, San Francisco 1998: Panel discussion on the use of trial presentation technology and document management software in trial practice
Glasser Legal Works, San Francisco 1999: Panel discussion on the use of trial presentation technology and document management software in trial practice
Glasser Legal Works, New York, 1999: Panel discussion on the use of trial presentation technology and document management software in trial practice
Glasser Legal Works, San Francisco 2000: Panel discussion on the use of trial presentation technology and document management software in trial practice
Glasser Legal Works, San Francisco 2001: Co-chair of litigation section, panel discussion on the use of trial presentation technology and document management software in trial practice.
Glasser Legal Works, Los Angeles 2001: Co-chair of litigation section, panel discussion on the use of trial presentation technology and document management software in trial practice.
Publications
Death: The Ultimate Run-On Sentence, 46 Case Western Res. Law Rev. 1 (1995) (with Alex Kozinski)
For an Honest Death Penalty, N.Y. Times, Mar. 8, 1995, at A1 (with Alex Kozinski)
The Public Policy Exclusion and Insurance for Intentional Employment Discrimination, 92 Mich. L Rev. 1256 (1994)
News
Big Wins
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In re Teflon Products Liability Litigation (2009)
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James Newsome v. McNally & McCabe (2001)