Louis M. Ciavarra

Compelling a litigation adversary to settle mid-trial

The firm’s client was a large multi-national defense contractor, wrongfully accused of misappropriating a sub-contractor’s trade secrets and sued in U.S. District Court. After several days of the jury trial and following examination of the plaintiff’s key witness, the plaintiff capitulated and agreed to settle on terms that were a fraction of its initial demand.

An intellectual property claim favorably settled

A software company headquartered in the Southeast U.S. turned to Lou for help when a major multi-national corporation infringed on the company’s copyright. The suit was vigorously defended and involved dozens of witnesses. Because of the preparation, the case was settled for millions of dollars on the eve of trial. “We obtained a favorable settlement for our client,” according to Lou, “which aligned best with the strategic business interests underlying the dispute.”

Defeating a class action suit against assisted living and skilled nursing residences

The owners and operator of multiple assisted living and skilled nursing residences in Massachusetts was the subject of a class action suit seeking millions of dollars in damages. The claims arose out of the intersection of landlord tenant law and the laws governing the operation of these specialized facilities. While the court’s in other cases had approved the certification of the class, we were successful in defeating the motion, which led to a quick settlement at a fraction of the demand and exposure and avoided substantial litigation fees.

Successful settlement of trade secret and employment case

The firm’s client started a new business with a national footprint and a competitor hoped to stop the client in its tracks by filing suit alleging theft of trade secrets and breach of various employment contracts. Based on an early and vigorous defense, we were able to force the competitor to the table and resolve the case early and favorably.

Other experience

Intellectual Property

• Large national software company asserting tens of millions of dollars in damages resulting from the copyright infringement and breach of license agreement by a licensee
• Multi-billion dollar defense contractor defending claims of trade secret theft arising out of the design and manufacture of sophisticated military vehicles
• Defended several clients sued in U.S. District Court of California for trademark infringement involving wine brands

General litigation

• Major Massachusetts political party in defense of claims arising out of alleged misconduct in the nomination process for elected office
• Several privately-held companies in which the founders are in litigation over operations and ownership rights
• Large, four-star hotel in Boston involving claims against a contractor for damages in excess of many millions of dollars

Complex corporate and contractual

• Multi-billion dollar international engineering and environmental firm in connection with a radiological remediation of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed site in which the parties’ claims and counterclaims are in the multi-millions of dollars
• International power company and utility in all of its litigation, commercial and tort defense in Massachusetts
• National broker-dealer and financial services firm for over 20 years, including all of its securities-related litigation in Massachusetts